{"id":33804,"date":"2021-02-02T23:33:47","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T12:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/utter-drop.flywheelsites.com\/?post_type=disease&p=33804"},"modified":"2026-05-18T10:32:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T00:32:51","slug":"inflammatory-bowel-disease","status":"publish","type":"disease","link":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/disease\/inflammation\/inflammatory-bowel-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects one in 250 people aged between five and 40, including up to 10,000 children. It is an incurable painful and disruptive disease that often requires hospitalisation and surgery. In rare cases, it can be life threatening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approximately 25 per cent of patients present before the age of 20, yet there is no cure and they suffer their entire lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gut microbiome is thought to play a key role in IBD, yet direct understanding of key bacterial groups that drive disease remains elusive.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What is IBD?<\/h3>\n

IBD is an overarching term for a group of chronic intestinal conditions that cause inflammation in the digestive tract including the mouth, oesophagus, stomach and the small and large intestine.<\/p>\n

The exact cause of IBD is unknown and there is no cure. Current treatment include drugs that suppress the immune system, but these become less effective over time and can have significant side effects including leaving patients with an increased risk of colorectal cancer and lymphoma.<\/p>\n

IBD not only impacts health, but also social and emotional wellbeing. Having IBD can cause severe disruption to a patient\u2019s life and the isolation and stress experienced can result in anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Our Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hudson Institute scientists are world-renowned specialists in the gut microbiome and are leading this game-changing area of research, including the discovery of more than 130 new gut bacteria<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By combining their expertise in immunology, clinical disease and genomics they are discovering common protective and inflammation-causing gut bacteria in IBD patients and identifying treatments to target those bacteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Professor<\/a>
LISTEN TO PODCAST HERE<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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IBD research projects underway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Could the microbiome- revolutionise inflammatory bowel disease treatment?<\/h3>\n \n <\/div>\n
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\"\"New treatment or cure.<\/strong> Prof Sam Forster\u2019s team has developed a new way of taking gut samples and looking at the bacteria within normal and damaged gut tissue. Importantly, they have discovered and are testing promising bacteria that could be used to treat, or even cure IBD.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

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