UK IBD Microbiome Study

Summary

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a disease of the digestive tract that affects 1 in 250 of the UK population. The two main types are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Despite major advances with medical therapy over the past twenty years, IBD remains incurable and an important cause of ill-health.

Over the last decade, doctors and scientists have made significant progress in understanding the causes of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and we believe that these diseases may result from problems in the way the body’s immune or defence system interacts with  the  bacteria  that  live  in  the  bowel. 

This  study  aims  to  understand  better  the  different  types  of bacteria that live in the bowels of people with and without inflammatory bowel disease. In particular, we hope to learn how the types of bacteria are influenced by differences in the genetic code of people who take part.

Participation: For this study we recruited 36 participants from the Cambridge BioResource to provide a stool sample. 

Organisation: This study is organised by Dr Charlie Lees from the University of Edinburgh.