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About NACC
Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease are incurable Inflamatory Bowel Diseases affecting 200,000 people in the UK. There are up to 20,000 new cases diagnosed every year, the majority of whom will be aged between 15 and 35 years old.
They cause debilitating symptoms of bloody diarrhoea and abdominal pain. It can also affect the body in other ways, for example inducing continual tiredness and inflammation in the eyes, skin and joints. They can predispose to bowel cancer.
Imagine being a teenager who, out of the blue, develops continual bowel incontinence, severe abdominal pain, and constant tiredness. Then imagine being told that your illness is chronic, unpredictable and that you will be on medication for the rest of our life.
Approximately 25% of cases result in surgery, often leaving them with a permanent outlet on the abdomen to replace their normal bowel function.
The National Association for Colitis & Crohn’s Disease is dedicated to improving life for people affected by these debilitating conditions, and creating a wider understanding of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. |
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The Research Project
NACC is currently fundraising to launch the largest study attempted to-date into identifying genes that influence susceptibility to Ulcerative Colitis, or influence the behaviour of the disease once it has occurred. |
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The research will take advantage of newly-available genotyping technologies and the infrastructure for collecting and processing large samples of DNA established for work being carried out by the £9 million pound Wellcome Trust genetic research study. This collaboration has enabled us to greatly reduce costs. We now need to raise £132,000 to fund year one (an analysis of 15,000 key genetic markers) and £52,000 to fund year 2 (a further investigation into the top 10% of markers identified in year one).
Money raised through sponsorship will go towards this ground-breaking research project. On average, £7,667 will enable one month’s research to go ahead.
Ulcerative Colitis was first recognised as a disease over 150 years ago. Please support this initiative to enable 21st technology to research the genetics determinants of Ulcerative Colitis. |
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Contact me: sailingfornacc@yahoo.co.uk | |
