December 15, 2010 Contact: John Ascenzi, Department of Public
Relations, 267-426-6092 or email@example.com Researchers at The
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia contributed important
pediatric data to the largest-ever genetic study of Crohn’s
disease. In this study, the International IBD Genetic Consortium
drew on samples from more than 22,000 patients and 29,000
controls from around the world. A chronic, painful inflammation
of the digestive tract, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
includes Crohn’s disease (affecting any part of the digestive
tract) and ulcerative colitis (limited to the large intestine).
It affects some 2 million U.S. children and adults. An abnormal
overreaction in the body’s immune system is believed to trigger
the inflammation in IBD. Like many common disorders, IBD has
complex causes, resulting from any of a number of genes that may
interact with each other and with environmental factors. Hakon
Hakonarson, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Applied
Genomics; Kai Wang, PhD, also from th