New App to Support Self-Care and Management of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and Associated Spondyloarthritis Diseases

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - March 22, 2016) - In honor of World Ankylosing Spondylitis Day on May 7, 2016, Self Care Catalysts -- a patient intelligence and solutions company -- is proud to announce a new self-care tool created to support patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and other associated Spondyloarthritis (SpA) diseases such as Psoriatic Arthritis. This mobile application, called AS Health Storylines, is created in partnership with the Canadian Spondylitis Association, whose members provided valuable inputs to ensure that the right features and tools are available for patients using the app.

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a chronic, progressive, painful form of inflammatory arthritis, and Spondyloarthritis (SpA) describes a group of inflammatory arthritis diseases with common features, including inflammation of the spine, joints, eyes, skin and gastrointestinal tract. At present, there is no cure for AS and SpA, but with the proper self-care and management of the disease from as early a stage as possible, patients can live fully productive lives. Management of the disease includes the use of prescribed medications, physical therapy, and other lifestyle remedies.

"It cannot be overemphasized how important self-care is to the management of AS and SpA," says Michael Mallinson, president of the Canadian Spondylitis Association. "Apart from adhering to pharmacological therapy, other components of self-care such as exercise can help relieve pain and stiffness. With the AS Health Storylines app, patients can better document the different components of their self-care and monitor their impact on the disease."

AS Health Storylines was designed to enable patients with AS and SpA to engage better in their own self-care by making it easy for them to track and visualize patterns around their disease. The factors that they can track and monitor includes: medications, symptoms, fatigue levels, moods, and physical activity. It also allows them to sync with other health apps and devices like FitBit® and Jawbone®. Through daily tracking, the app creates a summary of their health called "My Storylines" which gives them greater self-awareness about their disease, thus empowering them to have more productive conversations with their care team.

"We are thrilled to expand our support for health advocacy communities and to provide people living with chronic diseases such as AS and SpA with new ways to use mobile technology to manage and improve their health outcomes," says Grace Soyao, CEO of Self Care Catalysts.

AS Health Storylines is free for all users and is available on the Apple App Store™ and on Google Play™ in the USA and Canada.

About Canadian Spondylitis Association
Founded in April 2006, The Canadian Spondylitis Association is a national non-profit patient association that supports and advocates for those suffering from Ankylosing Spondylitis, Psoriatic Arthritis and related Spondyloarthritis diseases. Their mission is to be the leader in Canada providing support, education and advocacy for the Spondyloarthritis patient community. For more information, please visit http://www.spondylitis.ca/.

About Self Care Catalysts
Self Care Catalysts is a patient solutions, intelligence and analytics company that enables healthcare innovation. We believe that when patients are informed, respected, and engaged, they make better health choices. We find the consumer within the patient. Our mission is to build innovative, patient-centered, and technology-driven self-care solutions for patients and meaningful analytics and insights for healthcare organizations and pharmaceutical companies. For more information visit us on the web at www.selfcarecatalysts.com.

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