If you think it's difficult for me to live with Crohn's (since the age of 13), consider how difficult it is dealing with the fact that my soon to be 25 year old daughter Jill deals with major digestive issues that most certainly came from my genes. She deals with a combination of diseases that are extremely debilitating and virtually untreatable. First, she has gastroparesis, which is a disease where the stomach empty's way too slowly. She has to eat very, very slowly and very bland food. If she eats something too rich or too quickly, it comes right back up. Once she manages to actually pass food into her intestinal tract, that's when her IBD takes over. Think about it, a stomach that processes food too slowly and an intestinal tract that processes too quickly. No magic pill that helps move things along in her stomach while, at the same time, slowing things down in her intestines. I consider myself a pretty tough and strong willed person having dealt with Crohn's for so long. I don't compare to Jills toughness as she balances a new career and relationship while dealing with her health issues. Jill and I are not alone. Below is a copy of a study done on Crohn's and genetics.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have identified a handful of genes that increase the risk of developing Crohn's disease, confirming that the often debilitating inflammatory bowel disease has a strong genetic component.
U.S. and Canadian researchers scanned the entire genome -- all 22,000 genes -- of about 6,000 people. Approximately half had Crohn's disease and half did not, they reported in the medical journal Nature Genetics.
Previous studies identified two genes involved in the disease.
"I think at this point we have probably up to about eight or nine genes, depending on how you define it," said Dr. John Rioux of the Montreal Heart Institute and the Universite de Montreal, who led the team of investigators.
The researchers said the findings showed genetics play a crucial role in the disease, although environmental factors also are involved. For example, smoking raises one's risk.
Pinpointing the genes that predispose people to Crohn's disease, the researchers said, could help lead to new ways to treat it.
The disease, most commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 30, can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight loss and arthritis. Chronic intestinal inflammation may necessitate the removal of sections of intestine.
"We have been working toward this for over 10 years to try to put all the pieces together," Rioux said in a telephone interview. "To finally get to this stage where we can look at the entire genome and actually discover a handful of genes, it's very, very gratifying."
Scientists previously had some indications of a genetic component to Crohn's disease. It tends to run in families and is more common in certain ethnic groups, especially people of central and eastern European Jewish descent.
Experts think faulty responses to the microbes that live in the human digestive system somehow cause the immune system to attack the lining of the digestive tract, making it decay and become inflamed.
Rioux said some of the genes identified as risk factors are involved in the body's defense against microbes.
The bottom line is that most of us with Crohn's or any form of IBD not only have to deal with the everyday physical and mental struggles this disease brings, but in many cases, have an even more difficult task of dealing with our childrens struggles with the same issues.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have identified a handful of genes that increase the risk of developing Crohn's disease, confirming that the often debilitating inflammatory bowel disease has a strong genetic component.
U.S. and Canadian researchers scanned the entire genome -- all 22,000 genes -- of about 6,000 people. Approximately half had Crohn's disease and half did not, they reported in the medical journal Nature Genetics.
Previous studies identified two genes involved in the disease.
"I think at this point we have probably up to about eight or nine genes, depending on how you define it," said Dr. John Rioux of the Montreal Heart Institute and the Universite de Montreal, who led the team of investigators.
The researchers said the findings showed genetics play a crucial role in the disease, although environmental factors also are involved. For example, smoking raises one's risk.
Pinpointing the genes that predispose people to Crohn's disease, the researchers said, could help lead to new ways to treat it.
The disease, most commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 30, can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight loss and arthritis. Chronic intestinal inflammation may necessitate the removal of sections of intestine.
"We have been working toward this for over 10 years to try to put all the pieces together," Rioux said in a telephone interview. "To finally get to this stage where we can look at the entire genome and actually discover a handful of genes, it's very, very gratifying."
Scientists previously had some indications of a genetic component to Crohn's disease. It tends to run in families and is more common in certain ethnic groups, especially people of central and eastern European Jewish descent.
Experts think faulty responses to the microbes that live in the human digestive system somehow cause the immune system to attack the lining of the digestive tract, making it decay and become inflamed.
Rioux said some of the genes identified as risk factors are involved in the body's defense against microbes.
The bottom line is that most of us with Crohn's or any form of IBD not only have to deal with the everyday physical and mental struggles this disease brings, but in many cases, have an even more difficult task of dealing with our childrens struggles with the same issues.
No comments:
Post a Comment