Viruses may play a role in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn's disease, as well as ulcerative colitis (UC).

This is evidenced by the results of a new study conducted in the United States.

The authors of the work say that scientists have previously associated Crohn's disease and UC with a variety of pathogenic bacteria that live in the intestine..

However, a new study has found that people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have many more different viruses than healthy people.. This suggests that some viruses, like bacteria, may be a factor in the development of IBD..

Read more about the results of the study in the pages of the new issue of the journal Cell.

Study lead author Dr. Herbert Virgin IV, professor of pathology and director of the Department of Pathology and Immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says these results are just "

To learn more about the diversity and role of enteric viruses, it is necessary to conduct a number of special studies, and work here for several years to come.. Dr. Virgin suggests that scientists will be able to discover new viruses that can interact with intestinal cells, the immune system and with intestinal bacteria, participating in the development of IBD..

Researchers are now developing a lab animal model of inflammatory bowel disease that could help determine the role of viruses and bacteria in Crohn's disease and UC.. While the causes and exact mechanisms of these diseases remain a topic for discussion..

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 million people in this country suffer from inflammatory bowel disease.. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can cause diarrhea, malabsorption of nutrients, bleeding, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Some people with Crohn's disease have to remove the affected part of the intestine, but even this treatment is not always effective..

medbe. en.