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Funding Will Help Identify New Stool Protein Biomarkers for IBD
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Researchers are analyzing levels of protein in stool samples collected from patients with inflammatory bowel disease to discover new biomarkers that could help diagnose and manage the disease.
Chandra Mohan, MD, PhD, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen endowed professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Houston, and colleagues have already narrowed down the potential number of markers from more than 1,000 to 50, according to a press release. Now, $347,490 in funding from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation will help them expand their research.
“We have recently compared stool samples from patients with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and healthy individuals, studying the levels of [more than] 1,000 proteins,” Mohan told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease in an email. “Interestingly, several proteins were significantly elevated in the stools only if the subjects had inflammatory bowel disease.”
Investigators believe that additional biomarkers will bring immense value to the diagnosis and management of IBD. The only current biomarker, fecal calprotectin, lacks the specificity and sensitivity needed to predict the diseases, according to the press release.
Mohan thinks that, in the future, there could be tests patients can use themselves at home that will help them understand more about their disease and help direct their treatment.
“The plans are to validate our findings in larger cohorts of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease patients, and to assess if the stool markers can be used to track disease activity in these patients,” he said. “Since a stool test is significantly less invasive and less expensive than endoscopy, these novel tests, once validated, may allow clinicians and patients to monitor disease activity status more frequently, and hence manage the illness accordingly.” – by Alex Young
Disclosures: Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease could not confirm Mohan’s relevant financial disclosures prior to publication.