Connect Immune Research partnership welcomes fifteenth member

What is Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is an umbrella term for a group of life-long conditions that cause inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract. In the UK, one in 123 people lives with IBD – that is more than 500,000 people.

IBD occurs when the immune system malfunctions and attacks healthy tissue in the gut instead of protecting the body. This autoimmune response leads to chronic inflammation and damage.

There are two main types of IBD:

• Crohn’s Disease – can affect any part of the digestive system, from the mouth to the anus, but is most common in the small bowel and colon.
• Ulcerative Colitis – affects only the large bowel (the colon and rectum).

Both forms of IBD present with similar symptoms, including: frequent, urgent and often bloody diarrhoea; severe abdominal pain, extreme tiredness (or fatigue), loss of appetite and weight loss.

Crohn’s & Colitis UK was established in 1979 to specifically support people living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The charity’s mission is to improve lives today and work towards a future free from these conditions. It provides trusted information and support, raises awareness to reduce stigma, campaigns for better care and faster diagnosis, as well as funding research to understand the causes of these conditions and develop new treatments.

Dr Natalie Carter, Head of Evidence, Information & Research at Crohn’s & Colitis UK, said:

“This year, as every year, 25,000 people here in the UK will be diagnosed with Crohn’s or Colitis. It’s life-changing news: these are unpredictable lifelong conditions and there is no cure. The more we understand about Crohn’s, Colitis, and other autoimmune conditions, the better. That’s why research – and collaboration which allows us to share expertise and gain fresh perspectives – is vital. We are delighted to be joining Connect Immune Research.”

Working Together – Connect Immune Research

Established in 2018, Connect Immune Research is a collaborative initiative that aims to unite charities to explore the shared mechanisms behind autoimmune conditions. By working across autoimmune conditions, we aim to uncover pathways and accelerate discoveries, so that progress in one condition may lead to breakthroughs in others. Bringing Crohn’s & Colitis UK to this partnership will help support this initiative and will complement the expertise of our existing members.

Rachel Connor, Director of Research Partnerships at Breakthrough T1D UK, said:

“We’re thrilled to welcome Crohn’s & Colitis to the Connect Immune Research partnership. With many people living with more than one autoimmune condition, taking a cross-condition approach to understanding autoimmunity is so important – identifying common mechanisms could drive research breakthroughs that benefit multiple conditions. By bringing together charities with diverse perspectives and complementary expertise – including Crohn’s & Colitis UK – we can ensure research responds to the needs of all people affected by autoimmunity.”