UVA undergraduate new research for recurrent Crohn’s disease – [Video]

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) — New research by a University of Virginia undergraduate may help explain recurrent Crohn’s disease in children and open the door to new ways to treat or even cure the condition. 

Rebecca Pierce, a medical student now at Georgetown University, found that children with relapsing Crohn’s had a persistent disruption of their microbiomes, which is the collection of microorganisms living in our guts, even after treatment successfully controlled inflammation. 

“And so these kids really endure a lifetime of disease and hardship with the relapse/remission cycle and so we’re hoping that this is just a stepping stone to future therapeutics and clinical work,” says Pierce.

Pierce did the research under the guidance of Chelsea Marie, PhD, with the UVA School of Medicine.

Crohn’s disease is a debilitating inflammation of the digestive tract whose symptoms include abdominal pain, weakness, fatigue and malnutrition caused by the body’s inability to …