Researchers in the UK appear to have discovered a pivotal genetic cause of inflammatory bowel disease.
The discovery could lead to new and existing treatments being repurposed for IBD, the authors say.
Inflammatory bowel disease is a debilitating and complexdigestive condition.
A very high magnification micrograph of the colon in someone with Crohn’s disease.Image:Wikimedia Commons
The root cause of IBD is a dysfunctional immune system that chronically harms the gut.
But theexact reasonswhy this happens are still unclear and might vary from person to person.
Genetics are thought to be an important factor, though, since IBD can run in families.
The teams findings werepublishedWednesday in Nature.
There are no drugs specifically designed to target ETS2 right now.
And with any luck, clinical trials with actual patients could happen in the next five years.
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