IBD

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) includes conditions like Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's disease, where your gut becomes inflamed. Ulcerative colitis affects the colon, while Crohn's can impact any part of the digestive tract.Your gut is home to trillions of microbes, known as the microbiome, which help with digestion and keep your immune system in check. In IBD, this balance is disrupted—a situation called dysbiosis. This imbalance may trigger your immune system to attack your gut, leading to inflammation. Research shows that people with IBD often have fewer beneficial bacteria and more harmful ones. Understanding the link between the microbiome and IBD could lead to new treatments. For instance, therapies aimed at restoring a healthy microbial balance are being explored.

At APC Microbiome Ireland, we study how the gut microbiome influences gut health and explore ways to restore balance through diet, probiotics, and new therapies. Understanding these connections could lead to better treatments and improved quality of life for people living with IBD, Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

IBD Insights

IBD Insights was co-authored by researchers and a panel of patient collaborators as part of a wider public and patient involvement (PPI) study. IBD Insights was created to share information our PPI panel felt was important to the IBD community. The articles will include a summary of the PPI panel’s perspective written by Kevin Moore (one of the participating patients) alongside a short piece titled “the science behind” to explain more on the actual science and written by Naomi Hanrahan, an APC PhD researcher and reviewed by an expert panel.