Key takeaways from the BSR Annual Conference

• It is being designed in partnership with clinicians and people with lived experience and is hoping to have far reaching impact across all four nations.  

• The toolkit is still being developed and tested, but it represents a promising step toward more consistent and effective OA care. 

What it means for people with arthritis:  

If this toolkit is taken up by the NHS, people with arthritis should benefit from earlier support, clearer information, and more consistent, personalised care to help them better manage their condition and pain. 

2. Male Reproductive Health in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases: Missing Half of the Conversation - Dr Luis Fernando Perez  

Key takeaways: 

• Male reproductive health in inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs) is often overlooked but it should be an important part of holistic care.

• Many men have concerns about passing their condition on to their children or needing to stop treatment when trying to conceive. 

• Evidence shows these fears are often unfounded, with most commonly used therapies being compatible with male family planning, therefore better reassurance from healthcare professionals is needed. 

• There are still important knowledge gaps that we need to address, particularly around how systemic inflammation may affect male reproductive health. 

• Paternal counselling should include fertility and sexual health including topics such as erectile dysfunction, and disease control. 

What this means for people with arthritis 

• Dr Perez highlighted the importance of earlier, more informed support and reassurance for men about fertility, treatment safety and sexual health. This would enable better conversations about their care and family planning. 

3. How to improve the treatment of adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis – Professor Coziana Ciurtin   

Key takeaways:  

• We know that many adults in the UK are living with ongoing Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-related disease or treatment needs.  

• However, there are currently no specific adult clinical trials for adults with JIA which means there is a need for more data about this population.   

• We can learn from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) trials to provide valuable guidance for treatment decisions.

• Personalised approaches based on the JIA subtype and disease evolution are important and the multidisciplinary team is essential for optimal outcomes for adults living with JIA. 

• Finally future research should focus on adult JIA specific trials and transition care models  

What it means for people with arthritis:  

Adults with JIA have a need for more personalised, lifelong care. To achieve this, we need to make better use of existing evidence to guide treatment, and improved research and transition support to ensure continuity of care into adulthood. 

4. BSR recommendations for the diagnosis and management of systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease associated interstitial lung disease – Dr Mia Rodziewicz  

Key takeaways:  

• Systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease associated interstitial lung disease or SARD-ILDs is a lung disease that can happen in people with autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or scleroderma.  

• This type of lung disease can vary a lot from person to person but can be serious and even life-threatening, so early detection and treatment are important. 

• The guidance recommends that all patients are checked early using detailed lung scans and breathing tests—even if they don’t have symptoms—because simpler tests like chest X-rays often miss the problem.

• Once diagnosed, treatment usually involves medications that reduce inflammation and calm the immune system, started as early as possible to prevent worsening disease. 

• In more severe or fast-progressing cases, urgent and aggressive treatment is needed, often involving specialist teams. The guidelines also highlight the importance of ongoing monitoring and using newer treatments to slow lung scarring in patients whose disease continues to worsen. 

• It is important not to delay treatment in rapidly progressive disease, to seek help within the multidisciplinary team and ILD specialist services and to read the new guidelines and enact them in practice.  

What it means for people with arthritis:  

• New guidelines mean that people with arthritis should now benefit from more consistent and proactive checks for lung disease, alongside clearer and earlier treatment approaches to help prevent serious complications. 

5. Bridging the Menopause Gap in Rheumatology; perspectives, Priorities and Unmet needs – Dr Melanie Sloan 

Key takeaways:

• Researchers shared findings from a study looking at the experiences of menopause care among women with autoimmune diseases.  

• Satisfaction with menopause care was lower compared to those without autoimmune conditions.  

• Uncertainty about HRT among patients and clinicians led to fragmented care and patients needing to self-advocate.  

• Menopause symptoms were often misattributed to autoimmune conditions.

• They challenged the myth that HRT is generally unsafe for women with autoimmune or complex conditions, highlighting that modern HRT is typically safe, with low risks (including VTE and breast cancer) and few contraindications.

• Greater proactivity, empathy, better listening to patients, and collaboration across specialties were seen as key areas of improvement for menopause care. 

What it means for people with arthritis

These findings highlighted the need for more informed, coordinated, and proactive menopause care. This could ensure that symptoms aren’t misattributed, patients aren’t left to navigate uncertainty around HRT alone, and appropriate treatment options are not unnecessarily withheld.

Final thoughts

Attending BSR this year was an inspiring reminder of the progress being made in arthritis research and care. From hope for new treatments, to new changes in practice, there was clear change happening in arthritis research and practice which we are excited to see being translated into how we care for people living with arthritis.