Annals of the rheumatic diseases
-
Multicenter Study
Growing up and moving on. A multicentre UK audit of the transfer of adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis from paediatric to adult centred care.
To assess the provisions made for the transfer of adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis to adult rheumatology clinics in the UK and the impact of a transitional care programme. ⋯ The improvement in documentation suggests that involvement in the research project increased awareness of transitional issues. The difficulty of changing policy into practice was highlighted, with room for improvement, particularly at the paediatric/adult interface. The reasons for this are likely to be multiple, including resources and lack of specific training.
-
To study in parallel the outflow of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis tone in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ An increased outflow of the SNS was shown and a decreased tone of the HPA axis in patients with SLE and RA. Low levels of cortisol in relation to SNS neurotransmitters may be proinflammatory because cooperative anti-inflammatory coupling of the two endogenous response axes is missing.