Further experiments, detailed in the journal Nature, external, showed drugs that are already approved for other conditions such as cancer were able to calm this excessive inflammation.
These were performed using samples from patients with IBD.
“We found not only how and why it goes wrong, but potentially a new way of treating these diseases,” says Dr Lee.
Yet, there is not going to be an new IBD treatment imminently.
The researchers have a head start as drugs already exist, but they need to find a way of targeting just the macrophages so they do not cause side effects throughout the body.
The drugs would also need to be precisely calibrated to calm the IBD, but not leave a patient susceptible to infection by switching off the good side of inflammation in fighting disease.
They aim is to start clinical trials within five years.
“This research is a really exciting step towards the possibility of a world free from Crohn’s and colitis one day,” Ruth Wakeman, from the charity Crohn’s & Colitis UK said.
She added: “Crohn’s and colitis are complex, lifelong conditions for which there is no cure, but research like this is helping us to answer some of the big questions about what causes them.”
However, genetic susceptibility is still only half the story. It also takes something to trigger the development of IBD, with diet and antibiotic use all implicated.
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