Ex-Bingley pupil in leading study on condition
A FORMER Bingley schoolgirl is at the forefront of the battle against the condition lupus after her first major research project led to her presenting her work in Chicago and having her findings published in the world’s leading rheumatology journal.
Dr Michelle Barraclough, 36, grew up in Wilsden, where her mother and sister still live.
She attended Bingley Grammar School before three years studying at the University of Manchester, where she looked at the brain function of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.
Her research found that for many patients, their brain was having to “work harder” than healthy volunteers to perform the same task.
Her findings could help to explain why lupus patients complain of problems with memory and concentration, often describing a general feeling of “brain fog” as they battle against the disease.
The study, which Dr Barraclough completed for her PhD from the University of Manchester’s Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, has gained international recognition, having been published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases journal.
Dr Barraclough also flew to Chicago to present her work to an audience of hundreds of the world’s most senior rheumatologists when she spoke at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, the world’s largest rheumatology conference.
Dr Barraclough hopes her findings could eventually lead to a clinical trial of potential treatments to help SLE patients overcome brain fog complaints.
She said: “This problem’s been significantly affecting lupus patients for many, many years. Hopefully at some point in the medium-term future we might just have better treatment options available to help people across the UK manage their symptoms better than they’ve ever been able to.”
Lupus is an incurable immune system illness estimated to affect one in every 1,000 people in the UK. Most patients are female, with joint and, or, muscle pain, extreme tiredness and rashes all common symptoms.