Celiac, Crohn’s Disease Share Common Genetic Links
Celiac, Crohn’s Disease Share Common Genetic Links
Jan. 27, 2011 -- An international team of researchers has identified four genetic variants common to celiac disease and Crohn?s disease.
The research may help to explain why people who have celiac disease appear to have a higher rate of Crohn?s disease than the general population. It may one day lead to new treatments that address the underlying inflammation involved in both conditions.
The new study made use of a new way to analyze hundreds of thousands of genetic variations, called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, that may be involved in any one disease, called a genome-wide association study, or GWAS.
?It?s completely changed the way we can identify genetic risk factors,? says study co-author John D. Rioux, PhD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada.
?There are sequence differences at the genetic level that get translated down to the protein levels,? Rioux says. ?And these differences may really nudge a person toward inflammation and we?re just in the beginning, but we hope they may elucidate a common pathway and one day help us discover treatments that correct the underlying genetic changes.?
Treating a Crohn's Disease Flare
The research may help to explain why people who have celiac disease appear to have a higher rate of Crohn?s disease than the general population. It may one day lead to new treatments that address the underlying inflammation involved in both conditions.
The new study made use of a new way to analyze hundreds of thousands of genetic variations, called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, that may be involved in any one disease, called a genome-wide association study, or GWAS.
?It?s completely changed the way we can identify genetic risk factors,? says study co-author John D. Rioux, PhD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada.
?There are sequence differences at the genetic level that get translated down to the protein levels,? Rioux says. ?And these differences may really nudge a person toward inflammation and we?re just in the beginning, but we hope they may elucidate a common pathway and one day help us discover treatments that correct the underlying genetic changes.?
Treating a Crohn's Disease Flare