Advances in inflammatory bowel disease -- what's new, what's next

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's 'Challenges in IBD Research' published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

2013-03-22

(Press-News.org) Philadelphia, Pa. (March 22, 2013) – Every five years, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) gathers top researchers in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to set the research agenda for the next five years. The findings and recommendations of these expert workgroups are presented in a series of detailed "Challenges in IBD Research" reports, now available in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, official journal of the CCFA. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Each workgroup is assigned to specific topic areas including genetics, epidemiology and environmental factors, the "microbiome" (intestinal bacteria), epithelial cell biology, innate and adaptive immunity, clinical classification and prognostic models, and optimizing medical therapy. A special "Challenges in IBD Research" progress report appears in the March issue of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. The complete workgroup reports are available for direct download at http://links.lww.com/IBD/A77.

Experts Outline New Agenda for IBD Research Based on a thorough review in each area, the workgroups have defined key research priorities for the next few years, including: Defining clinically relevant subgroups of IBD patients—using different types of information to predict aggressiveness of disease, complications, and response to treatment. Understanding the environmental factors affecting the risk and course of IBD—including environmental "triggers" and a specific focus on the role of diet. Clarifying the complex interrelationships among genes, bacteria, and epithelial and immune responses—focusing on cellular pathways and critical cell types that may lead to new "therapeutic targets." Determining the optimal treatment approaches and strategies through comparative effectiveness studies.

The workgroup reports also identify the resources needed to carry out this ambitious research agenda, including a "centralized and distributable infrastructure" for integrated studies of IBD in humans and long-term follow-up studies of children and adults with IBD.

"Through development of the ambitious research goals outlined in this document, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America has again led the effort to further the understanding of IBD," said Dr. Lee Denson of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "CCFA is keen to advance this research agenda in 2013 and beyond."

Building on Recent Scientific and Clinical Advances The CCFA research agenda builds on recent advances in scientific and clinical research. They include major strides in IBD genetics—more than 160 genes affecting susceptibility to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis have now been identified. Using sophisticated techniques, researchers have gained new insights into the complex interactions between intestinal bacteria and immune responses, including the role of specific types of immune cells.

Clinical studies have improved the ability to predict the response to IBD treatment in children and to track the short- and long-term adverse effects of IBD treatments. Progress has also been made in understanding the risks and benefits of medical and surgical treatments for key patient subgroups, including pregnant women and newborns. These studies point the way toward future efforts to optimize treatment for individual patients with IBD.

### About Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Inflammatory Bowel Diseases brings the most current information in clinical and basic sciences to physicians caring for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, and investigators performing research in IBD and related fields. Each issue contains cutting-edge original basic science and clinical articles on diagnosis, treatment, and management of IBD from clinicians and researchers around the world. Coverage includes articles highlighting the unique and important issues in pediatric IBD, as well as articles pertaining to adult patients.

About the CCFA The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to finding the cures for Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis. It was founded in 1967 by Irwin M. and Suzanne Rosenthal, William D. and Shelby Modell, and Henry D. Janowitz, M.D. Since our founding over four decades ago, CCFA has remained at the forefront of research in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Today, we fund cutting-edge studies at major medical institutions, nurture investigators at the early stages of their careers, and finance underdeveloped areas of research.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher of trusted content delivered in innovative ways to practitioners, professionals and students to learn new skills, stay current on their practice, and make important decisions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.

LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2012 annual revenues of €3.6 billion ($4.6 billion). END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Did evolution give us inflammatory disease?

2013-03-22

Boston, MA – In new research published in the April 4, 2013 issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) demonstrate that some variants in our genes that could put a person at risk for inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease or rheumatoid arthritis, have been the target of natural selection over the course of human history. The research team, led by Philip De Jager, MD, PhD, BWH Department of Neurology, and Barbara Stranger, PhD, University of Chicago looked at genome-wide association studies ...

Removing orbital debris with less risk

2013-03-22

Global Aerospace Corporation (GAC) announced today that the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is publishing an article entitled "Removing Orbital Debris With Less Risk" in the March/April edition of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets (JSR) authored by Kerry Nock and Dr. Kim Aaron, of GAC, and Dr. Darren McKnight, of Integrity Applications Incorporated, Chantilly, VA. This article compares in-orbit debris removal options regarding their potential risk of creating new orbital debris or disabling working satellites during deorbit operation. Space ...

Penn study finds smoking prolongs fracture healing

2013-03-22

Philadelphia – Research has long shown the negative effects cigarette smoking has on cardiovascular health. But now, a new study from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania corroborates early evidence showing that cigarette smoking leads to longer healing times and an increased rate of post-operative complication and infection for patients sustaining fractures or traumatic injuries to their bone. The full results of the study are being presented this week at the 2013 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons ...

Resilience, safety and security of UK food imports highlighted in new Global Food Security report

2013-03-22

Resilience, safety and security of UK food imports highlighted in new Global Food Security report and public exhibition. Global Food Security report highlights key issues for UK food imports Public exhibition highlights global food security research A new report has highlighted issues surrounding global food systems and the importation of food into the UK. Partners in the Global Food Security (GFS) Research Partnership came together with thought-leaders, scientists and experts in the field to contribute to the report via a Public Policy Seminar on 'Global Food Systems ...

Men and women get sick in different ways

2013-03-22

Berlin, March 22, 2013 - At the dawn of third millennium medical researchers still know very little about gender-specific differences in illness, particularly when it comes to disease symptoms, influencing social and psychological factors, and the ramifications of these differences for treatment and prevention. Medical research conducted over the past 40 years has focused almost exclusively on male patients. A new article titled "Gender medicine: a task for the third millennium" presents research on gender-related differences conducted by Giovannella Baggio of Padua ...

Before dinosaurs' era, volcanic eruptions triggered mass extinction

2013-03-22

More than 200 million years ago, a massive extinction decimated 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species, marking the end of the Triassic period and the onset of the Jurassic. The event cleared the way for dinosaurs to dominate Earth for the next 135 million years, taking over ecological niches formerly occupied by other marine and terrestrial species. It's not clear what caused the end-Triassic extinction, although most scientists agree on a likely scenario. Over a relatively short time period, massive volcanic eruptions from a large region known as the Central ...

NSF response to external panel's recommendations for streamlining scientific logistics in Antarctica

2013-03-22

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued a summary response to the recommendations of an external panel of experts that was charged with advising the agency on how to improve and streamline its logistical capabilities to more efficiently support world-class Antarctic science in coming decades. The NSF document, which was made public on March 21, is the agency's response to the report, More and Better Science in Antarctica Through Increased Logistical Effectiveness, which was released in July of 2012 by the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel. NSF and the ...

New chemo drug gentler on fertility, tougher on cancer

2013-03-22

CHICAGO --- A new gentler chemotherapy drug in the form of nanoparticles has been designed by Northwestern Medicine® scientists to be less toxic to a young woman's fertility but extra tough on cancer. This is the first cancer drug tested while in development for its effect on fertility using a novel in vitro test. The scientists designed a quick new in vitro test that predicts the toxicity of a chemotherapy drug to fertility and can be easily used to test other cancer drugs in development as well as existing ones. Currently the testing of cancer drugs for fertility ...

APL novel method accurately predicts disease outbreaks

2013-03-22

A team of scientists from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has developed a novel method to accurately predict dengue fever outbreaks several weeks before they occur. The new method, known as PRedicting Infectious Disease Scalable Model (PRISM), extracts relationships between clinical, meteorological, climatic and socio-political data in Peru and in the Philippines. It can be used in any geographical region and extended to other environmentally influenced infections affecting public health and military forces worldwide. PRISM is aimed ...

Scientists discover layer of liquified molten rock in Earth's mantle

2013-03-22

Scientists have discovered a layer of liquified molten rock in Earth's mantle that may be responsible for the sliding motions of the planet's massive tectonic plates. The finding may carry far-reaching implications, from understanding basic geologic functions of the planet to new insights into volcanism and earthquakes. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and is reported in this week's issue of the journal Nature by Samer Naif, Kerry Key, and Steven Constable of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), and Rob Evans of the Woods ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

AI-generated voices which sound like you are perceived as more trustworthy and likeable, with implications for deep-fakes and manipulation

The cacao tree species (Theobroma cacao L.), from which we get chocolate, is likely about 7.5 million years old, with chloroplast genomes indicating that the current known diversity diversified during

Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) launches a second funding opportunity to accelerate novel tool development to advance Parkinson's disease research

New study: Eating mangos daily shown to improve insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control

[Press-News.org] Advances in inflammatory bowel disease -- what's new, what's next
Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's 'Challenges in IBD Research' published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases