Dunrobin family participates in ground-breaking research project for Crohn's disease
Posted Nov 20, 2009 By EMC News
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Tweet ThisEMC News - The opportunity to help find a cure for a disease that has hurt your family is one that few would pass up. That's why the children of West Carleton resident and Crohn's disease patient Sherry Pang, jumped at the chance to participate in the Genetic, Environmental and Microbial Project , also known as the GEM Project.
"My family has watched me battle Crohn's for years, so they understand my struggle better than anyone else," said Sherry Pang, who lives with her family in Dunrobin. "After seeing everything that I have been through they were really excited to know that they could help be part of a cure."
Pang's two sons, Jake, 10 and Jesse, 6, who attend Stonecrest Elementary School, are among the more than 800 Canadians currently enrolled in this ground-breaking Canadian research study looking to answer many questions about the cause of Crohn's disease. The study aims to do this by following healthy people before they experience Crohn's disease and look for what's different among the small number who will experience their first symptoms of the disease during the follow-up period.
For this reason, the study relies on enrolling as many healthy siblings or offspring of Crohn's patients as possible.
Crohn's disease is one of two similar yet distinct conditions that make up Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The second condition is called ulcerative colitis. Crohn's disease affects the digestive system anywhere 'from gum to bum' and causes the intestines to become inflamed, form sores, bleed easily, scar and lose the normal smoothness of its inner lining.
"So much can be learned by studying the siblings and offspring of patients with Crohn's disease," says Dr. Ken Croitoru, a gastroenterologist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital and GEM Project Primary Investigator. "By comparing test results of those who develop Crohn's disease over time, in parallel with matched controls from the same group of at-risk subjects, we will be able to identify the genetic, environmental, immunological and microbial features that can help us explain the onset of symptoms."
Of the more than 200,000 Canadians with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, the majority (112,000) have a diagnosis of Crohn's disease. In 2008, the estimated prevalence of the disease in Ontario was almost 45,700.
Crohn's disease cannot be cured by drugs or surgery and there is little known about the cause, which is what the GEM Project is trying to uncover. There may be a genetic link, as there is a tendency for children and other relatives of people with Crohn's to develop these conditions, too.
"The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada is dedicated to finding the cure for IBD and the results of the GEM Project have the potential to bring us a major step closer to this ultimate goal," said Dr. Kevin Glasgow, CEO of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada.
The GEM study is funded by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada.
ABOUT THE GEM PROJECT
The GEM Project is a Canada-wide research study with over 20 sites currently recruiting patients across the country. This is the first study of its kind to try to understand the complex interactions within the bodies of individuals who suffer from Crohn's disease.
The GEM Project is currently recruiting individuals who have a full sibling and/or parent with Crohn's disease and are between the ages of six and 35. Those who join will have biographical, environment and biological information collected and stored.
Ottawa and area residents can learn more about participating at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) study site by calling Sheila Ledoux at (613) 737-7600 x4113 or by visiting www.gemproject.ca
