A retired teacher from Edinburgh, who has endured four major operations due to the scarring complications of Crohn’s disease, has told of her hope that new scientific research could finally halt the damage that has dominated her life for nearly four decades.
Maureen Dalgleish, 65, was first diagnosed in 1988 and has since undergone surgery in 2001, 2006, 2013, and most recently in 2025 to manage fibrosis – a relentless scarring of the bowel that is a severe and common complication of the inflammatory condition. Her life has been punctuated by long stretches on liquid or heavily restricted diets, and prior to her last operation, she suffered debilitating abdominal pain, spasms, nausea, fever, and dizziness so severe it led to loss of consciousness.
“Before my surgery, I was in and out of hospital and it was incredibly exhausting. It can feel like your life is on hold,” Ms Dalgleish said. She donated tissue from her operation to a research team, driven by the hope of helping others. “The idea of having medication to control or stop the fibrosis would be amazing. Although I realise it probably won’t benefit me personally, this research could potentially be a complete game-changer for others like me.”
The search for a treatment to stop the scar tissue
The research Ms Dalgleish contributed to, led by a University of Edinburgh team and published in *The Journal of Pathology*, has pinpointed a key driver of this damaging process. The scientists discovered that clusters of immune cells in the gut, known as Crohn’s lymphoid aggregates, stimulate surrounding cells to produce excessive scar tissue.
Specifically, they found that endothelial cells, which line blood vessels, form structures around these immune cell clusters. Further analysis revealed signalling interactions between these clusters and collagen-producing cells, indicating they actively promote fibrosis. Dr. Michael Glinka, a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh, stated that the findings highlight previously unrecognised interactions that potentially offer new therapeutic targets.
This breakthrough is significant because, as Crohn’s & Colitis UK notes, current treatments do not address fibrosis. Intestinal fibrosis affects over a third of Crohn’s patients and is the primary reason for surgery, which itself carries risks of disease recurrence, unemployment, and a poorer quality of life. The UK-wide collaboration, supported by funding from the Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust, offers a fresh avenue to develop drugs that could prevent or slow this scarring.
It forms part of a broader scientific push to find anti-fibrotic therapies. Other strategies being investigated include repurposing existing drugs like pirfenidone and nintedanib, approved for lung fibrosis, and targeting specific pathways like TL1A-DR3 signalling. Separate research has shown that valproic acid, a medication for epilepsy, can block a key protein (TGFβ1) to stop collagen formation in fibroblasts from Crohn’s patients, though clinical trials are needed.
In 2023, research identified the topical antifungal sulconazole as having antifibrotic properties, with formulated nanocrystals showing promise in preventing strictures in animal models. Elsewhere, separate avenues are being explored, including a potential vaccine targeting the Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) bacterium at King’s College London, and a cell therapy technique using modified regulatory T cells developed at the University of Manchester.
Furthermore, research from Cambridge University on the PROFILE trial has set new global standards, suggesting early monoclonal antibody therapy is safer and more effective for newly diagnosed patients, changing clinical practice worldwide.
For now, however, surgery remains the only option to manage fibrosis, as the disease often re-starts afterwards, leading to renewed scarring and blockages. Ms Dalgleish, who expressed gratitude to the “marvellous team” at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital – home to an NHS Lothian Inflammatory Bowel Disease team and a rapid access clinic for flares – has witnessed huge advances in diagnosis and treatment over 40 years. Yet the prospect of a treatment targeting the scar tissue itself remains the critical, unmet need for her and thousands of others.
