Funding: Crohn’s & Colitis UK: research into Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis or other Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), closes 29 May 2022

[Andy]

"Applications are invited for grants to be awarded in 2022 by Crohn’s & Colitis UK. Grants up to a maximum of £100,000 for up to three years are available to fund research into Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis or other types of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

This year, we would like to receive proposals which address one of the James Lind Alliance Top 10 Priorities, specifically those which have not received significant attention to date and where there is still room for progress to be made. Applications for funding of pilot and feasibility studies are also welcome. We encourage, where possible, studies that have the potential to realise rapid benefits for people living with Crohn’s and Colitis, at the “bedside” end of the “bench to bedside” spectrum."

https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/research/researchers/looking-for-funding

 

[Snowdrop]

I'm a little surprised when looking at this list.

As I remember looking some time ago at some JLA priorities for a number of conditions and the priorities were set as declarative statements not as questions (IIRC).

So one priority might be (as an example)
The need for better understanding among clinicians as to what aids are useful in helping ensure better daily functioning and quality of life. (Again this is just an example but it's a statement not a question.

Posed as questions these seem overly vague and fraught with the possibility of various interpretations.

 

[Hutan]

From the IBD Priority Setting Partnerships list:

• How can pain be most effectively managed in people with IBD?
• What is the association between IBD and fatigue and how should it be managed?

I can see the BPS gravy train rolling on with this call for applications.

I don't know if we can think of a useful topic that might further the understanding of ME/CFS/Long Covid as well as IBD? Perhaps take a sample of people diagnosed with ME/CFS or Long Covid in a clinic, ask them about fatigue and IBD symptoms, and have them undergo colonoscopies?

Do we know any research gastroenterologist in the UK with an interest in ME/CFS? What about the Quadram people?

 

[Trish]

I haven't heard of any association between inflammatory bowel diseases and ME. There seems to be quite a lot of IBS among pwME, but IBS is pretty common anyway, so may simply be unrelated comorbidity. IBS is different from IBD.

 

[Hutan]

Yes. But gastrointestinal complaints such as those labelled IBS are quite commonly reported in ME/CFS and Long Covid. Maybe there is some misdiagnosis - how many people diagnosed with ME/CFS but reporting ongoing gastro issues have actually been screened for IBD or Crohns?

I don't know, it was just the mention of fatigue in the top 10 priorities for IBD. I mean, perhaps malabsorption of nutrients accounts for the fatigue, but maybe there is some overlap with ME/CFS? Maybe it would be interesting to do 2 day CPETs in people with confirmed IBD, to see how unique the findings in ME/CFS are?

Obviously, I'm just throwing ideas around.