Wednesday, June 5, 2024

IBD Breakthrough - Finally Good News!

Hi fellow Crohnies! Long time - no write! Happily I've been doing well over the years and am busy with 3 sons and an unending todo list. I have been having mild symptoms lately and some back pain that my gastroenterologist says is related to my IBD... so, indeed we can never escape this cursed disease, BUT! I'm writing today because there is good news that just landed today!

In case you haven't heard yet, researchers have made a major breakthrough in discovering the cause of Inflammatory Bowel Disease! Say what?? It's true! Actual good news! Here is a link to the article from The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jun/05/bowel-disease-hope-researchers-find-biological-pathway

Not only have they found a major genetic cause of IBD, but it can be treated with existing drugs currently in use for cancer treatment. The drugs just have to be modified to be more targeted for bowel disease. Estimates are that we may have some new, major, effective drug treatments hitting markets in about 5 years. This is absolutely fantastic news for all of us.

I hope you're all doing as well as can be hoped - take care of yourself and stay hopeful!