A small study, but the results ring true

My own lifetime experience of chronic illness and my role as president of Arthritis and Rheumatism International, a trustee of the Long Term Medical Conditions Alliance, and vice chair of Disabled Living Centres Council indicate that my experience, although unusual, is highly relevant to the issues raised by Lewis and colleagues. I know that many patients wish to avoid drugs and would prefer lifestyle changes, and they want to minimise side effects from treatment. Thus, any preventive treatment would have to have minimal intrusion on quality of life for patients to pursue such a strategy. A well researched treatment that met these criteria and which increased patients' capacity to enjoy life and to manage their own condition would be uniquely valuable.

For nearly 48 years, since the age of 3, …