Contact: Joanne Stempak, Project Manager
416-586-4800 ext 8399
Joanne.Stempak@SinaiHealth.ca

Primary Investigator: Mark Silverberg, MD
Enrolment: Ongoing 

Sponsor: This initiative is funded by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada

Objective: The objective is to evaluate microbial and gene expression factors which are associated with the recurrence of small bowel inflammation following surgery for Crohn’s Disease. This will have practical implications for evaluating which patients are more likely to rapidly recur as well as provide insight into the pathogenesis of Crohn’s Disease.

Eligibility: Any Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH) patient who has a confirmed diagnosis of Crohn's Disease with disease located in the ileum or terminal ileum and undergoing ileal, ileocecal or ileocolonic resection at MSH for the first time at the time of study enrolment.

You are not eligible for this study if:

• You’ve had a prior resection surgery or have undergone strictureplasty

Participation:

Participation involves:  

• Providing us with information regarding your family history and disease specifics
• A small blood sample for research purposes
• Providing us with permission to review your medical information regarding IBD
• Filling in 4-day food diaries prior to your sample collections
• Allowing us to follow you for up to 18 months after your surgery with data and samples collected at the time of your routine check ups with your gastroenterologist or surgeon. 
• If you are scheduled to have a colonoscopy as part of your routine clinical care, you may be asked if you're willing to provide tissue biopsies for research purposes during your colonoscopy
   

Background information:
For many Crohn's Disease patients with small portions of severely affected terminal ileum, surgical removal of the diseased bowel and reconnection of the two ends is considered a reasonable treatment option. However, patients may experience recurrence of their disease in the future following surgery. Similar to hypotheses regarding the development of Crohn’s Disease, those relating to the recurrence of inflammation following surgery suggest that inflammation is the result of altered immunity in genetically predisposed individuals due to a combination of changes in gene expression and the microbial milieu. The aim of this study is to evaluate microbial and gene expression factors which are associated with the recurrence of small bowel inflammation following surgery for CD. This will have practical implications for evaluating which patients are more likely to rapidly recur as well as provide insight into the pathogenesis of Crohn’s Disease.

We would like to sincerely thank all of our study participants. This research couldn't be possible without your cooperation.

Please contact Joanne Stempak (phone 416-586-4800 x8399) if you are interested in participating in this study.