Building a database to improve inflammatory bowel disease care

This is a research registry — essentially a secure database — where patients with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis) can choose to contribute their medical records. By sharing your information with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, you'll help scientists learn more about what causes these conditions and how disease patterns differ from person to person. This information may also help researchers identify patients for future studies testing new treatments.

Inflammatory bowel disease affects millions of people, but doctors still don't fully understand what causes it or why it affects different people in different ways. By collecting medical information from many patients in one place, researchers hope to spot patterns that could lead to better, more personalized treatments and eventually ways to prevent the disease.