I recently read an article stating that Crohn's disease was caused by certain bacteria found in cow's milk and that only certain people were susceptible to this germ. The article also said doctors were in the process of developing an antibiotic that could fight these bacteria. Is this true?

Bob

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the bowel that typically causes diarrhea, weight loss, fevers and rectal bleeding. Although we have learned much about Crohn's disease since it was first identified about 60 years ago, the cause of this disorder remains a mystery. Currently, it is believed that several factors contribute to this inflammatory disease. First, it appears most individuals with Crohn's have a genetic predisposition to the disease. In addition, the person must be exposed to some environmental factor, or trigger, which sets off the inflammatory process in their intestine. Finally, Crohn's patients are thought to have an abnormality in the intestinal immune system that prevents the inflammatory process from being turned off, leading to the long-term problems characteristic of Crohn's.

Researchers have spent a great deal of effort investigating possible environmental factors that contribute to Crohn's. Many experts theorize that some infectious agent, such as a bacterium or a virus, may be the trigger for the inflammation in these patients.

Your question relates to one suspected agent called Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, a germ closely related to the bacterium that causes tuberculosis in humans. This strain can produce an intestinal inflammation in cows that appears similar to Crohn's disease. Although this data may appear promising, it should be noted that other researchers have not found evidence for this connection, and some have identified other kinds of bacteria as possible triggers for Crohn's.

Keep in mind that simply identifying the trigger, if it is indeed an infectious agent, will not lead to an effective treatment or cure. It is believed that once the intestinal immune system is turned on in Crohn's patients, inflammation may continue without any further exposure to the trigger. So, many Crohn's researchers are now concentrating their efforts on finding ways to turn off this abnormal immune response.