Crohn's disease researchers in plea for study volunteers

PATIENTS with Crohn's disease are being invited to take part in pioneering research that may find the first preventative medicine for their condition.

Edinburgh University is conducting a new study into the prevention of the disease – a condition that causes swelling and ulceration of the gut wall.

Currently there is no medicine either to prevent or cure Crohn's disease.

Initially, patients are treated with medication that can calm the symptoms of their attacks, such as abdominal pain and weight loss.

But 65 per cent of patients require surgery to remove affected tissue within ten years of diagnosis, and almost all patients will experience further flare-ups of their disease.

This new study at the university will test whether a drug, 6-Mercaptopurine (6-MP), which is currently given to ease symptoms of an attack, could also be used to prevent recurrence of the disease after surgery.

Patients who have recently undergone surgery for Crohn's disease are being invited to take part, and will be followed up for the next three years to determine if the drug has any preventative effect or whether it can reduce the incidence of further surgery.