Molecule stops, prevents colitis symptoms

BOSTON, May 28 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists say they've discovered a sugar molecule produced by a bacterium in a person's gut that can mitigate colitis symptoms in lab animals.

And, aside from reversing the symptoms, when the molecule was administered to animal models of colitis, disease symptoms did not develop.

The team of researchers from the Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the California Institute of Technology said the molecule produced by the bacterium in the gut's intestinal microflora can eliminate symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease -- a condition that includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

"Given the sheer number of bacteria in the gut, the potential for discovering new molecules that can treat a whole range of these diseases is promising," said Professor Dennis Kasper, co-lead author of the study.

The research -- the first to show a beneficial molecule produced by intestinal bacteria can work therapeutically in an animal model -- is presented as the cover story in the May 29 issue of the journal