A new experimental therapy has the ability to suppress the development of ulcerative colitis using a chemical inhibitor able to block an RNA molecule, according to an EndoNurse report.
Here are four key notes:
1. UC patients typically have high levels of microRNA-214.
2. University of California Los Angeles researchers examined 401 colon tissue samples from patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, sporadic colorectal cancer and colitis-associated colon cancer and compared them to specimens from people without these diseases.
3. Over the course of the two-year study, the researchers discovered a new microRNA-214 chemical inhibitor to treat UC and colon cancer.
4. The research team will continue testing the inhibitor and will apply for an investigational new drug application with the FDA.
5. The study is published online in Gastroenterology.