Arthritis patients in Bradford are being recruited to a new £500,000 clinical trial which could transform treatment.

Psoriatic arthritis is a common type which affects the joints and the skin, causing joint pain and swelling, leading over time to joint damage and disability.

Now a team led by Dr Philip Helliwell and Dr Laura Coates at Chapel Allerton Hospital in Leeds have been awarded funding of more than £515,000 over three years by Arthritis Research UK to run a clinical trial involving up to 200 patients in Bradford, Leeds and York.

They will compare intensive early treatment carried out in specialist clinics with the kind of care that patients usually receive, to find out which group of patients does better.

Recruitment has already started in Leeds, while patients at St Luke’s Hospital in Bradford, and at York Hospital, are now being recruited.