There is an urgent unmet need to understand the causes behind the onset of IBD and the different factors that contribute to inflammation.
Unfortunately, we don’t know why Crohn’s and colitis starts or what controls varying symptoms seen from one patient to the next.
We now understand that early treatment with medications known as “biologics” can be very effective at reducing flares and improving patients’ quality of life. Although these medications are highly effective, they have three major problems: they do not work for everyone, they lose effectiveness over time, and other medications that are taken later may then be less effective.
To explore these questions, our research project will recruit people with suspected IBD to investigate the microbes (bacteria, viruses and fungi) in patient’s stool, alongside analysing immune cells in their blood and gut biopsies. Samples will also be stored for future research projects that may look at additional aspects of human or microbe biology.
In the future, the findings from this study may be able to inform doctors of the best treatment for individual patients, help us to find new targets for future treatment, and importantly, reduce the disease burden on patients to improve their quality of life.
