What causes Chrons disease?

Cause of Chrons Disease
Even though there is loads of research that is ongoing, the exact cause of Chrons disease is still unknown.

There are some researchers that suspect that infection by certain bacteria, probably strains of mycobacterium, may be the cause of Chrons disease. Unfortunately up to now, there has been no hard evidence that the disease is caused by infection.

The good news is that Chrons disease is not contagious, it cannot be passed on by blood or in the air. Even though your diet may affect the symptoms of your Chrons disease it is probably not anything to do with diet that caused you to get the disease.

ChronsDisease and the Immune System
In Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) the activation of the immune system in the intestines seems to have some significance. Your immune system is made up of immune cells and the proteins that these immune cells make. The function of these cells and their proteins is to protect the body against harmful viruses, bacteria, fungi and other foreign bodies. When they are activated it causes inflammation inside the tissues where this activation occurs. This is natural and this is important as part of the defense used by your immune system.

In people who have IBD, the immune system is seems to be activated even though there is no known invader and it is this continued activation which causes the chronic inflammation and ulceration. It seems that this condition and your chances of getting Chrons disease is passed on genetically from your parents. So if your parents have IBD, you are are more likely to develop Crohn's Disease.

Recent research has discovered that a gene called NOD2 has something to do with Chrons disease and it has been found that it is important in determining how the body reacts to some bacterias. The research also showed that people who have mutations of NOD2 are more likely to developing Chrons disease.