How do you solve a puzzle with hidden pieces? That’s the question researchers focused on pediatric Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) face every day, as only 20% to 25% of their young patients under 5 years old present with a diagnosis-confirming genetic factor. Identifying the remaining children with the serious disorder presents a vast challenge.
Then the issue becomes: What’s the best treatment option for each patient, based upon their personal genetic markers? Gains are being made in personalized and immunologic therapies for IBD patients – essentially activating or educating the young patient’s own immune system against the disease – but much remains to be learned.
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Related story on IBD symptoms and treatment See related article on the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of IBD in children. |
In the following Q&A, Edwin de Zoeten, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics-gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and director of the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado, discusses how precision medicine, protein research and biostatistics can help overcome barriers in diagnosing and treating children with IBD.