by Jann Landles, Hon Secretary, Vasculitis UK
In the European Union, a disease is defined as rare when it affects less than 1 in 2000 people. The European Commission defines rare diseases as ‘life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases which are of such low prevalence that special combined efforts are needed to address them’. With 15 systemic vasculitis disease phenotypes and several subsets, some of these diseases being very rare but not all of them life threating, you can begin to image the issues facing Vasculitis UK.…
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by Chloe Kastoryano, Project Coordinator, Scleroderma Society
by Maurice Cheng, Chief Executive of The Institute of Osteopathy I’m sitting here on a Sunday morning writing this blog post, having missed the deadline, wondering what I could reflect on that would be interesting for ARMA colleagues. The reason I’m late with this is because we’ve just relaunched the British Osteopathic Association as the 
by Judi Rhys, Chief Executive of Arthritis Care I recently attended a plenary session at the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology Congress. The presentations were concerned with the ‘global musculoskeletal challenge’ and the ‘imminent avalanche of demand’ ahead. Many of the speakers referred to the rise in worldwide obesity and the link between obesity and osteoarthritis. A review of research in this area suggests an obese person is 14 times more likely to develop knee osteoarthritis, compared with a person of normal weight.… 
by Chris Maker, Director of LUPUS UK One of the biggest problems for people who have lupus is obtaining a diagnosis. During 2009 LUPUS UK posted a survey questionnaire to all 5,700 members asking them to provide information about how lupus impacts on their lives. The response was overwhelming with over 3,000 completed questionnaires being returned. The summary of findings was:
by Sue Browning, Deputy CEO, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
by Nick Pahl, CEO of the British Acupuncture Council
Musculoskeletal conference – the patient story