A genetic link to IBD?Genetic researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a world-renowned hospital located in Los Angeles, California. HistoryCedars-Sinai is the result of a merger in 1961 between two major Los Angeles hospitals, Cedars of Lebanon and Mount Sinai Home for the Incurables, with Steve Broidy as in Los Angeles are focusing on gene markers for inflammatory bowel disease inflammatory bowel disease n. Abbr. IBD Any of several incurable and debilitating diseases of the gastrointestinal tract characterized by inflammation and obstruction of parts of the intestine. (IBD IBD abbr. inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) Disease in which the lining of the intestine becomes inflamed. Mentioned in: Amebiasis IBD 1. ). Chromosome 6 has been identified as the site of at least two gene markers for IBD: one for Crohn's disease, and one for ulcerative colitis. "Finding the unique genetic variations that predispose pre·dis·pose v. To make susceptible, as to a disease. people to a disease is an incredibly complex task. About three billion pairs of genes are duplicated in every cell of the human body," says Dr. Jerome I. Rotter, director of the Division of Medical Genetics at Cedars-Sinai. "It's like looking at the earth from a satellite and trying to zero in on a particular house. With IBD, we've found the neighborhood where the genetic culprit lives. Now, we're conducting a block-by-block search to find the specific markers." Once the specific genes are identified, high-risk individuals can be targeted and informed. And scientists can begin to develop appropriate therapies to cure or prevent this devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. disease. |
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