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Millions of patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are given fresh hope as a new study shows why some of them do not respond to current treatments.

Macrophage engulfing bacteria 3d illustration

A new study by researchers at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology & Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) and Translational Gastroenterology Unit,(Nuffield Department of Medicine), has identified potential new therapeutic targets for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Published in Nature Medicine, the research has defined a subset of patients with IBD that do not respond to several current therapies.

The research set out to explore the different cellular and molecular processes that underlie inflammation in the tissue of patients who do not respond to treatment. They found that patients with ulcers who had increased activation of fibroblasts and expansion of the vascular system, and a high number of neutrophils in the inflamed intestine responded poorly to treatments.

Read the full story on the NDORMS website