Inflammatory bowel disease comes in different forms which mainly revolve around the intestines becoming red and swollen. Crohn’s disease is one form of inflammatory bowel disease that involves inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. It is usually concerning the intestines but it also covers the rest of the GI tract. Symptoms of this kind of disease are various depending upon which part of the tract is affected. Many symptoms are associated with having a Crohn’s disease, and they include: abdominal pain, watery diarrhea, constipation, gastrointestinal bleeding, joint pain, and loss of appetite. The causes of this disease are still unknown but there is some relationship between this disease and the immune system. The immune system cannot differentiate between the host’s cells and foreign cell which results in an overactive immune response that leads to ongoing inflammation. Hence, Crohn’s disease is an autoimmune disorder. The disease primarily targets people between ages 17-35, and the risk factors include family history and smoking. There is no cure for this disease but doctors may prescribe some medications that may alleviate some of the symptoms. Removing the part that is affected surgically might also help.
Ulcerative colitis is another form of inflammatory bowel disease that mainly affects the large intestine and rectum. It has very much the same symptoms as Crohn’s disease except that the abdominal pain usually goes away after a bowel movement. Fever and weight loss are also associated with it. Moreover, this disease might stay inactive for a period of time and then progress quickly. The cause of this disease is unknown and can affect any group of people. Family history of ulcerative colitis plays a big role as a risk factor. The disease usually begins in the rectum and then spreads out to the entire large intestine. Severe attacks might cause the death of colon tissue, which can be removed surgically in a worst-case-scenario to remove the threat of colon cancer. No medications have been discovered that can cure the disease, but there are some which can control the condition and improve the symptoms.
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Thanks for the overview of the types of IBD. As we are learning more about this fascinating set of disorders, some may argue the lines between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are not so clear. It may be that instead, IBD is a spectrum of disease, and the classic presentations of Crohn's and UC are just part of that spectrum. Certainly we see "Crohn's" patients that look and act like UC early on with primarily colon disease (so far as we see, anyway). And then there are those patients that have "indeterminate colitis." There are some interesting serology markers for IBD that Prometheus has developed, such as ASCA, ANCA, omp-c and cbir. I have heard one of the Pediatric IBD experts comment on using these to brand an individual's IBD rather than "Crohn's" or "UC." Still so much to learn!
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