Some 1 million people in the United States suffer from inflammatory bowel disease. In the colon, this disease is called ulcerative colitis; in the small intestine, it’s Crohn’s disease. Though physicians know little about what causes these conditions, each results in abdominal pain and debilitating, bloody diarrhea. Now, researchers have uncovered evidence that the conditions may initially be triggered by chemical reactions that deplete affected tissues of a key antioxidant.
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