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genetic studies in IBD

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/13/2021 2:00 PM (GMT -5)
Hey all,

I watched a talk at the U of Michigan about IBD. There are over 240 genetic variations in IBD, and these can differ among ethnic groups as well. I wonder if this partially explains why there are so many different reactions to the same medications, supplements and probiotics among IBD patients. I hope they can one day offer more personalized, precise medicine and have data on what treatments you are likely to respond to based on genetics. Right now it's just experimentation and trial and error for everyone.

Here is a study on genetics in IBD and specifically looking at western vs. asian populations: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/8/5/404
Posted 1/13/2021 4:33 PM (GMT -5)
Hi I'm a patient at a university hospital, here they are doing experiments with biopsies to see if they can predict which patient will respond to which medication, basically by testing the drugs on the biopsies. So bits of my colon are there in the biopsy samples. They took biopsies before starting a new medication and 4 months later. The idea (if it works) is that then we can move on from the whole trial and error method, which is not fun to follow when you have to fail multiple treatments before finding the right one.
Posted 1/13/2021 7:17 PM (GMT -5)
Hi poppydoop, that is great news. Hope it helps you down the line.

Does anyone know if pharmacogenomics testing is useful or is it a waste of money?
Posted 1/13/2021 9:27 PM (GMT -5)
I did the test as part of a genetic study into IBD (just a blood test.)

The list of medications that are affected by genetic makeup was extensive. They categorize drugs into long lists, showing which ones would be affected by genetic makeup.
It was very interesting although not particularly useful. There was one drug which they had considered trying on me, which the testing showed would not be effective. Otherwise, most of them were not something I was likely to be on.

I think any research in that area is fairly new but worthwhile for the sake of learning.
Posted 1/14/2021 12:42 AM (GMT -5)
At the 2019 conference I attended (it was canceled in 2020 due to covid, of course), a couple of the speakers talked about work being done for 'personalized medicine,' where they could do stool and/or blood dna tests and then predict which drugs the patient will respond to best.

One presenter was optimistic that we/they are just a few years away from something like this being a reality, but the other present was less optimistic and basically said the researchers would need to be 'really lucky' to get there in the next few years.
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