Volume 13, Issue 1

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27April2018

Letter from the ECCO President

Silvio Danese, ECCO President

Silvio Danese
Silvio Danese 
©  ECCO

Dear ECCO friends,

Thank you to everyone for once again making the ECCO Congress, Europe’s most important event in the field of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), such a wonderful occasion. Held this year in Vienna, the Congress attracted 6,676 participants from over 80 countries and the number of accepted abstracts surpassed 1,000.  Thank you especially to our invited speakers for delivering such exciting presentations and also to the ECCO Committee Members for their hard work and dedication, which helped to make the Congress so successful. 

Posted in ECCO News, Letters from the ECCO President, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

The 13th Congress of ECCO in numbers

6,676 delegates attended the 13th Congress of ECCO in Vienna

The 13th Congress of ECCO – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 2018, which was held on February 14-17, 2018 in Vienna, Austria, attracted a total number of 6,676 delegates from 86 different countries. Since the inaugural ECCO Congress in 2006 in Amsterdam, at which there were 350 delegates, participant numbers have steadily increased, as shown in the graph below:

Congress Participation
ECCO Congress participation 2006-2018 © ECCO

Posted in ECCO News, Congress News, ECCO'18, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Abstract Awards at the 13th Congress of ECCO

Another record number of abstracts has been submitted for the 13th Congress of ECCO. Out of 1,366 submitted scientific abstracts, 1,012 abstracts have been accepted.

Of these abstracts, 38 have been selected as Oral Presentations during the Scientific Programme and another 80 were selected as Digital Oral Presentations. Each of these presentations was reviewed by ECCO Committee Members in order to select the winners of the Top 10 DOPs, IIS Abstract Awards, and the Y-ECCO Abstract Awards.

Posted in ECCO News, Congress News, ECCO'18, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 6th SciCom Workshop at ECCO'18

Shomron Ben-Horin and Michael Scharl, SciCom Members

Shomron Ben Horin
Shomron Ben-Horin
© ECCO
Michael Scharl3
Michael Scharl
© ECCO

Fat in IBD – Much more than an innocent bystander 

Within the framework of the 6th SciCom Workshop, the role of fat and lipids in IBD pathogenesis was highlighted. Six highly interesting talks shed light on the fact that fat is much more than an innocent bystander in IBD.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Congress News, ECCO'18, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

ECCO Fellowships and Grants Report

Janneke van der Woude, SciCom Chair

Janneke van der Woude1
Janneke van der Woude
© ECCO

One of the main goals of ECCO is to promote IBD-related basic and clinical research as well as to foster interaction and productive collaboration among European research groups working in the IBD field. To achieve this goal, ECCO continues to award Grants, Fellowships and Travel Awards.

For 2018 the number of awardees has increased to an amazing total of more than 30.

 

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

ECCO-AOCC Visiting Travel Grant 2018

Jihye Park, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

ParkJihye Park
© Jihye Park

Most patients with chronic IBD are diagnosed at a young age. After baseline diagnosis many of these young patients have to undergo repeated imaging procedures during the variable clinical course of their disease. Ultrasound, CT and MRI are used to image transmural alterations and extra-intestinal manifestations of the disease and to monitor response to treatment. 

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 6th ClinCom Workshop at ECCO’18

John Mansfield, ClinCom Member

John Mansfield
John Mansfield
© ECCO

The 6th ClinCom Workshop focussed on two current themes in IBD research: Evolving endpoints in clinical trials and comparative effectiveness research (CER).

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet (Nancy, France) described the drivers that have led to the move from Crohn’s Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and Mayo scores to patient-reported outcomes (PROs) that just record clinical symptoms. The ultimate therapeutic goal is not only to reduce symptoms but also to return the patient to a normal life without disability. For Ulcerative Colitis (UC) the PRO uses rectal bleeding and stool frequency scores from the Mayo score, while for Crohn’s Disease (CD) abdominal pain and stool frequency scores are used. Many clinical trials also aim to show resolution of mucosal inflammation so endoscopic scores are frequently being used as co-primary endpoints with symptom scores. Some problems with PROs remain to be settled, especially the cut-off values for active disease, response and remission, and also the variability of patients’ assessment of loose stools and rectal bleeding.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Congress News, ClinCom, ECCO'18, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 4th EpiCom Workshop at ECCO'18

Naila Arebi, EpiCom Member

Naila Arebi
Naila Arebi © ECCO

An introduction to pharmaco-epidemiology: How to interpret real world data for clinical practice 

 

The Epidemiological Committee (EpiCom) organised their 4th workshop at the ECCO’18 Congress in Vienna.  Delegates were welcomed by Ebbe Langholz, who introduced the sessions with a short video on the UR-CARE database to illustrate the importance of databases and their potential across Europe. 

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Congress News, ECCO'18, EpiCom, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 16th IBD Intensive Advanced Course at ECCO'18

Pascal Juillerat, EduCom Member

Pascal Juillerat
Pascal Juillerat
© ECCO

The 16th Intensive Advanced IBD Course took place before the ECCO meeting as the highlight of the educational program which runs in conjunction with the conference.

This well-known course, which has been an a staple of the ECCO Congress almost since the beginning of ECCO, took place once again with a full attendance from Europe and abroad. Overall, 82 doctors attended the course from 37 countries and were treated to a comprehensive update on IBD.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, EduCom, Congress News, ECCO'18, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 3rd ECCO Endoscopy Workshop at ECCO'18

Giovanni Maconi, EduCom Member

Giovanni Maconi
Giovanni Maconi
© ECCO

Participating speakers and chairs: Simon Travis (United Kingdom), Raf Bisschops (Belgium), Raya Atreya (Germany), Peter Irving (United Kingdom), James Lindsay (United Kingdom), Matthieu Allez (France), Massimo Fantini (Italy) and Peter Lakatos (Hungary)

The ECCO Endoscopy Workshop reached its 3rd edition in 2018 and has become a mainstay of the educational activities of ECCO. The workshop was organised by the Educational Committee (EduCom) and was designed to meet the needs of IBD specialists with some experience in endoscopy. 

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, EduCom, Congress News, ECCO'18, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 5th ECCO-ESGAR Ultrasound-MRI Workshop at ECCO'18

Giovanni Maconi, EduCom Member

Giovanni Maconi
Giovanni Maconi
© ECCO

Participating speakers and tutors: Anil Kumar Asthana (Australia), Arun Gupta (United Kingdom), Christian Maaser (Germany), Emma Calabrese (Italy), Francesca Maccioni (Italy) Jordi Rimola (Spain), Jaap Stoker (The Netherlands), Kerry Novak (Canada), Michael Torkzad (United Kingdom), Pietro Paolantonio (Italy), Rune Wilkens (Denmark), Torsten Kucharzik (Germany), Stephan Vavricka (Switzerland), Andrea Laghi (Italy) and Giovanni Maconi (Italy)

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, EduCom, Congress News, ECCO'18, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the Consensus Meeting on the Topical Review on Complementary Medicine and Psychotherapy

Joana Torres, GuiCom Member

Joana Torres
Joana Torres © ECCO

Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a chronic disease in which both medical and psychological factors have a major impact on several domains of the patient’s quality of life. Patients with IBD report higher levels of psychological and emotional distress, fatigue, anxiety, centrally mediated abdominal pain, depression and sleep disturbance. These complex complaints require integrative and appropriate management. Psychotherapies and body-mind interventions may have a beneficial impact on coping skills and stress management, but their efficacy and best use remain matters of debate. 

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, GuiCom, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Thank you so much Gionata! Welcome Tim!

Christian Maaser, GuiCom Chair

Christian Maaser
Christian Maaser
© ECCO

The downside of ECCO´s clear and strict rules regarding terms of committee membership is that we regularly have to say goodbye to very dear colleagues who have done a tremendous amount of work during their term and have been very reliable colleagues and become good friends. Now, it is necessary to say “goodbye and thank you” to Gionata Fiorino, who invested an enormous amount of time in GuiCom projects during his 4-year GuiCom term. 

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, GuiCom, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 9th N-ECCO School at ECCO'18

Usha Chauhan, Former N-ECCO Member

Chauhan Usha roundedUsha Chauhan
© ECCO

The 9th N-ECCO School in Vienna was well attended, attracting 62 participants, including 11 dietitians, from 24 countries. This year the learning objectives were published online, next to the programme. The School covered a range of IBD topics for both nurses and dietitians who work with IBD patients. The aim of the School is to enhance basic knowledge in a clear and precise manner in order to enable nurses and dietitians new to IBD, or those with an interest in the subject, to provide better support to IBD patients throughout Europe and beyond. In addition, the N-ECCO School has come to serve as a great networking opportunity for both nurses and dietitians, enabling them to share experiences and plans for furthering their careers and demonstrating the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to IBD care.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Congress News, ECCO'18, N-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 5th N-ECCO Research Forum at ECCO'18

Susanna Jäghult, N-ECCO Member

Susanna Jäghult
Susanna Jäghult
© ECCO

This year 92 nurses with a special interest in research participated in the 5th N-ECCO Research Forum in Vienna. The participants were a fine mix of experienced nurse researchers and nurses new to research. The meeting itself offered a combination of plenary and interactive sessions and workshops.

The Forum was opened by Susanna Jäghult (Sweden), who co-chaired with Palle Bager (Denmark). The first session addressed practical issues in research.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Congress News, ECCO'18, N-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 12th N-ECCO Network Meeting at ECCO'18

Kay Greveson, N-ECCO Chair

K.Greveson
Kay Greveson
© ECCO

The cultural city of Vienna welcomed the participants of the 12th N-ECCO Network Meeting this year. 

N-ECCO Chair Palle Bager (Denmark) opened the Network Meeting by welcoming 275 nurses and dietitians from across the world who share the goal of developing care for people with IBD globally. The first session focused on the role of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease nurse specialist. Isobel Mason (UK) discussed the value of the IBD nurse and how to promote the role across Europe, including how to audit your service and provide a detailed job plan. She also presented a new healthcare professional website developed by Crohn’s and Colitis UK, which has numerous resources to support the IBD nurse. 

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Congress News, ECCO'18, N-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the N-ECCO National Representatives Meeting at ECCO'18

Liesbeth Moortgat, N-ECCO Member

Moortgat Liesbeth
Liesbeth Moortgat
© ECCO

On the evening of Wednesday, February 14, 26 nurses from 17 countries across Europe participated in our yearly N-ECCO National Representatives Meeting.  

As N-ECCO Committee Member responsible for the National Representatives, Liesbeth Moortgat welcomed the attendees, and this was followed by a short round of introductions. Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Slovenia, Poland and the United Kingdom were happy to present their new National Representatives. An exchange of nurses every 2–3 years is greatly encouraged by N-ECCO, but many countries nevertheless retain the same National Representatives for more than 3 years. New people tend to mean new ideas!

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, N-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

D-ECCO 2018 - The New Committee on the Block has Demonstrated its Mettle

Arie Levine, D-ECCO Member

11 Arie LevineArie Levine © ECCO

This ECCO News Issue is the perfect opportunity for me to express awe and gratitude: awe for the dedicated dietitians of D-ECCO, who have accomplished so much, and gratitude to the Governing Board of ECCO, which detected this emerging need in IBD and supported its development within ECCO, allowing me to be part of the process.

Posted in Committee News, Congress News, ECCO'18, D-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 7th S-ECCO IBD Masterclass at ECCO'18

Oded Zmora, Former S-ECCO Chair

Oded Zmora
Oded Zmora © ECCO

The 7th S-ECCO IBD Masterclass, the meeting of the surgeons’ branch of ECCO, was held this year on February 15, 2018 in Vienna, within the framework of the 13th Congress of ECCO. The S-ECCO IBD Masterclass is the annual scientific forum for professional discussions on surgical aspects of the treatment of patients with IBD, emphasising the multidisciplinary approach in these patients. Each year, this unique meeting devoted to IBD surgery is attracting an increasing number of surgeons from around the globe owing to the high-quality scientific content and the opportunity for interchange of knowledge and ideas between surgeons and other professionals responsible for the care of IBD patients. 180 surgeons, gastroenterologists and other professionals from 40 countries registered for the Masterclass this year, which focused on cutting-edge IBD surgery.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Congress News, ECCO'18, S-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Introduction to the new S-ECCO Chair – Yves Panis

Oded Zmora, Former S-ECCO Chair

Oded Zmora
Oded Zmora © ECCO

The surgeons’ branch of ECCO, S-ECCO, has celebrated its seventh year. The most significant S-ECCO annual event is the S-ECCO IBD Masterclass, which is held in collaboration with the European Society of Coloproctology at the time of the ECCO Congress and this year attracted more than 169 surgeons, gastroenterologists and other professionals. In addition, S-ECCO is involved in numerous activities, including S-ECCO International IBD Workshops around the globe, active participation in practice guidelines for the treatment of IBD and research projects. These activities have already made S-ECCO one of the most significant surgical committees in Europe.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, S-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Paediatric news from the 13th Congress of ECCO 2018

Jaroslaw Kierkus, P-ECCO Member

Jaroslaw Kierkus
Jaroslaw Kierkus
© ECCO

The 13th Congress of ECCO is behind us: So many thoughts, and important new targets for research into therapy, diagnosis and management. Everything in one place, in wonderful Vienna.

From the point of view of the paediatrician, the Congress offered insights into numerous new predictive tools. It is not surprising that research is heading in this direction, for ultimately “to know” is halfway towards “to treat”. Looking more closely at this topic: What can we predict and by what means can we predict it?

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Congress News, ECCO'18, P-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

4th International Symposium on Paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease - PIBD 2017

David Wilson, P-ECCO Member

David Wilson
David Wilson © ECCO

The first International Symposium on Paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (PIBD) took place in Rome in 2006 and was hosted by Salvatore Cucchiara. It was followed by the second PIBD Symposium in 2009 in Paris, hosted by Frank Ruemmele. Both were private initiatives. After a pause while plans to alternate PIBD Symposia between venues in Europe and North America were considered, the paediatric IBD Porto group of ESPGHAN took over all organisation. This resulted in the 3rd Symposium in Rotterdam in 2014, hosted by Hankje Escher.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, P-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 3rd H-ECCO IBD Masterclass at ECCO'18

Roger Feakins, H-ECCO Chair

Roger Feakins
Roger Feakins © ECCO

The 3rd Histopathologists of ECCO (H-ECCO) Masterclass took place in Vienna on February 15–16, 2018.

Since its formation in 2016, the Histology Working Group of ECCO (H-ECCO) has organised a successful annual educational Masterclass. The 3rd H-ECCO Masterclass at the 2018 ECCO Congress in Vienna ran on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. It coincided with an important event: The official conversion of the H-ECCO Working Group to a full committee on the Thursday evening.  Attendance at the Masterclass was good (over 70 registrants) and the audience comprised a mixture of histopathologists and gastroenterologists from Europe and further afield.

Posted in ECCO News, Congress News, ECCO'18, H-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Y-ECCO Members’ Address

Nuha Yassin, Y-ECCO Chair

Nuha Yassin v3
Nuha Yassin © ECCO

Dear Y-ECCO Friends,

This is my first Members’ Address as the newly elected Y-ECCO Chair after being a Committee Member for the past 3 years. I have succeeded Isabelle Cleynen (Leuven), who was a fantastic chair and a great friend. I had the pleasure of previously working with Tim Raine and Pieter Hindryckx, who were also exemplary in their leadership of Y-ECCO, and I am delighted to be able to keep in touch with them. Y-ECCO truly creates solid bonds and I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to work with past Committee Members and Chairs as well as the current fantastic Committee.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Y-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Report on the 4th Y-ECCO Basic Science Workshop at ECCO'18

Isabelle Cleynen, Former Y-ECCO Chair

Isabelle CleynenIsabelle Cleynen
© ECCO

With the Y-ECCO Basic Science Workshop, Y-ECCO aims to give basic science, and young clinicians doing basic science or full-time researchers, a more visible platform within ECCO and the ECCO Congress. We also want to promote scientific exchange and networking among (young) basic scientists. Each edition of the workshop features two top-notch speakers and experts in their field who give state of the art overviews on the session topics and are then invited to join the discussions following oral abstract presentations by Y-ECCO Members. The two sessions of this year’s workshop focussed on “In vivo perils in IBD” and “Ex vivo promises in IBD”. 

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Congress News, ECCO'18, Y-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Y-ECCO Interview corner: Ailsa Hart and Willem Bemelman

Nuha Yassin, Y-ECCO Chair

Nuha Yassin v3
Nuha Yassin © ECCO

Dear Y-ECCO Friends,

In our series of Y-ECCO corner interviews, we are adding a new flavour for 2018 by conducting a tandem interview with the IBD giants. Today, I am delighted to be joined by Ailsa Hart and Willem Bemelman, who are respectively a leading gastroenterologist and leading surgeon in the world of IBD. We have all heard them give tandem talks and look forward to finding out more about them in this tandem interview. Many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed, Ailsa and Willem. We’ll ask you similar questions and see if the answers are similar or different.

Nuha Yassin
Y-ECCO Interview Corner Coordinator

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Y-ECCO, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

UR-CARE Training Centre at ECCO'18

07 UR CARE LOGO website

Dear ECCO Friends,

We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to all of you who stopped by at the UR-CARE Training Centre to familiarise yourselves with your potential own new patient registry for the future.  

Posted in ECCO News, Congress News, ECCO'18, UR-CARE News, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

The UR-CARE registry has been validated and is ready for use

Johan Burisch, Y-ECCO Member

Johan Burisch
Johan Burisch
© ECCO

The “United Registries for Clinical Assessment and Research” (UR-CARE) database is an IBDIM (IBD in Motion, the research unit of ECCO) initiative to facilitate daily patient care and research studies in IBD in centres and/or research groups across Europe. The UR-CARE database [1] offers comprehensive data collection, including data on disease characteristics, diagnostic procedures (such as endoscopy or imaging), medical and surgical treatments, and laboratory tests. Several databases developed for use in IBD already exist, but usually these have been implemented in clinical practice or research studies without validation. 

Posted in ECCO News, UR-CARE News, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Presentation of the new JCC Editorial Team

Laurence J. Egan, JCC Editor-in-Chief

Larry Egan
Laurence J. Egan
© ECCO

Dear ECCO Friends,

As with every year, the ECCO Congress in Vienna was the occasion for the Editorial Team of the Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis (JCC) – including the Associate Editors (AE) and the Editorial Board Members – to meet in order to evaluate the achievements of the previous year and to discuss new projects and ideas with the aim of keeping JCC at a high level of quality in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology journals with a focus on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. I would like to seize this opportunity to introduce you to the new Associate Editors and Editorial Board Members who joined the JCC team at the ECCO Congress and over the past few months.

Posted in ECCO News, Volume 13, Issue 1

27April2018

Interview with the new ECCO Secretary

Pieter Hindryckx, ECCO News Associate Editor

Pieter HindryckxPieter Hindryckx
© ECCO

Willem Bemelman

Position: Secretary 20182020

Nationality: Dutch

Born: December 17, 1958

Past ECCO Positions: 
     • Co-founder of S-ECCO
     • S-ECCO Chair
     • Chair, Surgical ECCO Guidelines on Crohn’s Disease

Posted in ECCO News, Governing Board, Committee News, Volume 13, Issue 1