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Pediatric Challenges in IBDCCFA Hosts First-Ever Pediatric IBD Research Conference When it comes to pediatric IBD, children are not simply "little adults." They face unique issues, and the disease comes on during an important period of growth and development. Therefore, CCFA sponsored an important research conference focused exclusively on issues in pediatric IBD. Titled "Pediatric Challenges," the meeting provided a forum for 30 leading physicians and scientists to clarify issues and set a 5-year agenda for pediatric IBD research.
In spearheading the meeting, CCFA committed itself to shaping that new agenda -- a role the Foundation has played for the past 15 years in the field of IBD research generally. In this way, CCFA is accelerating the pace of research into the causes of IBD and speeding the discovery of a cure.
CCFA drafted its first "Challenges in IBD Research" white paper in 1990. Subsequently published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, the Foundation's professional journal, the document has since been updated several times to reflect new insights, new data, and new achievements in research. A similar document, "Pediatric Challenges in IBD Research," appeared in 2006.
"The pediatric perspective offers a uniquely fertile basis for research into what makes IBD tick," said Athos Bousvaros, M.D., a prominent pediatric gastroenterologist at Boston Children's Hospital and Chair of the meeting's Steering Committee. "By advancing our understanding of what factors initiate and trigger this disease in childhood and adolescence, we hope to not only improve the lives of children, but identify ways to treat and possibly prevent these illnesses from developing in the first place."
The meeting's immediate goal was to identify and order five broad research priorities. In June of 2006, CCFA issued the first of a series of RFAs based on the following priorities: Growth/Bone Development – Successful applicants begin July, 2007 Discover how inflammation causes growth failure and bone disease in children with IBD. Genetics – RFA in development Identify early onset Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis genes. Quality Improvement – RFA in development Given the wide variation in care provided to children with IBD, establish a collaborative network to standardize treatment and improve patients' growth and well-being. Immune Response – RFA in development Determine how the immune system changes in early childhood, what alterations in the childhood immune system put a child at risk in IBD, and how the immune system changes with treatment of IBD.
Psychosocial Functioning – RFA in development Assess the extent and nature of depression and anxiety in children and compare treatment approaches to improve mood, coping, family function, and quality of life.
The meeting, which took place September 22-25, 2005 in Boston, included participants from diverse disciplines, such as: - pediatrics
- pediatric gastroenterology
- internal medicine
- immunology
- genetics
- epidemiology
- microbiology
- nutrition
- pharmacology
- psychiatry
These experts were drawn from outstanding medical and research institutions across the United States, including the University of Chicago Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Yale University School of Medicine, the Mayo Clinic, Emory University School of Medicine, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, among others.
More information about CCFA's pediatric research agenda will be available shortly.
Date Posted: March 2007 |
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