About the project
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a condition caused by inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, which in turn disrupts and alters the normal environment that supports a healthy gut flora.
Microbiota Sequencing
By using genetic sequencing methods on stool samples from patients participating in the IBSEN III study, we can examine which bacteria people live in the gastrointestinal system of people diagnosed with IBD. From previous studies, we know that the gut flora in IBD may differ from that of healthy individuals.
We find clear differences in gut flora between the subtypes of IBD; ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease, indicating a diagnostic potential for the gut flora.
Assessing Disease Progression
Interestingly, and because patients in IBSEN III are newly diagnosed and representative of the population as whole, we can now investigate the potential of gut flora to predict future disease complications and the risk of hospitalization due to severe IBD.
Indications of research
Preliminary results indicate that the patients' gut flora profile outperforms established markers such as CRP and calprotectin in predicting severe disease progression in IBD.
Those who were developing severe IBD had a lower number of bacterial species and a unique composition of bacteria with increased amounts of, among others, Romboutsia, Veillonella, and Streptococcus in their stool.
This composition can be considered as a 'fingerprint' for impending severe disease, and using machine learning, we found that this fingerprint could be used for early identification of patients who were developing severe IBD - even if their CRP and calprotectin levels seemed normal.