Remember the sage musical advice from Mary Poppins? A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down. Now, a new breakthrough in the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) may mean that patients need only to eat their sugar to make the medicine work.

Professor Simon Carding of Leeds’ Faculty of Biological Sciences has adapted bacteria in our own bodies to produce human growth factors which help repair the layer of cells lining the colon. This reduces the inflammatory effect of IBD. The human gut has trillions of bacteria that aid in digestion and keep it healthy. But Carding has altered this bacteria so that it only turns on its production of human growth factors in the presence of a specific sugar, Xylan, which is derived from tree bark. A patient could turn their medicine on as and when they need it by increasing their intake of this sugar.

IBD includes Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. UC usually only involves the colon but CD can strike at any part of the intestine. The incidence of symptoms generally peak in the second and third decades of life, with a smaller peak between the ages of 55 and 65.

Researchers will be testing the treatment over the next twelve months in preparation for clinical trials.

Source:
Medical News Today

Support and information for IBD sufferers:
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America

and because I couldn’t resist:
A Spoonful of Sugar – Mary Poppins