GENETIC, SEROLOGICAL, FECAL AND CLINICAL MARKERS IN SIBLINGS OF CHILDREN WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

Although the precise etiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is still unknown, over the last decade active research allowed to gain more precise insights in the pathophysiology of IBD indicating that the chronic inflammation of the intestinal mucosa is directed against the microbiota of the gut in particularly susceptible individuals. Genetic studies and more recently genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have allowed to identify over 70 susceptibility genes which confer an increased risk of developing IBD. In the last years the attention of researchers has shifted to the identification of the early immunological changes that occur already at a preclinical stage of the disease, trying also at identifying the disease before it shows itself. Recently, the ability of a combination of serological markers in predicting the development of IBD has been demonstrated in adults. However, there are no studies evaluating a cohort of children at high risk for the disease, in whom the first immunological changes underlying the development of IBD could be studied, including a combination of genetic, serological, fecal and clinical markers.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate in a population genetically well-characterized, as siblings and twins of patients affected with IBD, early genetic, serologic, fecal and clinical markers of disease, which may be present even years before developing the disease. The identification of these markers in predisposed individuals could help to implement strategies for prevention or early treatment to modify the natural history of IBD.