The impact of our research
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are caused by the body’s immune system attacking healthy tissues. Our QIMR Berghofer researchers are leading promising new avenues of research to ease the burden on IBD sufferers.
We’re investigating the pivotal role of the mucosa (the lining of the gut) and the microbiome in the development of IBD.
We’re using therapeutics derived from parasitic worms to treat autoimmune diseases, including IBD and coeliac disease.
We’ve helped identify the genetic abnormalities that cause debilitating bowel diseases.
We’re undertaking Queensland’s first population-based study to understand what causes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
We’ve identified a key driver of the aggressive gut disorder, Crohn’s disease.
About inflammatory bowel diseases
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a group of chronic autoimmune diseases that affect the digestive tract. The two main forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Crohn’s disease can affect the entire intestinal tract from the mouth to the anus, whereas ulcerative colitis mainly affects the colon and the rectum.
Both types of IBD are caused by the body’s immune system attacking healthy tissue.
While IBD can run in families, it can also develop randomly in those without a family history. Up to 20% of those with inflammatory bowel disease have a parent, child, or sibling with the condition.
Symptoms of IBD can include:
- abdominal pain
- diarrhoea, which can be loose and watery or sometimes bloody
- needing to have a bowel movement urgently and faecal incontinence
- rectal bleeding
- weight loss
- fever
- anaemia
- anxiety and depression.
Those who develop IBD as children can also be malnourished and experience delayed growth.
The rate of IBD is increasing in Australia and it currently affects around 1 in 250 people under the age of 40. Almost 85,000 Australians have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, with this number projected to increase.
Current treatments for IBD rely on drugs that suppress the immune system, such as steroids and antibiotics. However, medication generally only provides temporary relief, and the repetitive cycle of acute inflammation followed by temporary remission can severely impair gut function.
Some patients will require surgery to remove the damaged portion of the digestive tract– up to 70% of Crohn’s disease patients, and 20–30% of those with ulcerative colitis will require surgery. It’s imperative that medical research focuses on finding more effective treatments with longer-term benefits.