Abstract
Background and aims
The cause of Crohn’s Disease (CD) is unknown, but the current hypothesis is that microbial or environmental factors induce gut inflammation in genetically susceptible individuals, leading to chronic intestinal inflammation. Case-control studies of CD patients have catalogued alterations in the gut microbiome composition; however, these studies fail to distinguish if the altered gut microbiome composition is associated with initiation of CD or is the result of inflammation or drug treatment.