Lay Summary

Proposal No. IBD-0172R
Principal Investigator:  Stephen K. Tsao, MBChB
Applicant Organization:  University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (United Kingdom)
Project Title:   Epidermal growth factor - an alternative therapy in ulcerative colitis
Period of Award:  December 1, 2006 – November 30, 2008

Ulcerative colitis (or UC) is a condition where there is inflammation involving the large bowel.  The exact cause of this condition is unknown, and it can affect people of all ages.  Patients typically suffer with the passage of blood in faeces and diarrhoea.  There is no cure for this condition, and treatment can only control the degree of inflammation in the large bowel.  There is a great need to develop new treatment for this condition.

Epidermal growth factor (or EGF) is a naturally occurring chemical in the body that is involved with healing of the bowel once it has been damaged.  There have been numerous laboratory and animal experiments carried out which support this theory.  Unfortunately this has not translated into the treatment of human diseases such as UC.

Our group has shown for the first time that EGF potentially can be developed into a form of treatment.  In our previous study we found that when EGF is given to UC patients in the form of an enema, it is effective in bringing patient into remission.  In this study we want to test the effectiveness of EGF enema against currently available enema treatments.  If the EGF enema can be shown to be more effective and faster at bringing patient into remission, this will mean patients will enjoy longer disease free periods and improve their quality of life.  As part of this study, we also want to see exactly how the body’s EGF levels changes with treatment and the severity of UC.

This information may provide support for EGF to be developed into a new form of treatment in UC.  It may also provide further understanding of the role of EGF in UC, and add to the knowledge to the cause of this illness.  Ultimately it will benefit patients living with UC.