Volume 20, Issue 4

Warm greetings from the ECCO News Team! As we approach the end of 2025, it's time to mark your calendars for what promises to be an exceptional gathering of the IBD community: the 21st Congress of ECCO, taking place February 18-21, 2026 in Stockholm! This year, the ECCO Scientific Programme takes a refreshing turn: rather than narrowing our focus, it widens it. The concept of "holistic IBD care" isn't just another buzzword: it's an acknowledgment that treating IBD successfully means looking beyond single endpoints and isolated interventions. From patient-ce

With ECCO’26, we are excited to launch a brand-new AI-based solution on the ECCO Congress platform—designed to make the congress experience clearer, more inclusive, and easier to follow for everyone.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet is Professor of Gastroenterology and an internationally recognised expert in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Between 2020 and 2023, he was President of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) and Scientific Secretary of the International Organization for the Study of IBD (IOIBD), the two leading international organisations in IBD.

Introduction Over the past two decades, advances in immunomodulatory and biologic therapies have significantly improved clinical and endoscopic remission rates in IBD. However, many patients continue to experience fatigue, anxiety, depression and impaired quality of life, even during apparent disease remission. This discrepancy highlights the need for a holistic approach—one that acknowledges the complex interplay between immunological, psychological, nutritional and social determinants of health. Despite increasing recognition of its importance, holistic care in IBD remains under-researched a

The rising pandemic of obesity has led to the increasing use of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs). Their impact on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has become a topic of interest as a result and has been the subject of a recent comprehensive review published in J Crohns Colitis [1]. GLP-1 RAs have been reported to have possible effects on IBD, but are improved outcomes related to weight loss or a direct effect of these agents? GLP-1 RAs were originally developed for type 2 diabetes and obesity.