Genes Cause Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Filed in archive Digestive Health on April 17, 2007

Seems researchers are finding genes that cause all sorts of diseases and disorders. Just a few days ago, I blogged about the obesity gene. Researchers today say that Crohn's and ulcerative colitis (collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease or IBD) may be caused by seven genes.

The article, from CBC.ca news, tells us:

In this week's issue of the journal Nature Genetics, John Rioux of the Montreal Heart Institute and the University of Montreal and his colleagues said seven genes are associated with the disease, including four that have been newly identified.

Identifying genes that predispose people to Crohn's disease may help provide insight into the causes of the disease, which could lead to new ways to treat it in the long term, the researchers said.

The Biosingularity Blog has more:

Since IBD tends to run in families and is more frequent in certain populations, especially Ashkenazi jews, scientists have long suspected a significant genetic component. Although previous genetic studies found a link between Crohn's disease and mutations in a gene known as CARD15, those mutations alone are not considered to account for the entire genetic component of disease.