A new study examining the immunological and microbial profiles of pregnant patients with IBD suggests that pregnancy is safe and potentially beneficial for women with IBD. In this study, faecal and serum samples were obtained from 46 patients with IBD (31 with Crohn’s disease and 15 with ulcerative colitis) and 170 healthy control individuals at various time points before, during and after pregnancy. Circulating pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-8, IL-12 and TNF) markedly decreased after conception in pregnant patients with IBD. Microbiome analyses showed that although microbial diversity was reduced in patients with IBD compared with healthy women before and during early pregnancy, this IBD-associated dysbiosis was absent during middle and late pregnancy.
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van der Giessen, J. et al. Modulation of cytokine patterns and microbiome during pregnancy in IBD. Gut https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318263 (2019)
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Dickson, I. Pregnancy safe and beneficial for women with IBD. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 16, 454 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-019-0182-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-019-0182-2