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Crohn's and Colitis Canada Inflammatory Bowel Disease GEM Project
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For more information: gemproject.ca

Contact: National Project Office
Toll Free: 1-866-803-9632
Email: info@gemproject.ca

Primary Investigators:
Dr. Kenneth Croitoru (National Project Director)
Dr. Hillary Steinhart (Site Investigator)
Dr. Mark Silverberg (Sub-Site Investigator)

Funding provided by:

https://www.crohnsandcolitis.ca/ and Helmsley Charitable Foundation

Objective: To identify why some individuals develop Crohn's disease while others do not. This is accomplished by following healthy individuals who are considered to be at higher risk for developing Crohn's disease over several years and assessing several factors before and after a diagnosis of Crohn's disease is made.

Expectation: This research will allow for an improved and more comprehensive understanding of how human genetics, environmental factors and microbial changes interact and contribute to the development of Crohn's disease.

Eligibility: Anyone who has been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease with at least one sibling or offspring that is generally healthy and is between 6 and 35 years of age.

Participation: Individuals who have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease: The Proband

  • Enrolment involves a brief visit where details regarding their diagnosis are confirmed
  • You must have at least one healthy sibling or offspring between the ages of 6 and 35 at the time of enrolment
  • You will be asked to contact or provide contact information for your healthy sibling(s) and/or offspring so that they can be approached for enrolment into the study

Individuals who have a sibling and/or offspring diagnosed with Crohn’s disease: The Subject

  • You must be between the ages of 6 and 35 at the time of enrolment.
  • You must have a sibling or parent diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.
  • No previous diagnosis of diabetes, IBD or Celiac Disease
Enrolment involves approximately two 1 hour visits:
  • During the visits, subjects must sign consent to participate in the study, complete environmental, dietary and other questionnaires regarding your medical history
  • Four tubes of blood are collected
  • A stool sample is collected
  • Two urine samples are collected
    - Subjects are contacted every 6 months for at least 6 years to review their health status.
    - If subjects develop Crohn’s disease, the sibling or offspring is asked to answer another set of questionnaires and will be asked to provide a repeat of blood, stool and urine samples.

Notes: Healthy siblings and/or offspring who do not develop Crohn’s disease during the study, may be asked to answer the questionnaires and provide another set of blood, stool and urine samples if they are chosen to be a healthy control. This control group is used as a comparison group to help determine why some people develop Crohn’s disease while others do not.

Enrolment: Ongoing.