Scientists have grown “mini-guts” in the lab to help understand Crohn’s disease, and discovered DNA changes that may play an important role in the condition. The University of Cambridge researchers say these mini organs – also known as organoids – could be used in the future to identify the best treatment for an individual patient , allowing for more precise and personalised treatments. Around one in 350 people in the UK have Crohn’s disease – with one in four presenting before the age of 18.
It is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is a lifelong condition characterised by inflammation of the digestive tract. Symptoms can have a major impact on quality of life and include stomach pain, diarrhoea, weight loss and fatigue, and it can also lead to extensive surgery, inpatient admissions and exposure to toxic drugs.
Matthias Zilbauer, professor of paediatric gastroenterology at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), said: “The number of cases of Crohn’s disease and IBD are rising dramatically worldwide, particularly among younger children, but despite decades of research, no one knows what causes it.” He added: “The organoids that we’ve generated are primarily from children and adolescents. “They’ve essentially given us pieces of their bowel to help with our research.
” Arthur Hatt, 11, was diagnosed with Crohn’s at the age of nine, but according to his mother Sian Hatt, he was showing .
