ECCO News

ECCO News keeps ECCO Members up-to-date on what is going on within the organisation and reports on IBD activities taking place within Europe. Since Spring 2006, ECCO News has maintained the flow of information between Members of the organisation. 

ECCO News is an important part of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation’s ambition to create a European standard of IBD care and to promote knowledge and research in the field of IBD. 

Editor & Associate Editors

Edouard Louis
© ECCO

Nuha Yassin
© ECCO

Ignacio Catalán-Serra
© ECCO

Brigida Barberio
© ECCO

Spyros Siakavellas
© ECCO

Latest ECCO News Content


19December2022

Exclusive Enteral Nutrition in Adults with Crohn’s Disease: e-Learning Activity

Dearbhaile O'Hanlon, D-ECCO Member

Dearbhaile O'Hanlon 
© ECCO 

Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) is well established as first-line management for children with luminal Crohn’s Disease (CD) [1]. Its use in paediatrics was covered in the 2017 ECCO e-Learning Activity “Use of exclusive enteral nutrition in CD”.

The use of EEN in adults with CD is not as well established. It is often overlooked as a management tool but can be an effective therapy for adults in many scenarios. Catherine Wall and I designed an e-Learning Activity specifically covering EEN in adults with CD, and this was launched on the e-CCO Learning Platform in May 2022. The course was developed for gastroenterologists, surgeons, dietitians, nurses and other interdisciplinary medical experts interested in Inflammatory Bowel Disease(s) (IBD).

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Volume 17, Issue 4, D-ECCO

19December2022

The Nurse IBD Curriculum

Susanna Jäghult, ECCO Member and Marie Andersson, N-ECCO Member

 Susanna Jäghult
© ECCO

Marie Andersson
© ECCO

The e-CCO Learning Platform is fantastic and a real goldmine! The number of activities is enormous, all of them of high quality. The N-ECCO Committee has started to discuss how this goldmine can best be made available to IBD Nurses around Europe.

Posted in ECCO News, ECCO'23, Committee News, Volume 17, Issue 4, N-ECCO

19December2022

A letter from the e-Learning Ambassador

Pascal Juillerat, e-Learning Ambassador

Pascal Juillerat 
© ECCO

Dear ECCO Members,

Greetings to you and your families! I am sure you are all looking forward to the holidays and spending some quality time with all your loved ones.

I am excited to announce our revamped e-CCO Learning Platform!

With the new, and completely re-designed website, everything you need is now just one click away. The three main pillars of the e-Learning platform are now front and centre: The IBD Curriculum is here to serve you! It is a complete and comprehensive curriculum which outlines the need-to-know for gastroenterologists in order to develop expertise in the field of IBD. The e-Guide is a practical tool to help you manage IBD patients by visualising the ECCO Guidelines as algorithms based on the main UC and CD ECCO Guidelines. Of course, the guidance given by the ECCO e-Guide is based on evidence and validated processes. The e-Library, is your portal to access our large selection of IBD content! Anything from Congress Presentations, Videos, Podcasts, Tools and Skills, Congress Abstracts and much more!

With the re-designed website, you are now able to access all of the content with your mobile phone or tablet, too.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, EduCom, Volume 17, Issue 4

19December2022

Report on the ECCO Topical Review: Roadmap to optimal peri-operative care in IBD

Shaji Sebastian, ClinCom Chair and Antonino Spinelli, ECCO Member


Shaji Sebastian
© ECCO


Antonino Spinelli
© ECCO

It is well known that the outcomes of surgery, and especially of IBD surgery, are not merely dependent on the operative procedure but are influenced by a number of factors before, during and after surgery. The multidisciplinary team involved in the care of IBD patients has the opportunity to optimise patient care and status prior to surgery to ensure optimal outcomes and reduce the risk of complications.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, ClinCom, GuiCom, Volume 17, Issue 4

19December2022

Report on the D-ECCO Travel Award 2022

Suzanne van Zundert, D-ECCO Travel Award Awardee

Suzanne van Zundert
© Suzanne van Zundert

When mild to moderate Crohn’s Disease is diagnosed, various dietary approaches are used as a first-line medical treatment with a view to reducing inflammatory symptoms and achieving remission. It is important that this treatment is properly guided by a (paediatric) gastroenterologist and specialised nutritionist.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Volume 17, Issue 4

19December2022

ECCO-AOCC Visiting Travel Grant Report: Jun Miyoshi

Jun Miyoshi, ECCO-AOCC Visiting Grant Awardee


Jun Miyoshi 
© Jun Miyoshi 

Although I had to postpone my visit to Städtisches Klinikum Lüneburg due to the global COVID-19 outbreak, I was finally able to participate in intestinal ultrasound (IUS) training there in August to September 2022. I thank everyone involved in providing me with this great opportunity.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Volume 17, Issue 4, Fellowships & Grants Synopsis Reports

19December2022

ECCO Grant Final Report: Simona Bertoni & Marco Radi

Simona Bertoni, ECCO Grant Awardee

CCR6 blockade as novel therapeutic strategy against inflammatory bowel disease

S. Bertoni & M. Radi
© S. Bertoni & M. Radi

Aim of the research

The CCL20/CCR6 axis is recognized as critical in IBD pathogenesis. However, CCR6 blockage has never been tested as therapeutic approach and no small-molecules CCR6 antagonists have been investigated as a potential anti-IBD drug candidates. Starting from our novel CCR6 antagonist (MR120), we aimed at: -designing and synthesizing more potent CCR6 antagonists; -identifying the most efficacious and tolerable anti-chemotactic CCR6 antagonist; -assessing the efficacy of MR120 and of the most promising novel derivative in adoptive transfer colitis (AT).

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Volume 17, Issue 4, Fellowships & Grants Synopsis Reports

19December2022

ECCO Grant Final Report: Francesco Giudici, Edda Russo & Amedeo Amedei

Francesco Giudici, ECCO Grant Awardee

Fine determination of gut tissue layers' inflammation exploring immune-microbiota signatures: new biomarkers of recurrence in surgical patients with Crohn's disease?

Francesco Giudici
© Francesco Giudici
Edda Russo
© Edda Russo
Amedeo Amedei
© Amedeo Amadei

Aim of the research

Up to 65% of patients with Crohn’s Disease (CD) show disease recurrence after ileocolic resection (ICR). The reasons for this high recurrence rate are still unclear, but the abnormal CD inflammatory process, supported by microbiota dysbiosis, affects all the intestinal wall layers. We explored the mutual interplay of inflammatory and microbial factors involved in CD through a systems-level study (tissue and systemic level), at the time of ICR, evaluating whether these specific factors are associated with CD recurrence.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Volume 17, Issue 4, Fellowships & Grants Synopsis Reports

19December2022

ECCO'23 - Preliminary Scientific and Educational Programme

The Educational Programme of the 18th Congress of ECCO starts prior to the official start of the ECCO Congress and courses take place from March 1-4, 2023. These activities target ECCO’s different interest groups including young gastroenterologists, surgeons, paediatricians, pathologists, IBD Nurses, dietitians, allied health professionals and scientists.

An overview of these activities can be found below. Please note that courses/workshops may run concurrently. As these educational activities have a limited capacity, we encourage you to register at your earliest convenience. Please note the all educational activities can only be attended onsite in Copenhagen.

The Scientific Programme of the 18th Congress of ECCO provides attendees the unique opportunity to learn from the world’s leading specialists in the field of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Held from Thursday to Saturday, March 1-4, 2023, the Scientific Programme is structured around basic science, translational medicine and clinical sessions. Additionally, it includes oral presentations of the 40 best abstracts of the Congress. The focus of all sessions is clinical practice founded on science with practical take home messages and, as every year, the congress registration fee includes access to all scientific sessions.

The Scientific Programme will be live transmitted at the time mentioned in the programme (CET). On-demand videos will be available to registered delegates until June 4, 2023.

ECCO’23 Theme: Sequencing in IBD

We look forward to welcoming you at the 18th Congress of ECCO in Copenhagen!

Posted in ECCO News, ECCO'23, Congress News, Volume 17, Issue 4

19December2022

18th Congress of ECCO: Overview of Scientific and Educational Programmes

Alessandro Armuzzi, ECCO News Editor

Alessandro Armuzzi
© Alessandro Armuzzi

Dear colleagues and friends of the IBD Community,

Warm greetings from the ECCO News Team as we start a new year full of hopes and dreams.

Although the pandemic and the measures to combat it have profoundly affected and are still shaping all our lives in a variety of ways, we at ECCO have adapted to recent events and are now trying to return, as far as possible, to normal. In the meantime, the whole ECCO Team has worked and continues to work hard to continue providing high-quality research, education and training opportunities with the aim of disseminating the ‘best’ standard of care for patients affected by Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Posted in ECCO News, ECCO'23, Volume 17, Issue 4