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| What is Crohn's Disease?
Definition> Symptoms> Diagnosis> Treatment> Cause What is Crohn's? Cause The cause of Crohn's Disease is not precisely known, but a host of circumstances have been determined to contribute to the disease in patients. Scientists have found that genetics plays a role in Crohn's Disease with more than thirty genes affecting the liklihood of a person having Crohn's. Environment plays a large part in the incidence rate of Crohn's Disease, with the disease affecting much larger percentages of the population in industrialized nations. This is believed in part to be due to diet, the wide variety of medications and chemicals used, and the prevalance of stress and anxiety in such cultures. Finally, bacteria is believed to play an important role in Crohn's Disease. It was first theorized by Burrill Crohn that Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, a bacteria that causes the digestive affliction known as Johne's Disease in cattle, was the cause of Crohn's disease. Researchers and physicians began to move away from this theory placing more importance on diet, genetics, and environment until recently; research is now pointing back to bacteria playing a large role in Crohn's Disease. No particular bacteria has been isolated as a cause, and many doctors believe that bacterial overgrowths as a result of comprimised immune systems are to blame for many of the symptoms. However, much research is being done to isolate a particular type of bacteria as the main cause of the disease. |
| created April 1, 2011 last updated January 1, 2012 |
