GWA Study in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
GWA Study in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The aim of this study is to identify new genes in Chinese patients that help investigators to
 understand the biological pathway and functions in a population in whom the incidence of
 Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is increasing. And to explore the genetic variations in
 Chinese patients with IBD.
Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic inflammatory disorders of the
 gut that cause major life-long disability. Afflicting mostly young people at an age when they
 are most active both in their private and professional life, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
 represents an important public health problem affecting both the patients education, working
 abilities, social life . In the past two decades, the incidence and prevalence of CD and UC
 have been rapidly increasing in Asia. Familial aggregation, twin studies, and recent genetic
 studies suggest that there is an important genetic component to IBD. In the West, genome wide
 association (GWA) studies have identified more than 50 genes associated with CD including
 genes involved in bacterial handling, NOD 2, and the genes involved in autophagy ATG16L1 and
 IRGM. Only a few of these genes have been studied in Asian populations. Of those which have
 been studied, such as NOD2, there have been clear differences from Western populations. To
 date most of the GWA studies have been carried out in cohorts of Caucasian patients. Genetic
 studies in ethnically different populations may identify new causal variants in IBD, which
 are likely to lead to further insights into pathophysiology and potential treatments. The aim
 is to perform a GWA study in Chinese patients with CD and UC. Identifying new genes in
 Chinese patients will help the investigators to understand the biological pathway and
 functions in a population in whom the incidence of IBD is increasing. As part of a
 collaborative project with China, we aim to collect blood samples from 1600 IBD patients and
 2000 control subjects in Hong Kong to conduct a GWA study. Samples of 300 IBD patients and
 500 controls will be contributed to a collaborative project with China.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Age 18 or above

 -  Informed consent given by patient or family

 Case group (IBD patients) Diagnosis of Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis defined by
 endoscopy, radiology and histology

 Control group (non-IBD cases) Ethically, sex and aged-matched controls attending clinics or
 endoscopy for functional upper gastrointestinal diseases or screening colonoscopy.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  No consent

 -  Controls will be excluded if they have previously been diagnosed with IBD or if they
 have a first or second degree relative with IBD.