The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Granted $5.6 million by The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust

“The funds the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation will receive through The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust grant will be critical in developing the careers of many more investigators,” says Lloyd Mayer, MD, National Scientific Advisory Committee Chair for the Foundation and Professor and Director of the Immunology Institute, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Divisions of Clinical Immunology and Gastroenterology at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. “In turn, the grant received will help to accelerate critical research to discover better therapies and ultimately a cure for these diseases afflicting so many Americans.”

About Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are painful, medically incurable illnesses that attack the digestive system. Crohn's disease may attack anywhere from the mouth to the anus, while ulcerative colitis inflames only the large intestine (colon). Symptoms may include abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fever and weight loss. Many patients require hospitalization and surgery. These illnesses can cause severe complications, including colon cancer in patients with long-term disease. Some 1.4 million American adults and children suffer from Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, with as many as 150,000 under the age of 18. Most people develop the diseases between the ages of 15 and 35.