Crohn’s disease appears to have at least two distinct genetic subtypes, which could explain why the condition is so hard to treat, a new study suggests.
“The one-treatment-fits-all approach doesn’t seem to be working for Crohn’s patients,” said study co-senior author Dr. Shehzad Sheikh. He’s an assistant professor in the departments of medicine and genetics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
“It’s plausible that this is because only a subset of patients has the type of disease that responds to standard therapy, whereas, for the rest of the patients, we’re really not hitting the right targets,” Sheikh said in a university news release.
Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the intestinal tract. The most common symptoms are diarrhea, stomach cramps and weight loss. The course and severity of the disease vary widely from patient to patient, which is one reason it’s difficult to treat, the researchers noted.
Read the full article: Study Identifies Genetic Subtypes of Crohn’s Disease
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