title: An evolutionary perspective on the causes and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To use insights from evolutionary biology to assess the current evidence for the causes, treatment, and prevention of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  When analyzed in the context of evolutionary adaptation, recent assessments of genetic, microbial, and environmental associations with IBD implicate infectious causation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An evolutionary perspective provides insight into the causes of IBD, interpretation of its manifestations, and assessment of interventions. The evidence implicating infectious causation suggests that future studies of IBD would benefit from increased focus on infectious causes and interventions that prevent or inhibit them.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40292, USA. pw.ewald@louisivlle.edu
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Ewald
authors.forename: Holly A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Swain Ewald
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005075:Biological Evolution; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D007501:Iron