BCRD/BSPAR / For participants

Information for participants

Thank you for being a part of our research. It is so wonderful that you are contributing to these important studies; your involvement is very much appreciated.

We plan to collect information over a number of years to see how you respond to your treatment for JIA.

When we look at the BCRD and BSPAR ETN studies together, we have over 2,500 children and young people involved, which makes us one of the largest safety registers of children and young people with JIA in the world!

Your involvement makes our results stronger, which makes you a research superhero.

Fun fact

Did you know that animals can get arthritis too? The leader (or Chief Investigator) of the studies, Professor Kimme Hyrich, treated a 27 year old Silverback Lowland Gorilla called Josephine at Toronto Zoo, who she diagnosed as having presumed seronegative arthritis.

Why can’t I eat certain foods?

People who are receiving biologic therapies for arthritis and related conditions are advised to avoid eating certain types of food, such as blue cheese, pate, and unpasteurised milk. This is because biologic therapy affects the immune system, and avoiding these types of food reduces the risk of contracting bacterial infections such as listeria or salmonella. More information can be found on the NHS website.