People with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are being asked to sign up to a nationwide genetic database to help develop new treatments.

IBD describes two conditions, Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis. The goal of the new IBD BioResource (BR) is to accelerate research in IBD and build on recent major advances in understanding of the genetic basis of these conditions.

The IBD BR will be part of the NIHR BioResource, which is comprised of volunteers from around the UK who are willing to be approached to participate in research studies and trials on the basis of their genetic make-up.

Dr Miles Parkes (Medicine), who leads the IBD BR project, said: “This new resource is a nationwide effort, recruiting people who have Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative Colitis specifically so that they can help researchers to better understand the causes of IBD and develop better treatments”.