The National UK charity ‘Bowel Research UK’ has launched a survey on faecal incontinence. In order for this new project to be a resounding success, in every sense of the word, it is vital that as many people as possible complete the survey which only takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The survey is available in the following languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. WFIPP is a partner in the AMELIE Project and, as such, is entrusted with dissemination of all the information, surveys, etc. relating to the project.
Therefore, we would be very grateful if you could disseminate this survey among your members and other organizations/parties that might be interested in this project/survey and get as many people as possible to fill it in. Of course, WFIPP will keep you informed of progress and outcomes.
Please read the press release below to find out more about this very exciting new project.
Bowel Research UK is inviting people with faecal incontinence as well as relatives, friends and carers of people living with the condition to complete a survey which can be found on the AMELIE project website (https://amelie-project.eu/survey/). It takes around 10 to 15 minutes to complete and will remain live until the end of January 2022.
Bowel Research UK is seeking to learn what the public understands about existing treatments for faecal incontinence as well hearing about how it affects people’s lives, which in many instances can be severely impaired.
Bowel Research UK is the patient involvement partner in a ground-breaking €9.5m European research project called AMELIE (www.amelie-project.eu – Anchored Muscle cELls for IncontinencE), which in November 2020 was awarded €9.5m by the European Union to fund a revolutionary cell therapy as a potential cure for faecal incontinence, which affects an estimated 67 million people in Europe.
The AMELIE project looks to take the patient’s own muscle cells, load them onto specially designed microcarriers then implant them into damaged anal muscle to promote regeneration and restore normal sphincter function.
The funding has been distributed to a consortium of 13 organisations across nine European countries and is led and co-ordinated by Richard Day, Professor of Regenerative Medicine Technology at UCL in London. Other AMELIE partners in the UK include Queen Mary University of London, and the NHS Blood and Transplant Service.
Dr Lesley Booth, Director of Research and Patient & Public Involvement at Bowel Research UK, comments:
“This survey is the first time that we have sought to understand how much patients and their families know about what treatments are already available for faecal incontinence, and to find out much more about how this little-discussed condition is affecting their lives.
“We are also hoping that some of the people who complete our survey will go on to take part in clinical trials for the new AMELIE treatment. We would like to thank everyone who takes part in our survey for kindly sparing their time.”