Crohn's Disease Linked To Enterovirus

Posted by Neill Abayon

Researchers have discovered that a cohort of children with Crohn's disease also have a virus in their intestines, known as enterovirus. 

This is the first time that a link has been discovered between the inflammatory bowel disease and enteroviruses, which are a genus of positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses.

The finding was published in the international journal Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology.

One of the authors of the study, Alkwin Wanders, at Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital, believes that the results could help better understand the root causes of Crohn's disease. 

More here.

Children with inflammatory bowel disease have surprisingly high folate levels, study finds

Posted by Neill Abayon

Children with newly diagnosed cases of inflammatory bowel disease have higher concentrations of folate in their blood than individuals without IBD, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley. The findings bring into question the previously held theory that patients with IBD are prone to folate – also known as folic acid – deficiency.

"This is exciting work that opens the door to additional research into the role of folic acid and its genetic basis in the development of IBD, especially in young patients," said first author Melvin Heyman, MD, a professor of pediatrics, chief of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition, and director of the Pediatric IBD Program at UCSF Children's Hospital.

Read the full article here.