Researcher Veiga-Fernandes from the Institute of Molecular Medicine of the University of Lisboa (IMM-FMUL) was conferred the Senior Research Award (SRA) by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) for his project on intestinal innate cells of the immune system.

This € 255,000 award will make it possible for the research team under Veiga-Fernandes to analyse, over a three-year period, the way in which innate lymphoid cells are controlled, thus seeking to determine exact causes and new treatment for Crohn’s disease.

Sixty-nine projects in all were submitted to the CCFA, eight of which were bestowed awards; seven were conferred upon US-based researchers and one on the project led by the IMM researcher, the first award ever to be won by a Portuguese research team in the history of the CCFA.

Veiga-Fernandes stated that “this award will make it possible to examine new aspects of the inflammatory bowel disease. Our initial findings are highly promising since they have revealed the existence of a new, previously unknown molecule that controls the inflammatory bowel response. This discovery paves the way for new innovative research areas related OK to the treatment and diagnosis of Crohn’s disease.”

Crohn’s disease is characterised by chronic inflammation affecting any segment of the digestive tube, the most common symptoms of which are diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss. It is a chronic multifarious disease, as yet far from being understood, which can evolve by bouts and for which there is no cure.

The prevalence in Portugal is estimated to be 73 per 100,000 inhabitants, affecting mainly women, with a peak of incidence between 17 and 39 years of age.

Innate lymphoid cells are a class of immune system cells that have been discovered quite recently. Previous research led by Veiga-Fernandes team (Nature 2007; Nature 2014), among other studies has linked these cells to the regulation of immune responses in the intestine, mainly by their pro-inflammatory capacity, in the lymphoid tissue formation and in the tissue regeneration and homeostasis.

The research conducted by the team under Veiga-Fernandes now aims to clarify how nervous system regulation factors may control the inflammatory function of lymphoid innate cells and maintain a healthy bowel.
Source: Sapo Saúde

For further reading, please click here.