Section of Musculoskeletal Disease

Paul Emery

CLINICAL RHEUMATOLOGY GROUP

arc Professor of Rheumatology

p.emery@leeds.ac.uk

Imaging and Arthritis; Osteoarthritis; Outcome Measurement

The Section of Musculoskeletal Disease is a dynamic group which brings together clinical academics and basic scientists in a unique research environment which aims “to prevent disability and improve quality of life through research”. The work of the Section is internationally recognised, particularly in the area of inflammatory arthritis. The Section is integrated with the Rheumatology, Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Departments within the Leeds Teaching Trusts, which enables access to large patient cohorts and facilitates patient focussed research. State of the art laboratory facilities enable novel basic science and clinical research which have changed approaches to treatment, influenced national practice and provided innovation in research methodology and clinical practice.

The Section and the NHS are seamlessly linked. Citywide musculoskeletal clinical services are now centrally housed at Chapel Allerton Hospital (CAH). The Section provides one of the largest rheumatology training centres in the world, which provides a central hub for clinical rheumatology research. The clinical services in Leeds have recently been organised around a series of specialised NHS clinics with the establishment of longitudinal clinical databases and research projects, including resistant rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Behçets disease, vasculitis and other connective tissue diseases, osteoarthritis, and a national clinical rheumatology service for the Hereditary Connective Tissue Disorders. In a joint venture between University of Leeds and the United Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, a dedicated centre for evaluating biologics and novel therapies has been established at CAH. Within rheumatology outpatients at CAH, there is a dedicated diagnostics suite (with MRI, high resolution ultrasound, dual energy x-ray absorptionometry and needle arthroscopy facilities) and a gait analysis laboratory.

The research strategy of the Section has been built around its unique infrastructure and integration of clinical and laboratory based science and to undertake sustainable research that will make a difference to people with arthritis. In the next five years, clinical research will continue to focus on the diagnostic and prognostic classification for arthritis, particularly early RA, alongside refinement and further developments in interventions. Imaging for musculoskeletal disease will continue to be a priority with future investment in MRI, gait analysis and ultrasound equipment planned in order to evaluate diagnostic and prognostic tools for rheumatic disease. The basic science department is involved in translational research whereby samples obtained at the clinic are used to study a number of questions outlined on the pages within this section.