Rheumatology comes to Town

Rheumatology community descends on Reading

What happens when you get 70 people from the Rheumatology community coming together? A fiesta! Yes, a fiesta or celebration of knowledge, exchange of information, collaboration and networking. A joining of great minds and people to forward our joint cause in rheumatology.

Reading is the host of the famous annual summer rock festival but this was a different party. Yesterday 8/11, I hosted the Winter Oxford Regional Rheumatology Conference in Reading.

Discussion time at the Oxford Regional Conference

There were 7 abstracts presented by trainees with the best presentation winning the inaugural Royal Berkshire Rheumatology Prize. The lion signifies the Royal County of  Berkshire, UK. There is a statue of the Maiwand Lion in Forbury Park to commemorate the valour and devotion to men from the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot during the campaign in Afghanistan between 1878 and 1880. The home team won the prize, public voting of course!

The Royal Berkshire Rheumatology Prize

Professor John Isaacs, University of Newcastle, UK was the keynote speaker and he gave us a superb overview on Biosimilars - friend or foe? Will Dixon from the Arthritis Research UK Manchester, gave us a review of the risk of infections with biologics and steroids, data from the BSR Biologics Register.

Keynote address by Prof. John Isaacs

In the afternoon, we shifted to the BSR Simple Tasks campaign. I have been very enthusiastic about this initiative to improve patient outcome. This will bring together a joint collaboration between the BSR, ACR and patient groups NRAS, NASS and Arthritis Care. Having seen the Simple Task initiative at the ACR 13 in San Diego, it was nice to have this now on home turf. What 3 things can we do for this campaign? Follow the conversation on Twitter #SimpleTasksUK

BSR Simple Tasks presentation by Dr. Peter Prouse 

The final presentation was from my senior colleague, Dr. Tony Bradlow a gave an account of Rheumatology then and now. In 25 years we have seen a real revolution in rheumatology. We are now in the 'new' rheumatology with better diagnostics and treatment.

So as I reflect on this day, I think of this quote:

Every generation needs a new revolution - Thomas Jefferson

Intensive DMARDs and biologics (and in the future probably biosimilars) has revolutionised treatment of arthritis. As a rheumatology community we have an obligation to renew, reinvent and redefine our specialty to improve patient outcomes. Two campaigns come to mind #SimpleTaskUK and #AS_it_is (see my previous blog), where we can all do our part to make this happen.

@synovialjoints

Views are my own. These are opinions and cannot replace the need to see your physician for review of your individual medical condition.