Sarah Yousef is the mother of Adam (14) and Amal (8). Both children have Crohn’s disease. Adam was diagnosed at the age of four, but it took nine long months to find an answer to what was wrong with him. – He had blood in his stool and was very lethargic. He also became razor thin and antisocial. There has been a lot of pain and absences from both school and kindergarten, says Yousef. She herself was called off sick from work in the time before the diagnosis was made. – There was a lot of back and forth from the emergency room and hospital, and it was tough not knowing what was going on. We didn’t understand anything, and it was a shock to discover what it was, says the mother. Adam’s condition has now stabilized thanks to medication that works, but his sister is still struggling with great pain. Adam Yousef is 14 years old and has Crohn’s disease. He was diagnosed when he was four years old. Photo: Privat May have found a solution And Amal Yousef is not alone in this. Because more and more children in Norway struggle with stomach and intestinal problems. The symptoms are often not very specific – which makes it difficult to make the correct diagnosis quickly. GPs may be unsure of how serious the condition is. But now Norwegian and Swedish researchers may have found a solution to the problem. A solution that can hopefully lead to many children and young people not having to undergo unpleasant and resource-consuming tests. – We have found that we can use a blood test that measures two fatty substances in the blood to distinguish those children where there is a high probability that the problems are due to an inflammatory bowel disease. That’s what Marte Lie Høivik says to news. She is a professor at the University of Oslo and senior physician at Oslo University Hospital. The new study is published in Nature Communications. You know it’s increasing, but not why According to Høivik, it’s difficult to say why more and more children are struggling with stomach and intestinal problems. – These types of ailments can have many causes – they are caused by everything from infections to chronic inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, allergies and food intolerances. Stress and pressure can also affect the stomach and intestines. Marte Lie Høivik is a professor at the University of Oslo and senior physician at the department of gastromedicine at OUS-Ullevål. Photo: Oslo University Hospital But if the cause of the ailments is, for example, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, then it is important to get started quickly with the right treatment, she explains. – We have therefore aimed to find new, simple methods that can separate these groups from each other. And they have now managed that with the help of children from several countries. – Often embarrassing to talk about In order to find the right method, the researchers measured a number of fatty substances in the blood of children with stomach and intestinal problems. And with the help of tests in the laboratory and statistics, they finally found two fatty substances that stood out. With the help of these, you can track whether a child has IBD with the help of a simple blood test. This in turn can lead to an early diagnosis, as well as faster treatment. The blood test has been tested on children in Norway, Denmark and England. And the results have been the same regardless of country, say the researchers. Høivik says there are many young people who struggle with this type of illness, as it is a topic that can often be embarrassing to talk about. – Yes, unfortunately it is probably the case that very many children, and perhaps especially teenagers, think such ailments are absolutely terrible. And we know that everything to do with faeces is very taboo. Just talking about poo and diarrhea is difficult for many. And therefore having to both take and send stool samples is something many people are reluctant to do, says the researcher. An illness that does not appear Mum Sarah Yousef can sign that this is an illness that is difficult for the children. Because Crohn’s is a hidden disease, and it can therefore be difficult for others to understand, she explains. She goes on to say that there has been bullying involved, and that it can sometimes be difficult to go to school when you have to go to the bathroom a lot. Since big brother Adam already had the diagnosis, it was fairly quick to find out that the little sister had the same. But it has not been as easy to overcome the condition for Amal. – She has a lot of abdominal pain, is lethargic and has blood in her stool. Now we are waiting for an answer after a few weeks of new medicine, says Yousef. She wants to put words to the disease so that others can better understand what the children are going through. Adam and Amal Yousef live in Oslo. Now the researchers hope that the new blood test can help children and young people who are in the same situation as the two siblings. Photo: Private Published 14.06.2024, at 16.06
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More and more children struggle with stomach and intestinal problems – now a simple blood test can give faster answers – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
