Healthy lives
Improving the lives of countless people suffering from skin disease
Skin is the largest organ鈥痮f our鈥痓ody. It is important for temperature鈥痑nd water鈥痳egulation, defence against pathogens and UV light, sensation鈥痑nd鈥痸itamin D鈥痵ynthesis. It鈥檚 also a vital organ of social communication.
Over a thousand鈥痵kin conditions鈥痚xist and are among the most common鈥痳easons鈥痶o visit your GP.鈥疭kin disease is often trivialised as “just a few spots” or a “bit of鈥痚czema”鈥痓ut a鈥痗hronic鈥痵kin condition can have a devastating impact on day-to-day life. The skin鈥痗an become鈥痯ainful or itchy,鈥痑ffect鈥痯sychological wellbeing,鈥痟ow we sleep,鈥痵ocialise鈥痑nd interact with others,鈥痺hat we wear and where we鈥痩ive and鈥痺ork.鈥�
Some skin conditions, such as鈥痬elanoma skin cancer,鈥痗an be fatal. For鈥痮ther conditions, the treatments needed to鈥痗ontrol the disease鈥痗an cause side-effects, such as increased risk of infections .鈥�
Our research starts with the patients and carers living with a skin condition鈥痑nd understanding what is important to them. We answer questions that they ask, which are rarely addressed by pharmaceutical companies, such as “How do two commonly used treatments compare against each other?”, or “What’s the evidence that commonly prescribed treatments鈥痑ctually benefit the patient?”
Dermatology treatment is heavily influenced by pharmaceutical companies. Some of their products have transformed the lives of patients, but and many “new” and costly treatments are not that great when compared with what we have got already. There is a need for at least one completely independent voice in the world that champions the questions that are important to patients and health care practitioners, who want to know how鈥痑vailable鈥痶reatments compare against each other.鈥�
Our鈥痠ndependent,鈥痩arge, randomised and controlled clinical trials鈥痶est鈥痺hether different skin treatments or strategies for preventing skin鈥痙isease鈥痑ctually work鈥痑nd at what鈥痗ost, in鈥痶erms of side effects and value for money.鈥疻e ensure that all trial results are reported clearly and鈥痮penly鈥痑nd鈥痺e鈥痠nvolve people with skin disease throughout.
Our work is made possible through鈥痶he dedication and support of hundreds of clinicians, nurses, researchers and patients who work together through鈥痮ur鈥� to deliver these large, practice-changing trials. It is the completely independent nature of our work that has attracted so many people to want to work with us.鈥�
"Knowing that our research has a direct and immediate effect in changing clinical practice,鈥痑llowing better informed treatment decisions and ultimately improving patients鈥� lives,鈥痠s hugely inspiring."
The network was first established by Professor Hywel Williams from the 糖心原创鈥痑lmost 20 years ago. This network has transformed how鈥痯ragmatic鈥痵kin research is conducted in the UK, and we’ve contributed to large clinical trials in collaboration鈥痺ith hospitals and GPs across the country.鈥疧ur approach has also inspired dermatology trial networks internationally, including those in Canada, Italy and鈥痶he Netherlands.
With Hywel and our Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology鈥�colleague, Senior Research Fellow Joanne Chalmers, we have completed 12鈥痬ulti-centre randomised control trials (RCTs).
Trials of treatments for childhood eczema , skin cancer, cellulitis , bullous pemphigoid (an itchy blistering skin condition on the increase in prevalence in elderly people) and pyoderma gangrenosum (a painful, mutilating skin disease) have in particular had a truly significant impact.
These trials alone have informed at least 29 national and international guidelines, resulting in the adoption of new, effective treatments and a reduction in prescribing of ineffective treatments.
Knowing that our research has a direct and immediate effect in changing clinical practice,鈥痑llowing better informed treatment decisions and ultimately improving patients’ lives,鈥痠s hugely inspiring.鈥�
Overall, we’ve helped reduce deaths and serious side-effects from skin disease, improved the health and wellbeing of countless patients and saved the NHS millions of pounds.
With so many different skin conditions, we don’t yet know the answers to all the鈥痯otential鈥痲uestions about how to treat them.鈥� What鈥疘 find more challenging,鈥痠s鈥痶he fact鈥痶hat there are鈥痵till鈥痩arge gaps in our understanding of how best to use even the most well-established and commonly used skin treatments, such as topical corticosteroids for eczema,鈥痺hich have been used for more than 60 years.
Kim Thomas
Kim Thomas is Professor of Applied Dermatology Research and Co-Director of the Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology,鈥疐aculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
This work has been carried out in collaboration with Professor Hywel Williams (Professor of Dermato-epidemiology), Dr Joanne Chalmers (Senior Research Fellow), Prof Alan Montgommery (Director of Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit), Ms Eleanor Mitchell (Associate Professor of Clinical Trials), Dr Karen Harman (Clinical Associate Professor), Ms Mara Ozolins (Trial Statistician), Ms Lucy Bradshaw (Trial Statistician), Prof Miriam Santer (Prof of Primary Care Research) and Dr Jonathan Batchelor (Consultant Dermatologist)