http://icrohns.com/blog/ Latest Blogs http://icrohns.com/blog/3/scientists-discover-anti-inflammatory-polyphenols-in-apple-peels/
This study is the first to show a role for T cells in polyphenol-mediated protection against an autoimmune disease and could lead to new therapies and treatments for people with disorders related to bowel inflammation, such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and colitis-associated colorectal cancer.

"Many people with colitis use some form of dietary supplement to complement conventional therapies, but most of the information on the health effects of complementary medicine remains anecdotal. Also, little is known about exactly how these therapies work, if they work at all," said David W. Pascual, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. "Our results show that a natural product found in apple peels can suppress colonic inflammation by antagonizing inflammatory T cells to enhance resistance against autoimmune disease."

To make this discovery, scientists used a chemically induced model of colitis with Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), researchers administered an oral placebo to one group of mice, and the other group of mice was given an oral dose of apple polyphenols every day during the course of the disease. Results showed that mice treated orally with apple polyphenols were protected from colitis. Importantly, scientists also found that the treated mice had fewer activated T cells in their colons. In mice lacking T cells, apple polyphenols were unable to protect against colitis or suppress proinflammatory cytokine expression, indicating apple polyphenols protect against colitis via the suppression of T cell activation and/or recruitment.

"It appears that the old adage rings true in more ways than one," said John Wherry, Ph.D., Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, "In addition to the obvious health benefits of the nutrients and fiber in fruits and vegetables, this study indicates that even something as relatively common as the apple contains other healthy ingredients that can have serious therapeutic value."]]> http://icrohns.com/blog/3/scientists-discover-anti-inflammatory-polyphenols-in-apple-peels/ Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:09:29 +0000 test http://icrohns.com/blog/2/researchers-discover-genes-linked-to-crohns/
Crohn's is a mostly hereditary informally bowel disease characterized by extreme abdominal pain. According to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, more than 15,000 Canadians suffer from the disease, which has no cure.

New research out of the University College London suggests that while Crohn's is genetic, it's not always caused by the same genes.

The researchers looked at data from 1,698 patients in the U.K. and 813 from the U.S. and mapped three new locations for faulty genes associated with Crohn's.

"This paper shows how personalized medicine could work and also help to separate out patients. For example, just as there are many different types of cancer with different underlying genes, it seems that there are also mutations in different genes for different types of Crohn's disease," said Dr. Nikolas Maniatis, senior author of the study, in a university press release.

The researchers used a mapping technique that shows stretches of DNA have been passed down together through generations and localizing the faulty genes.

"This project essentially maps the most likely location of faulty sites for Crohn's disease in the genome. By combining several pieces of information together, our technique lets us increase the power of our analysis," Maniatis said.

"This method can also be used to analyze other complex disorders, allowing us to make similar progress on other diseases, such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease," added co-author Dallas Swallow.

Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2011/12/08/researchers-discover-genes-linked-to-crohns]]> http://icrohns.com/blog/2/researchers-discover-genes-linked-to-crohns/ Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:06:40 +0000 test http://icrohns.com/blog/1/vaccine-offers-crohns-disease-hope/
Early research has shown that the molecular principle behind the approach works, at least in mice.

Scientists are excited by the findings, which hold out the prospect of new treatments for a broad range of conditions. The research could also lead to new ways of tackling the spread of cancer.

However, much more work is needed before experts can be sure the therapy is safe for humans. The research is published in the journal Nature Medicine.

The vaccine tricks the immune system into producing antibodies that target an enzyme at the heart of autoimmune diseases. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) cut through structural materials such as collagen to assist cellular mobilisation and wound healing.

When some members of the enzyme family, especially the enzyme MMP9, get out of control they can promote autoimmune disease and cancer metastasis - the deadly spread of cancer around the body.

MMPs are normally held in check naturally by inhibitor molecules called TIMPs. But the biological mechanism involved is extremely precise and previous attempts to mimic it with artificial drugs have produced severe side effects.

The new research took a different tack by not targeting MMPs directly. Instead, tiny metallic vaccine molecules were created that fooled the immune system into manufacturing its own MMP-suppressing antibodies.

When the vaccine was tested on mice with a rodent version of Crohn's - a form of inflammatory bowel disease - it significantly reduced their symptoms. Untreated mice suffered severe damage to their colons while those injected with the vaccine experienced only "limited" inflammation.

Professor Irit Sagi, from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, said: "We are excited not only by the potential of this method to treat Crohn's, but by the potential of using this approach to explore novel treatments for many other diseases."

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.]]> http://icrohns.com/blog/1/vaccine-offers-crohns-disease-hope/ Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:02:33 +0000 Youssef Dandachli