About me

I am raising money to support research into theMAP vaccine which I believe is the best step forward towards a cure for Crohn’sdisease. Having suffered Crohn’s for most of my adult life, and severalundiagnosed years in my teens, I have experienced a whole range of symptomsthat come with the disease and tried several medications and therapies which Ihad to stop due to dangerous side effects. These treatments only offered thehope of managing, but never curing my Crohn’s.

Now, thework being done at King’s College London offers hope to Crohn’s sufferers and apotential to prevent suffering in those likely to be susceptible to the MAPbacteria. As a mother of two young sons with food allergies and digestionissues like myself, I can see history repeating itself and want to support apotential vaccine which could enable them to have a brighter future free fromCrohn’s.

The background

Crohn’sdisease is a debilitating and aggressive form of inflammatory bowel diseasewhich affects around 4 million people worldwide and around 250,000 people inthe UK. In addition to severe pain, weight loss, diarrhoea and chronic fatigue,around 80% of cases result in invasive surgery. Currently there is no cure forCrohn’s, simply symptom management. We want to change that.

Increasingly there is compelling evidence thatCrohn’s disease is caused by MAP bacteria, which is proven to cause Johne’sdisease, an inflammatory bowel disease in cattle. DNA testing found MAP in 100% of tested Crohn's sufferers but until now widespread testing and vaccination has been challenging.

Professor Hermon-Taylorand King’s College are developing a MAP test which can identify the MAPbacteria in the tissue of Crohn’s sufferers, this can then be used to develophuman trial of a human vaccine against the bacteria. To achieve this, and takea step towards a cure for Crohn’s sufferers, King’s College needs to raise£300,000 to fund clinical trials. For more information on how the funding willbe spent, visit the Crohn’sMAP vaccine website.