Genetically Engineered Bacteria Are Sweet Success Against Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 22:14
in Health & Medicine
For the first time, scientists have used a genetically engineered "friendly" bacterium to deliver a therapy. The treatment is for bowel disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease for which there is no cure. The bacterium Bacteroides ovatus activates a protein when exposed to a specific sugar, xylan. The therapy has been proven to work in animals with colitis, one of the major forms of inflammatory bowel disease.