Research Offers Hope for IBD Sufferers

By opening the door to a new drug therapy researchers have offered hope to people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), following new research from the National Children’s Research Centre (NCRC) in Ireland.

This NCRC and Science Foundation Ireland funded research into IBD took place at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin (OLCHC) in children diagnosed with the condition. The research was a collaboration between lead researcher, Dr Patrick Walsh, Trinity College Dublin, School of Medicine and Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist, Dr Seamus Hussey. 

IBD is the name used for diseases which cause ulceration of the digestive tract. The most common forms are Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis. IBD prevents the digestive system from working and symptoms include persistent diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bleeding, severe weight loss and chronic fatigue. The key finding from this research* is that a protein called IL-36, is found in higher levels at diagnosis in children attending the national paediatric IBD service at OLCHC.

“This is good news for children and adults with IBD,” said Dr Walsh, “as it means it is now possible for someone to develop a drug to treat the condition. The finding of elevated levels of this protein IL-36 in children with IBD is very exciting, because if a drug can be found to reduce its levels in those children, this might turn off the disease or reduce the symptoms.”

Dr Hussey added: “Ireland has a growing rate of IBD for reasons that we do not year clearly understand. In the past decade the number of new cases of IBD in children attending OLCHC has increased by over 90% and numbers continue to rise.

“There are in the region of 20,000 children and adults in Ireland affected by IBD in one form or another. It is a condition which causes recurrent flares in patients. There is no cure for IBD and while we, as doctors try to manage the disease over time, many people with it still end up requiring surgery,” Dr Hussey said. 

“The only way to find out exactly what’s happening is to continue our scientific investigations into IBD in children here in Ireland,” concluded Dr Walsh. “It is only through our investigations of IBD in children that we can hope to find a reason for the increase and ultimately to find a better way to treat the condition.”

*Published  in Muscosal Immunology