Current State - Current Sports Most Active Stories Fri November
2, 2012 Genetic Clues May Help Unravel Cause of Crohn's
Originally published on Fri November 2, 2012 1:40 pm IRA FLATOW,
HOST: Up next, a look at what current research tells us about
what causes inflammatory bowel disease and the potentially
simple way to treat it. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, as many as a million-and-half people in
the U.S. suffer from IBD, which includes Crohn's, a condition
that occurs when a person's immune system inappropriately
responds to harmless cells or bacteria and destroys healthy
tissue. And to treat the disease, most patients take medications
to suppress their immune systems, but some don't work very well,
and they can have really awful side effects. Well, now a couple
of new studies suggests ways to more directly attack the
disease, one involving genetically engineering bacteria which
might be put into yogurt, and you could eat it in the yogurt
and, you know, treat yourself that way.