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Inflammation of the intestine linked to chromosome damage

Updated: 2009-06-01 22:16:47 CST Category: Celiac Disease Testing

by Francis Ma

UCLA scientists have linked intestinal inflammation and systemic chromosome damage in mice, possible shedding light on how inflammation is tied to many different diseases, especially cancer.

"This was not known before, that intestinal inflammation causes damage that can be found throughout the body," said Robert Schiestl, a scientist at the Jonsson Cancer Center and the study's senior author. Schiestl says that this systemic effect might explain why intestinal inflammation has been linked to some lymphomas and to abdominal, liver and colorectal cancers.

The researchers found that intestinal inflammation, found in such conditions as Chron's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis and Celiac disease induced damage to the DNA of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood circulating through the body. They found chromosomal damage as well as both single- and double-strand DNA breaks.

Schiestl said that if inflammation can be found early and the diseases treated immediately, it may prevent the chromosomal damage leading to the cancers. Chronic inflammation in other areas of the body, such as that detectable by CRP testing, has also been linked to numerous diseases.

About 1.4 million people in the U.S. suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases.

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