Arthritis UK Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology

How and why arthritis affects teenagers 

The Arthritis UK Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology is the world’s first centre dedicated to understanding arthritis in adolescents. In partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College London and University College London Hospital, and with funding also provided by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSHCC), research at this centre explored how and why arthritis affects this age group.

Having arthritis during adolescence is not easy and it is vital that teenagers with healthcare problems are given the best treatment to address their particular needs.The centre’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of adolescents with arthritis by undertaking cutting edge research to understanding how and why arthritis develops and progresses in this age group.

This could lead to the discovery of new or better treatments as well as methods to prevent complications that adolescents with arthritis develop in later life (such as heart disease) and tests that may predict how the disease will progress.

This centre first opened in 2012 and renewed in 2017 for a second term. The centre completed its 'Impact' phase in 2025.

Biomechanics and Bioengineering Research Centre

Arthritis UK Biomechanics and Bioengineering Research Centre Impact Report

For many years, we’ve known that mechanical loading and inflammation contribute to osteoarthritis but the biological processes that link these factors were unknown. The impact of joint injury and joint surgery on our biomechanics and biology, and subtleties in gait or alignment that could contribute to long-term disease, was also unclear. Until now.

Read the report

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