A programme of exercises for people with rheumatoid arthritis improves hand strength and function. The Strengthening and Stretching for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH) programme is recommended by NICE following positive results in a large clinical trial. Therapists were initially trained face-to-face to deliver the SARAH programme. To speed up its routine use in ...

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complex, long-term condition that dramatically limits people's activities. It is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). People with CFS/ME are exhausted for no reason; rest does not help and it can take days or weeks to recover from any activity. Some describe 'brain fog' and problems with memory, concentration ...

A programme in South Africa is successfully shifting the location of treatments for long term conditions from the clinic to the community. It is the largest programme of its kind in the world and a new study highlights the benefits to people living with HIV. The programme is called Centralised Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution ...

Some women having breast cancer surgery would benefit from screening to pick up lymphoedema (swelling of the arm that can become long-term). This can develop as a complication of surgery if lymph nodes are removed. Lymph nodes under the arm normally drain fluid from the breast. They may be removed during breast cancer surgery to ...

Fatigue can be one of the most difficult symptoms to cope with for people with rheumatoid arthritis and this study found that group cognitive behavioural courses may help. This NIHR-funded study compared six weekly group sessions plus a booster session with a single brief one-to-one meeting. Both groups also received an educational booklet. It took ...

People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who receive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) continue to have lower levels of symptoms over the following two years. Telephone-delivered CBT is particularly effective, with 71% of study participants experiencing a clinically significant improvement in their IBS symptoms. This NIHR-funded study is the 24-month follow-up to an earlier publication of ...

Living with inflammatory bowel disease as a `hidden’ condition can lead to feelings of isolation and exclusion. These experiences are characterised by exhaustion, feelings of damaged body image, loss of control and living with the fear of complications. The condition can be unpredictable and have a profound impact on quality of life, disrupting social relationships ...

Frequency of HIV testing in men who have sex with men may be increased by one additional test in a six month period when self-testing kits are used. Self-testing kits allow people to collect their finger-prick or saliva sample, perform the test and interpret the result themselves. This global study found that first-time testers made ...

It seems safer to reduce the dose of biological drugs, rather than to stop them if people with rheumatoid arthritis and their doctors want to avoid relapse. Stopping these powerful drugs caused the disease to recur in 58% of people compared with 29% who continued them. Reducing the dose also led to more relapses for ...

Giving antiretroviral therapy to people newly diagnosed with HIV may be an effective and cost-effective way of reducing new infections. Increased HIV testing in at-risk populations may identify more people for treatment and also reduce infection rates. Using data from a number of sources including NIHR funded projects, researchers developed a computer simulation model. The ...