Crohn’s disease
Researchers at The Royal Children's Hospital and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute aim to learn more about Crohn’s disease, an incurable condition that affects 70,000 Australians. In Victoria, incidence of the disease has increased approximately twenty fold in the last 30 years.
Crohn’s disease is a bowel inflammation that causes chronic pain, diarrhoea, fatigue and extreme weight loss. It is especially common in children, with the youngest Australian diagnosed at only two years of age.
The cause of Crohn’s disease is not known. Sufferers may have a genetic susceptibility but the increase in Crohn’s disease far exceeds anything that can be explained by genetic predisposition alone.
Several theories have been put forward to explain why Crohn’s disease occurs. These include the ‘hygiene theory’ – where a difficult-to-diagnose infection or a disturbed immune system may occur as the result of excessive cleanliness. (Lashner BA and Loftus EV Jr. True or false? The hygiene hypothesis for Crohn's disease. CommentEditorial. American Journal of Gastroenterology 101(5):1003-4, 2006 May.)
It has also been suggested that certain types of infections may be spread more easily because of the use of refrigeration for food storage and transport. Cooling food slows the growth of most bacteria, but does not completely stop it. (Reference: Lancet 2003 (JP Hugot et al).
Neither of these theories has been proven. Researchers at Murdoch Childrens have discovered that half of children affected by Crohn’s disease carried a bacteria called Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis, or "MAP". The role of MAP is controversial and these findings do not establish MAP as a cause for Crohn's disease. However studies on how bacteria causes Crohn’s disease are clearly important in helping researchers to better understand and potentially find a cure for the disease.