Genetics and Health

Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome and Ankylosing Spondylitis - evidence of a genetic link

by Elaine on August 5th, 2007

For years doctors and researchers have noticed a link between some intestinal diseases and some forms of arthritis.  This is often seen in patients with ankylosing spondylitis who the go on to develop inflammatory bowel disease.

Researchers at Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, assessed the occurrence of IBD and AS among relatives and the risk of inheriting either and both disorders. Their results provide compelling evidence of a link.

For further information, click on:

http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/arthritis

In Norway  researchers are privileged to enjoy an extensive geneologic database collected by a company called deCode.  Norway’s population, unlike most of the rest of the world, is homogenous - that is the country’s people have hardly mixed with other global cultures so their genetic make-up has remained the same for many, many years.  That means that genetic differences are more likely to be detected.  These differences coupled with a family history database extending over 50 years means disease and outcomes can be mapped within families.

Penny

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POSTED IN: Genealogy and DNA, General Genetics and Health, Genetic Future, Genetic Ingenuity, arthritis