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Time to move on from ‘doctor knows best’, say experts, as study finds clinicians rank patient views as least important in diagnosis

Time to move on from ‘doctor knows best’, say experts, as study finds clinicians rank patient views as least important in diagnosis

Experts today call for more value to be given to patients’ ‘lived experiences’ as a study of over 1,000 patients and clinicians found multiple examples of patient reports being under-valued.

The research, led by a team at the University of Cambridge and Kings’ College London, found that clinicians ranked patient self-assessments as least important in diagnostic decisions, and said that patients both over- and under-played their symptoms more often than patients reported doing so.

Study finds ‘startling’ levels of hidden mental health symptoms among autoimmune disease patients

Study finds ‘startling’ levels of hidden mental health symptoms among autoimmune disease patients

In a study published today in Rheumatology, researchers found that over half of the patients had rarely or never reported their mental health symptoms to a clinician, and that the range of possible mental health and neurological symptoms is much wider than has been previously reported.

Lupus clues from cellular 'power stations'

Lupus clues from cellular 'power stations'

Researchers at Imperial College London have revealed crucial insights into systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Previous studies from the same Imperial College researchers have suggested that immune cells called CD8 T cells, which normally help to destroy threats to the body such as viruses, appear to malfunction in SLE patients. This may play a role in the immune system spiralling out of control.

Ground-breaking discovery finds new link between autoimmune diseases and a gut bacterium

Ground-breaking discovery finds new link between autoimmune diseases and a gut bacterium

Could microbes in our guts be sending out the wrong message? Queen's University Belfast researchers have, for the first time, found a specific microbe in the gut that pumps out protein molecules that mimic a human protein, causing the human defence system to turn on its own cells by mistake.

New discovery could improve diagnosis and treatment of lupus in black Africans

New discovery could improve diagnosis and treatment of lupus in black Africans

Two variants of an autoimmune disease that affects thousands but is hard to diagnose are relatively common among black Africans, research shows.

The findings, relating to systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, could improve diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

They could enable better management of the disease in patients of African descent, particularly in southern Africa, where incidence and mortality rates are relatively high.