New Delhi, June 9
Researchers have found a genetic mutation that can worsen iron deficiency and anaemia in patients with Crohn's disease.
Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that can affect the small intestine and the large intestine.
While it is characterised by chronic inflammation, leading to symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fatigue, and weight loss, it can also cause anaemia.
Iron-deficient anaemia is most common among Crohn's patients and leads to chronic fatigue, reducing the quality of life, particularly during disease flare-ups.
Biomedical scientists at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine found that mutation in the gene PTPN2 (protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 2) -- found in 14-16 per cent of the general population and 19-20 per cent of the IBD population -- is responsible for this.
The study, performed on serum samples from IBD patients, reports that patients carrying a loss-of-function mutation in the PTPN2 gene exhibit significant disruption in blood proteins that regulate iron levels.