The MERIT Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Towards Precision Medicine: a MagnEtic Resonance Imaging-based measure of fibrosis in enTeric Crohn’s disease.
IRAS ID
273923
Contact name
Gordon Moran
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Crohn’s disease is a disease causing inflammation of the bowel affecting 95,000 people. Recurrent inflammation in the bowel causes scarring, with long term scarring causing blockages which might need an operation. Overall, half of the patients need an operation within ten years of diagnoses.
Distinguishing between inflammation and scarring is very important. Current medications only work if the bowel is inflamed. When the bowel is scarred, medications do not work and what mostly helps is surgery. We don’t know how much scarring there is until after surgery has taken place. Patients may be needlessly being treated with medicines that do not work. Wrong treatment decisions might just be merely postponing surgery, giving side-effects to patients and wasting NHS money.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanners (MRI) are large magnets that create pictures by the way different parts of the body react to the magnet. MRIs help to measure the extent of inflammation in Crohn’s disease but are not as reliable at measuring scarring. Some newer type of MRI scans may be able to measure scarring. Bowel motility measures how much the bowel moves with less movement seen in scarred areas. T2* measures oxygen in the bowel wall with less oxygen seen in scarred areas. Diffuse weighted imaging scans measures the movement of water molecules in the bowel wall with less water molecules seen in the scarred bowel. Magnetisation transfer measures collagen in tissues with more collagen seen in scarring.
We will undertake a study in 25 patients with Crohn’s disease who need surgery because of scarring in their bowel. The study will be undertaken across 2 NHS hospitals. We will then compare the scarring measured in the bowel after the operation with the scarring we can measure in the scanner. Study findings will help making MRI a suitable measure of bowel scarring.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/WM/0084
Date of REC Opinion
9 Apr 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion