Irish research gives hope to IBD sufferers
Irish researchers have discovered a possible new treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a chronic disease which affects millions of people around the world. In healthy people, the gastro-intestinal tract is lined with cells which prevent the contents of the gut from leaking into the intestine. However, in people with IBD this barrier is broken, and the contents of the gut leak out into surrounding areas. Sufferers can experience an array of symptoms, ranging from mild discomfort to debilitating disease requiring the removal of large parts of the intestine. There are few treatments available and surgery is often the only option. In this latest study, the scientists succeeded in almost completely reversing the symptoms of IBD in a mouse model of the disease by using a new class of drugs called hydroxylase inhibitors. 'When we applied the new drugs, the gut was tricked into thinking that it was being deprived of oxygen and this activated protective pathways which in turn prevented the death of the cells that line the gastrointestinal tract,' explained Professor Cormac Taylor of the Conway Institute at University College Dublin (UCD). When they were coming to the end of their study, the Irish researchers heard about similar work taking place in the US. The American researchers, from the University of Colorado, had achieved the same results, albeit with a different hydroxylase inhibitor. The two teams will now work together to develop an effective drug which can be used safely in humans. 'By working in collaboration with Sigmoid Biotechnologies, a Dublin based drug delivery company, we intend to focus on developing methods to safely deliver these drugs to their intended target in the inflamed gut,' said Professor Taylor.
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