Disease Sub Groups:

• Bowel - Crohn's
• Respiratory - Asthma
• Dermitology - Eczema

Debilitating effects include:

• Malaise
• Growth Retardation
• Mental Development
• Physiological Development
• Emotional Development

These are complex genetic diseases; no single gene or mutation can result in these conditions. Instead, a combination of genetic, as well as environmental factors, contribute to both, suseptability to, as well as severity of, the symptoms.

Extensive genetic studies have shown various alleles to be associated with chronic inflammations, however other non-MHC genes have also be implicated. A key group of genes studied and those on which we focus, are the Cytokine genes.

Cytokines are mediators and regulators of inflammation. Our research comfirms that an imbalance of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines caused by gene mutations and polymorphisms, may lead to disease.

A number of cytokine genes have been studied in relation to long term medical conditions. These include:

• TNF
• IL1
• 1L6
• IL10

Studies of cytokine IL5, (which is a multi-functional cytokine), has been implicated in immune response regulation, auto-immunity, inflamation, haemtopoiesis and viral infection.