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Heartbeat: Clinicians to lead new study into Behçet’s disease

July 29, 2021

Our clinicians will lead one of the largest studies into the rare auto inflammatory disorder Behçet’s disease to identify prevalence and incidence and assess the impact of the condition.

Dr Priyanka Chandratre, Consultant Rheumatologist, is the primary investigator for the study which has been funded equally by Your Trust Charity and Behçet’s UK to the amount of £71,862.

Dr Chandratre said: “The aim of our study is to establish the prevalence of Behçet’s disease in adults in the UK. To our knowledge this will be the largest study to systematically identify patients with a diagnosis of the disease.

“The most important milestones will include establishing the prevalence and incidence of Behçet’s disease for the first time in the UK, using multiple data sources to maximise case ascertainment.

“Our project will identify cases for inclusion in a national Behçet’s registry populated via a validated pipeline.”

It means that for the first time it will be feasible to assess the impact of the National Centres of Excellence for Behcet’s disease. There are three situated across the UK – one at City Hospital, another in London and the third in Liverpool. The aim of these centres is to optimise care and improve outcomes for patients with Behçet’s disease in the UK, shortening time to diagnosis from first symptoms and reducing complications such as visual loss.

The study will also mean those living with the disorder will be able to take part in clinical trials where available.

Dr Chandratre added: “The study will be led by myself and supervised by Dr Deva Situnayake, who is lead for the National Centre of Excellence for Behçet’s disease in Birmingham.

“Our collaborators include both centres in Liverpool and London and the Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham. We want to thank both Your Trust Charity and Behçet’s UK for funding this important study.”

In the UK, Behçet’s disease is a rare immune mediated multisystem inflammatory disorder. It can lead to blindness, brainstem atrophy, blood clots and pulmonary aneurysms. But little information is known on the frequency of poor outcomes.