Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Does Evolutionary Medicine Offer New Therapeutic Approaches?

Evolutionary medicine examines how evolutionary processes can influence health and disease. Insights from this research could be used to develop innovative approaches to treating chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Recent studies by members of the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (PMI) from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (MPI-EB) in Plön and Kiel University (CAU) show that an evolutionary perspective has significant potential to expand treatment options for diseases like IBD.

In a 2023 study published in the journal Gut Microbes, the research team demonstrated that gut bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, can rapidly adapt to inflammatory environments, becoming more mobile and aggressive. These adaptations enhance the survival and spread of the bacteria in the gut and could play a central role in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. In a recent review article, which compares this study with other work by international research groups, the researchers further highlight the potential of evolutionary medicine in treating chronic inflammatory diseases. This review was recently published in the journal Gastroenterology.