News

David Sanders given title of Honorary Professor in Gastroenterology

David S Sanders has recently been conferred the title of Honorary Professor in Gastroenterology by the University of Sheffield.

'I was delighted and honoured to have been selected and am looking forward to delivering my lecture in Barcelona in October 2010. I was also humbled to have received this honour from the University of Sheffield. I feel that this really is recognition of the work that has come from the department and not just me but consultant colleagues, nursing staff, secretaries and the many really fantastic SPR's and research fellows that have come through the department. I would also like to thank all the patients with coeliac disease who have given so freely of their time and taken part in so many clinical studies. Without them none of this would have been possible. I feel very lucky and blessed.'

Find out more about UEGW Barcelona 2010 in the events section of this magazine.  

ASNEMGE Rising Stars 2010

Professor David Sanders has been selected as one of the ASNEMGE (Association of National European and Mediterranean Societies of Gastroenterology) Rising Stars of 2010 and will be speaking at UEGW (United European Gastroenterology Week) Barcelona 2010 in October.

What is the ASNEMGE Award?

This is an international research award conferred by the Association of National European and Mediterranean Societies of Gastroenterology (ASNEMGE). Since 2002 this body (comprising of 16 European GI societies) have selected 6-8 clinical scientists who are considered to have an international track record of quality research.

The Rising Star award involves giving a lecture at that year’s ASNEMGE Meeting (>10,000 delegates). Professor Sanders talk is entitled: 'Is there a paradigm shift in our epidemiological understanding of adult coeliac disease?'. The talk encompasses the work from Sheffield in the last 12 years and places this body of work in the context of what has been done internationally. It is really the story of our changing perceptions/understanding of coeliac disease, how people with modern day coeliac disease present and how to optimise diagnosing them.

In the January edition of professional eXG we looked at research grants that have been awarded to Professor David Sanders, Professor David Van Heel and Professor Daniel Aeschlimann for medical projects on coeliac disease.

ACM Research Awards

The Madrid Coeliac Association (ACM) has announced the 2010 edition of two research awards: its Eighth Award for Basic and Applied Research Award on Coeliac Disease and Third Award for Clinical Research on Coeliac Disease.  Both awards are targeted at researchers from universities, hospitals, research institutes and related companies located in Spain that are experienced in any area related to coeliac disease. The awards are valued at Euros 18,000 and 6,000 respectively. 

Applicants should fill in the corresponding application forms and submit them to ACM before 15^th May 2010. All the information concerning application and instructions for submission can be found on the Madrid coeliac organisation website.  

Training courses on food labelling

Leatherhead Food Research is holding a range of courses on food labelling.

The first course is titled ‘Everything European, A Comprehensive Guide to EU Food Law.’ This two-day course provides information on the principles and application of European food law and covers food safety and hygiene, food packaging and nutrition and allergen[/n0-glossary] labelling. This course will be held on a number of dates including 3-4th June, 21-22nd October and 2-3rd December at the Leatherhead Food Research, Surrey, UK.

The second course it titled ‘Legal Labels- UK, The Essential Guide to UK Food Labelling.’ This is a further two day course and covers current regulations, allergens, nutrition labelling and health claims. This course is held on 5-6th May, 13-14th July, or 25-26th November at the Leatherhead Food Research, Surrey and also on 27-28th May in Leeds.

Find out more information on the Leatherhead Food Research website.

Support your local group at Coeliac UK

Coeliac UK has over 90 voluntary Support Groups located across the UK. The Groups provide a fantastic opportunity for people with coeliac disease to get together, discuss their experiences and learn about developments with the condition and diet.

The Groups often request talks from [no-glossary]GPs, dietitians and gastroenterologists. If you would like to learn about the Group in your area or would like to give a talk please email volunteering@coeliac.org.uk

Awareness Week Free for Tea? from 10 – 16 May

Coeliac UK are happy to announce that we will be running Awareness Week Free for Tea? from 10 – 16 May this year. We want you to get involved in your clinic to help us to raise awareness of coeliac disease.

Even if you can only do a little, we need the help of healthcare professionals like yourself to make as much impact as we can with our campaign. Even if this only means leaving leaflets available for the general public in your clinic, you can play a big role and help build into a national campaign which aims to raise awareness about coeliac disease and the gluten-free diet.

If you require any more information on getting involved this year, or about Awareness Week itself, then get in touch at freefortea@coeliac.org.uk and we will send you a pack, or the posters that you require.

Dr Chris Steele knocking on the door of government

On 2 February 2010 Coeliac UK Health Ambassador Dr Chris Steele MBE delivered the Charity’s petition to Number 10 Downing Street.  It was signed by nearly 9,000 people and requests that the Government include a target for diagnosis of coeliac disease in the Quality and Outcomes Framework of the GP contract. 

Having Dr Chris Steele MBE on board as our Health Ambassador is a great boost to our campaigning work. Both our Members and those who are yet to be diagnosed are benefitting from the work he has done raising awareness, boosted by his recent diagnosis and public profile.

Now that the petition has been handed in, we will get a response from the government department responsible for this area. We will keep you updated on this.

Thank you to all of you who signed the petition and helped to gather signatures to support it. The petition has now closed, but you can still view it online here. 

You can read more about all of Dr Chris’s work on our ‘People campaigning for you’ page.

Phil Vickery announced as Coeliac UK Food Ambassador

In March Phil Vickery was announced as Coeliac UK Food Ambassador and judge of 2010’s Gluten-free Chef of the Year competition.

Phil has been raising awareness with Coeliac UK over the last few years, highlighting the need for an increase in the amount of gluten-free food available in restaurants.

Phil, along with Coeliac UK, the Institute of Hospitality and the Craft Guild of Chefs will be looking for chefs and catering students who have a passion for cooking and want to prove their abilities in our competition.

While Phil works with us on the gluten-free diet and the food issues that people with coeliac disease face, we’ll continue to work with Dr Chris Steele MBE on the medical issues in his capacity as Health Ambassador.

We need as many chefs and catering students to get involved with this competition as possible, so if you know of anyone who would like more information then please let us know. This could be your local hospital kitchen or care home caterers! You can find more information on the Gluten-free Chef of the Year on our competition page.

An update on CD Medics

The CD-MEDICS project started on 1st February 2008 and is set to run for a period of 4 years. It is sponsored under the EU Framework 7 programme to 9.5 Million Euros and has 20 partners from 10 countries currently participating. 

The objective of CD-MEDICS is to obtain an instrument that will be a low-cost non-invasive intelligent diagnosis system that can be used at point of care, such as a doctor’s surgery.

The applications of the proposed integrated microsystem and its individual modules for coeliac disease diagnosis, monitoring and management are multiple. The analysis of the HLA-DQ2 & 8 genes will provide information on the genetic predisposition of an individual, while serum IgA and IgG indicate antibodies associated with the presence of the disease and ongoing ingestion of gluten in the diet are useful for monitoring the diet.

Coeliac UK is one of the partners in the project and leads the healthcare professional training. One of the main tasks is to deliver a healthcare professional training module for use throughout Europe. This tool will cover the fundamentals of coeliac disease, epidemiology, immunology, case finding, diagnosis, support via local societies, and management. Several case studies will be woven into the tool to present a patient perspective of the disease. The training tool will be submitted to professional bodies for CME accreditation. This tool will be finished by autumn 2010 so watch this space for more information!

New coeliac disease module published on BMJ Learning site

Peter Gillett, consultant paediatric gastroenterologist and Helen Gillett, consultant adult gastroenterologist in Edinburgh, have written a new module aimed at GPs to provide guidance on the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease.

Although, doctors are getting better at recognizing the condition, many still doubt when to consider the diagnosis and how to manage patients.  Setting out the latest understanding of the condition, the authors who are both members of Coeliac UK’s Health Advisory Network, have created a the module to address gaps in knowledge in a clear and accessible way.

The learning outcomes of this module aim to help you;

• Know how to make a diagnosis of coeliac disease
• Know when to refer a patient with coeliac disease to a gastroenterologist
• Understand what dietary restrictions are needed in patients with coeliac disease and know what the complications of not adhering to a gluten free diet are.
• Know which diseases are associated with coeliac disease

You can access this module or refer colleagues to the module on the BMJ learning website.