It is calculated that there are between 8,000 and 10,000 children in Spain who suffer from a rheumatic disease. Arthritis, lupus, acrodermatitis, scleroderma, fibromyalgia and osteoporosis are all examples of such diseases, and in many cases, they can appear at very young ages.
At the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital, there are research groups that focus on various different diseases who are all aiming to improve patient quality of life. One of their lines of research looks at autoinflammatory diseases, which are caused by an abnormality in the innate immune system. Their hope here is to reach a confirmed diagnosis for patients who present recurrent fevers with no known cause, and which could be the result of an autoinflammatory disease.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis is the most common rheumatic disease in children, and is another area of interest for researchers. It is a complication that affects the eye which occurs in 20% of pediatric arthritis cases. On many occasions, by the time the patient notices the symptoms, there has already been a significant loss of vision.