Scientists find major cause of inflammatory bowel disease

UK scientists have found a weak spot in our DNA that is present in 95 per cent of people with the condition, making it much easier for some immune cells to go haywire and drive excessive inflammation in the bowels.

The team have found drugs that already exist appear to reverse the disease in laboratory experiments and are now considering human trials.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the most common forms of IBS, estimated to affect around half a million people in the UK.

One part of the immune system that is highly implicated in IBD are white blood cells called macrophages, which flood the linings of the intestines where they release chemicals, called cytokines, that lead to inflammation.

The group of researchers at University College London and the Francis Crick Institute performed a deep genetic analysis to try to unpick the cause of IBD, and discovered a section of genetic code that turns out to be the macrophage’s “master regulator” of inflammation.

The gene controls the suite of inflammatory chemicals the macrophages release, and some people are born with a version that make their body prone to responding excessively.

Dr James Lee from the Francis Crick Institute, said “This is undoubtedly one of the central pathways that goes wrong for people to get inflammatory bowel disease.

“It is the process by which one of the most important cells that causes inflammatory disease goes wrong.  We found not only how and why it goes wrong, but potentially a new way of treating these diseases.”

Ruth Wakeman from charity Crohn’s & Colitis UK, said “This research is a really exciting step towards the possibility of a world free from Crohn’s and colitis one day.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (jacquelinevance@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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