Volume 14, Issue 4

Volume 14, Issue 4
17December2019

ECCO Grant Study Synopsis: Gareth Rhys-Jones

Gareth Rhys-Jones, ECCO Grant Awardee

Exploring the heterogeneity of macrophages in Crohn's Disease

Gareth Rhys-Jones
© 
Gareth Rhys-Jones

Aim of Research

To identify the biological processes underpinning the macrophage (Μφ) contribution to the pathogenesis of Crohn’s Disease (CD) by:

  • Investigating gut mucosal Μφ heterogeneity in newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve CD patients
  • Investigating Μφ subset specific dysregulation using a combination of new flow cytometry approaches and transcriptome and chromatin analysis.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Fellowships & Grants Synopsis Reports, Volume 14, Issue 4

17December2019

ECCO Grant Study Synopsis: Nina Lansdorp

Nina Lansdorp, ECCO Grant Awardee

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for the Treatment of Perianal fistulas in Crohn’s Disease (HOT-TOPIC trial)

Nina Lansdorp
© 
Nina Lansdorp

Aim of Research

Perianal fistulas are a debilitating complication of Crohn’s Disease (CD). Current treatment options have a relatively low success rate and a high recurrence risk. The role of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is increasingly appreciated, and positive outcomes for fistulising CD have been reported in animal studies and small case series. The aim of the HOT-TOPIC trial is to investigate the therapeutic efficacy and feasibility of HBO in patients suffering from therapy-refractory perianal fistulising CD.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Fellowships & Grants Synopsis Reports, Volume 14, Issue 4

17December2019

ECCO Grant Study Synopsis: Azucena Salas

Azucena Salas, ECCO Grant Awardee

Integrative analysis of the intestinal epithelium and the mucosal environment in paediatric versus adult-onset Crohn’s Disease

Azucena Salas
© 
Azucena Salas

Aim of Research

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs), including Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis, can manifest from childhood to late adulthood. However, IBD presents age-dependent differences related to phenotype, location and behaviour. Recent studies have revealed that functional alterations in the epithelial layer and in its interplay with the intestinal environment can contribute to IBD pathogenesis. Our research aims to explore the crosstalk between the epithelial barrier, the underlying mucosa and the microbiota in patients with CD using an intestinal epithelial organoid culture system to identify potential mechanisms driving early disease onset.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Fellowships & Grants Synopsis Reports, Volume 14, Issue 4

17December2019

ECCO Grant Study Synopsis: Gordon Moran

Gordon Moran, ECCO Grant Awardee

Stopping Aminosalicylate Therapy in Inactive Crohn’s Disease (STATIC) study: a randomized, open-label, non-inferiority trial

Gordon Moran
© 
Gordon Moran

Aim of research

Oral 5-ASA agents have proven effective for inducing and maintaining remission in mild-to-moderate Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and thus are commonly used as first-line agents. However, in contrast to UC, there is uncertainty regarding their effectiveness in Crohn’s Disease (CD). For induction of remission in CD, a Cochrane review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analysis found no evidence that low/high dose 5-ASA was superior to placebo. Several studies originating from North America and Europe indicate that 5-ASA agents are the most commonly prescribed drug class for patients with CD. Therefore, there is discordance between clinical prescribing practice and evidence from RCTs.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Fellowships & Grants Synopsis Reports, Volume 14, Issue 4

17December2019

ECCO Travel Award Report

Elise van Praag, ECCO Travel Award Recipient

ECCO Travel Award Report

Elise van Praag
© 
Elise van Praag

 

Last year I was granted the ECCO Travel Award to visit St. Mark's Hospital in London. My visit took place in September of this year and was a great success. The ECCO Travel Award made it possible for me to help set up and coordinate our multicentre, international prospective cohort study which is focussing on the surgical treatment of perianal fistulas in patients with Crohn’s Disease.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Volume 14, Issue 4

17December2019

ECCO-AOCC Travel Grant Report

Bei Tan, ECCO-AOOC Travel Grant Awardee

ECCO-AOCC Travel Grant Report

  Bei Tan
© 
Bei Tan

 

This grant gave me the opportunity to increase my knowledge on the management of IBD patients in general and on the management of IBD in pregnancy in particular. At the Erasmus MC, I attended the IBD specialist/pregnancy clinics, which greatly enriched my experience. Further, I learned more about the use of IBD endoscopy, double-balloon enteroscopy, and intestinal ultrasound within the clinical care pathway, and I intend to incorporate this knowledge to some extent within our IBD centre.

Posted in ECCO News, SciCom, Committee News, Volume 14, Issue 4

17December2019

Workshops at ECCO´20

Peter Bossuyt, ClinCom Member

ClinCom Activities in Vienna 2020


Peter Bossuyt
© ECCO

The mission of the Clinical Research Committee of ECCO (ClinCom) is to improve the quality of IBD clinical studies in Europe through education. With this purpose in mind, ClinCom is organising several sessions during the upcoming ECCO Congress 2020 in Vienna, targeting clinicians, nurses and industry.

On the Wednesday of the Congress, we are organising the 5th Basic ECCO: EduCational COurse for Industry. The aim of this course is to provide a state of the art introduction to IBD for both corporate and non-corporate members. In the first session we will highlight the impact of IBD for the patient and the physician. Subsequently, the natural history and overall management of IBD will be discussed, covering the causes of IBD, diagnostic and monitoring procedures, extra-intestinal manifestations and risk assessment.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, ClinCom, Volume 14, Issue 4

17December2019

5th EpiCom Workshop: The impact of PROs on clinical practice in 2020 and beyond

Marieke Pierik, EpiCom Member


Marieke Pierik
© ECCO

The World Health Organisation defined health in 1948 as a status of complete physical, psychological and social well-being. Complete well-being is, however, difficult to obtain and even harder to maintain, bearing in mind that over 50% of adults suffer from a chronic disease, people are living longer than ever and continuous environmental influences are resulting in physical or mental symptoms. Therefore, health was recently redefined as a dynamic status of subjective physical, psychological and social well-being. Health care is the maintenance or improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, injury or other physical or mental impairments in people. Patient-reported outcomes are outcomes directly reported by patients without prior interpretation by health care professionals. Compared with clinical outcomes (e.g. corticosteroid use, hospitalisation, surgery), they provide a more holistic interpretation of the effect of interventions or a condition on people by also taking into account the patient perspective and psychological and social aspects.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, EpiCom, Volume 14, Issue 4

17December2019

Report on the 62nd ECCO Educational Workshop in Larnaca, Cyprus, June 15, 2019

Pierre Ellul, EduCom Member


Pierre Ellul
© ECCO

The 62nd ECCO Educational Workshop was organised on June 15, 2019 in Larnaca, Cyprus.

Delegates from Cyprus attended this interactive and productive workshop. It was a memorable educational experience and provided plenty of opportunities both for networking and for further clinical case discussions over coffee and lunch breaks. In the background, the serene Mediterranean Sea further stimulated healthy interactions.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, EduCom, Volume 14, Issue 4

17December2019

Report on the 64th ECCO Educational Workshop in New Delhi, India, August 10, 2019

James Lindsay, Education Officer


James Lindsay
© ECCO

The 64th ECCO Educational Workshop took place at the Hotel Pullman Aerocity on August 10, 2019, the day before a National IBD study day. The ECCO Faculty comprised Willem Bemelman and myself; however, we were fortunate also to be joined by Simon Travis, who was part of the faculty for the following day.

The local organiser was Vineet Ahuja, who was joined by 16 local faculty who moderated the sessions and acted as an expert panel to facilitate discussion as well as to present some of the cases. The workshop was a resounding success, with 250 participants, including a mixture of physicians, surgeons and trainees.

Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, EduCom, Volume 14, Issue 4