For writer and speaker Amber Tresca, ulcerative colitis — an intestinal disorder — meant planning every moment of her life around one question.
Would there be a bathroom within reach?
That meant no theme parks with lines. No jobs with long commutes. No shopping trips downtown, she told Northeastern Global News.
Ulcerative colitis, or UC, the condition that Tresca has, is one of several inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), Northeastern biology professor Emeka Okeke explained. The umbrella term covers long-lasting autoimmune disorders that occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy intestinal tissue, causing inflammation, pain and diarrhea.
The main types of autoimmune intestinal disorders are Crohn’s disease, which can affect any part of the digestive tract, and ulcerative colitis, which targets the large intestine.
“The problem is that … we don’t have any cure for them,” Okeke said. “What we only have is treatments that manage the condition.”
Okeke is investigating a possible new remedy from an unlikely source: the potato.
Read more at Northeastern Global News
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