Unraveling Crohn's Genetic Trail

[garygepner1]

This is a great link to the health section of the wall street journal on a future cure for crohn"s disease, keep your fingers crossed everyone. Its a very interesting article for those of you you are interested and would like to maybe even discuss it in a thread? LINK BELOW.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704464704575208341142073772.html


Sincerely and Respectfully, Gary

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Interesting article. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that not all crohn's is caused by that gene? I haven't been diagnosed yet, but my GI is thinking crohn's, and there is no other crohn's in my family that I know of (apparently my great-grandfather had UC, but that's the only IBD that I know of in my family history). So if I do have CD, I don't think I have the gene for it.

 

[Jeff D.]

I haven't read the article but I don't usually put much faith in the WSJ but that's not for here. I just wanted to write Cat that Crohn's most likely has a genetic factor. Not having a family member with Crohn's doesn't disprove a genetic link but having autoimmune diseases in your family improves risk of having Crohn's. You saying your grandfather had UC could be your link to Crohn's.

 

[MapleLeafGirl]

I too have no relatives that have Crohn's (officially). My grandfather always had stomach issues, but nothing was ever diagnosed. You have to remember that things have changed a lot in the past 20 years and I figure he likely had it.

 

[Manzyb]

I am also the only one in my family who has Crohn's disease. A while ago I was talking to my doctor and he told me that other family members may have the Crohn's gene, but it can lay dormant and sometimes never become active.

 

[GoJohnnyGo]

No Crohn's or autoimmune diseases in my immediate nor extended family. No past family history either.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks Jeff & Kelly for your input. Jeff, it was actually my great-grandfather (not grandfather) who had UC, and nobody else in my family since him has had any IBD-type issues - until last year when I started experiencing symptoms. So that seems really odd to me, if it is at least partly genetic, why nobody else in my family got IBD - no uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. going back 3 generations. Maybe I'm just terribly unlucky?

Kelly, your story reminded me of my grandfather (on the other side of my family) - he died of colon cancer, but we've since discovered that there's a lot of celiac disease in that part of the family, so the assumption now is that he had untreated celiac disease which led to the colon cancer. But it's hard to say - maybe he had IBD, maybe he had celiac, maybe even both, or maybe he just happened to get cancer. It's impossible to say for sure since he was never actually diagnosed with anything except the cancer itself (and that was 40 years ago, and you're absolutely right about how much things have changed in the past few decades!).

 

[garygepner1]

My great grandfather had IBD issues as well. And it skipped everyone in the family but me, an I ended up with CD.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Gary: Weird, and nice to know I'm not the only one! It is still really odd to me that it would skip so many generations/people and then come up again. Genetics are so strange.

 

[garygepner1]

Cat-a-Tonic: yeah, just hope my kids dont get it all though I worry bout my son who is now 6 and still has to take some sort of laxitive to poop or stoole softener beacuase he seems to constipate a lot and **** marbles. Any ideas? Our pediatrician told us when he was way younger that it takes a while for the bowels to mature in some kids/babies, but 6 years now? SO, what now?

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Gary: I honestly have no idea, I don't have kids so I don't think I can answer that. Have you had him checked for food allergies, lactose intolerance, celiac, etc? Does he have any other symptoms like pain or nausea?