A Pilot Study - Does Bowel Preparation Affect the microbiome? v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A pilot study to examine the effect of bowel preparation on the constituents of the microbiome
IRAS ID
139662
Contact name
Ailsa Hart
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Northwest London Hospitals Trust (NWLHT)
Research summary
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are the two major subtypes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and are a major source of morbidity. Patients are troubled by abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea, fistulae and weight loss. They also suffer from many non-intestinal and constitutional symptoms such as joint pains, skin lesions, eye symptoms and malaise. There are 16 new patients per 100 000 inhabitants per year and the incidence is rising, particularly in younger age groups. The cause is unknown and as yet there is no cure.
There is good evidence that IBD is triggered by the interplay of genetic, microbial and environmental factors. Until recently, the study of the types of micro-organisms that line the gut (the microbiome) has been limited by technology. Studies have shown that up to 99% of microorganisms may be missed when using conventional culture techniques. Metagenomics is the study of genomes - genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples. One such metagenome is the microbiome. It is hoped that the use of metagenomic sequencing to evaluate the microbiome will produce accurate, comprehensive and reproducible data about the micro-organisms contained within the genome.
At present, it is not known whether the microbiome is significantly altered by the action of the bowel preparation which is used to cleanse the bowel prior to a colonoscopy. This is crucial information, to ensure that data obtained from future metagenomic sequencing of the microbiome are standardized and valid.
REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1566
Date of REC Opinion
31 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion