Hello! I'm Dr. William Faubion of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, and one of my specialties is treating patients who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD.
Inflammatory bowel disease — which includes Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and indeterminate colitis — is characterized by swelling and redness of the intestines that can lead to diarrhea, cramping and pain.
We don't know exactly what causes IBD, but we believe that it's caused by an ongoing reaction to bugs or other gut proteins — including those found in some foods. IBD is chronic in nature, meaning that it can come and go over long periods of time. Because we don't fully understand the disease, doctors treat the disease with medications that block the immune system to control inflammation.
At Mayo Clinic, we are conducting a research study to collect and store clinical information and human samples from patients with IBD. We may also collect samples from patients without IBD to serve as a comparison group for our studies. The data that we collect will be kept in Mayo Clinic's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Biobank.
Samples stored in the biobank will be used to advance our understanding of the disease. For example, researchers will study how different inherited, or genetic, factors and environmental factors like bacteria influence the inflammatory process. It is our hope that the data we collect will ultimately help develop new diagnostic tools and treatments for patients with IBD.
If you choose to participate in the IBD Biobank, we will gather information about your medical history, medications you take or have taken, disease activity, and general well-being — how you feel. The samples that you provide may include blood, urine, stool and tissue at the time certain studies are performed. This study may also include your DNA, or the genetic information that you inherited from your parents — sometimes that's known as genetic testing. There is no end date to this study, so you will be enrolled indefinitely unless you choose to withdraw.
There are two key points here that are important to note. The first is that privacy of your personal health information is our greatest concern and, thus, identifiable health information — information that can be tracked to you — that's kept secure. It's not released, and it's not published. Secondly, your participation in the Mayo Clinic IBD Biobank is 100% voluntary. If you choose to participate, you will not pay for any tests or procedures that are done as part of this study.
It might be useful to keep your information and samples for future research. This is also entirely up to you. You can still take part in the current study even if you don't want your information or samples used in future research.
Please read through the consent form completely and carefully before deciding whether to participate in the Mayo Clinic IBD Biobank.
If you'd like to have more information or you have any questions, please reach out to our study team at the email address shown on your screen. Thank you again for your time and consideration.