Genetic Characteristics of Lithuanian and Latvian Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease ; Uždegiminėmis žarnyno ligomis sergančių Lietuvos ir Latvijos ligonių genetinės ypatybės

LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES Jurgita Šventoraitytė GENETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF LITHUANIAN AND LATVIAN PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE Doctoral Dissertation Biomedical Sciences, Biology (01 B) Kaunas, 2011 Dissertation has been prepared at Lithuanian University of Health Sciences during the period of 2006–2010. Scientific Supervisor Prof. Dr. Neringa Paužienė (Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Biology – 01 B) Consultants: Prof. Habil. Dr. Limas Kupčinskas (Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Medicine – 07 B) Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Andre Franke (Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Biomedical Sciences, Biology – 01 B) CONTENT ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. 5 INTRODUCTION ............................... 7 Aim and objectives of the study ....................................... 9 Originality of the study..................... 9 1. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................... 11 1.1. Inflammatory bowel disease 11 1.1.1. Clinical aspects of Crohn‟s disease .............................................. 11 1.1.2. Clinicacts of ulcerative colitis ............. 13 1.1.3. Epidemiology ................................................ 14 1.1.4. Pathogenesis ................. 16 1.2. Genetic mapping in complex human diseases .......