As many as 3 million Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Luiz Roesch and Brent Sumerlin think synthetic mucus might give them relief.
Doctors typically treat the inflammation in the bowels that can lead to diarrhea, stomach pain, fatigue, nausea and weight loss. But Roesch, a microbiologist, and Sumerlin, a chemist, think their artificial mucus could prevent the problem in the first place. By restoring the gut’s mucus barrier – a protective layer that keeps microbes and toxins away from intestinal cells – the material could help prevent the immune reactions that drive inflammation.
Read more about Gut Feeling: UF Scientists Create Synthetic Mucus To Fight IBD.
