Crohn’s disease a form of IBD can significantly impact young lives causing symptoms like weight loss fatigue anemia and abdominal pain that hinder growth and daily activities. To address this researchers from Arizona State University and Phoenix Children’s have joined forces to explore pediatric IBD more deeply. Their new study Multiomics-Based Profiling of the Fecal Microbiome Reveals Potential Disease-Specific Signatures in Pediatric IBD investigates gut changes to help develop quicker less invasive diagnostic tools and improve treatment options for children.

Some kids have to rush out of class or miss school for treatments. It leads to stress and anxiety says Dr. Brad Pasternak pediatric gastroenterologist and medical director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic at Phoenix Children’s. This disease deeply affects their daily lives. Managing it often requires long-term medication dietary changes and lifestyle adjustments. One Arizona family knows this struggle firsthand. Aaron Johnson a father from Phoenix shares how his 13-year-old son’s Crohn’s diagnosis dramatically changed their world. It’s incredibly hard you feel powerless as a parent Johnson says. Before this I had no idea what Crohn’s was. People assume it’s just a stomach issue but it’s far more serious.

If we can identify what’s different in the gut of someone with an autoimmune disease I truly believe we can find a cure and that gives me hope says Todd Sandrin, dean of ASU’s New College and a microbiology professor affiliated with the Biodesign Center for Health Through Microbiomes.

Sandrin focuses on the gut microbiome the vast community of trillions of microbes living in our digestive system. There are more organisms in your gut than there are cells in your body or even stars in the sky he explains. We’re discovering just how essential the microbiome is it may even function like a separate organ.

Just knowing which bacteria are in the gut is like looking at the outside of a car explains Peter Jurutka professor of molecular biology at ASU’s New College and the School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering. Our approach is like opening the hood and examining the engine we’re seeing how everything functions which gives us deeper insight into the disease.

So far the study has revealed promising insights. Children with IBD especially those with ulcerative colitis showed distinct differences in how their gut bacteria process nutrients and produce chemicals. Certain proteins and sugar pathways were unusually active potentially contributing to inflammation.

This is a powerful example of how microbiome science can revolutionize health care especially for children says Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown director of ASU’s Biodesign Center for Health Through Microbiomes. At ASU and Biodesign we’re committed to research that not only expands scientific knowledge but also leads to real-world diagnostics and better treatments for families.

Source: https://news.asu.edu/20250725-health-and-medicine-asu-phoenix-childrens-help-kids-painful-inflammatory-bowel-diseases