Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Adhesion related disorder ~ Congressional Justification

Wishing you all the best in 2008 from all of us here at ARDvark Blog

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
FY 2006 Budget
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/federal/pdf/NIDDK_fy06_CJ.pdf
(Congressional Justification) Page 52-53
Adhesion related disorder – This little known condition commonly leads to abnormal attachments between the organs inside the abdomen. The adhesions generally are composed of scar tissue resulting from previous operations. Very little is known about why adhesions form more aggressively in some people. Diagnosis of the disease is typically difficult, and surgical correction is often unsuccessful. The Committee encourages NIDDK to investigate this disease, supporting research to find treatments and understand causation and to communicate these findings to broaden knowledge of the disease in the medical community. (p. 78).
Action Taken or to be Taken
Adhesion related disorder is not a single disease, but rather describes a type of scarring, particularly in the abdominal cavity. Scars form as a necessary part of the wound healing process following any type of injury or surgery. Scar tissue may form beyond the surgical wound itself and in some cases interfere with normal health.
Apart from surgery, there are many diseases that can precipitate adhesion formation in the abdomen. Important examples are the inflammatory bowel diseases known as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, in which inflammation can cause scar formation and complications requiring multiple abdominal operations. The NIDDK is committed to expanding the knowledge base of these diseases as a foundation for developing treatment and prevention approaches to preclude complications and the need for surgery. For example, the NIDDK supports a broad-based research approach to study IBD using multiple grant mechanisms. The IBD Genetics Consortium is taking full advantage of the first gene identified that increases susceptibility to Crohn’s disease, and also is enhancing the search for other contributing genes in this complex disease. The Silvio O. Conte Digestive Diseases Research Core Centers provide a mechanism for funding shared resources that serve to integrate, coordinate, and foster interdisciplinary cooperation between groups of established investigators who conduct digestive disease research.
The work of five of these centers specifically focuses on IBD. The Institute also funds a number of exploratory/developmental grants (R21s) to foster the development of high-risk pilot and feasibility research by established or newly independent investigators to develop new ideas sufficiently to allow for submission of a full regular research grant (R01) application. Examples investigation into a new subclass of regulatory T cells that may suppress inflammation and disease progression, and further studies of the protective action of certain intestinal proteins.
The Institute also supports four program project grants investigating IBD, including projects to study the genetic mechanisms predisposing to IBD in mouse models. This research may speed identification of homologous human genes and potential pathways for therapeutic intervention, and help to pinpoint genetic factors and immunological processes controlling human intestinal inflammation.
The development of the drug infliximab, the first treatment specifically approved by the FDA for Crohn’s disease, was based on a foundation of NIDDK-supported basic research. Future plans for NIDDK research on IBD and other adhesion-related disorders will include the continued pursuit of new drug therapies, the development of surrogate markers of disease, the maximization of research investment in animal models of disease, and the establishment of a repository that will collect and make available to investigators various types of human samples including blood, biopsied tissue, genetic material, and datasets.
Director: Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
General Inquiries may be addressed to: Office of Communications and Public Liaison NIDDK, NIH Building 31, Rm 9A06 31 Center Drive, MSC 2560 Bethesda, MD 20892-2560 USA Phone: 301.496.3583

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