Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract may include anemia, skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, and fatigue. The skin rashes may be due to infections as well as pyoderma gangrenosum or erythema nodosum. Bowel obstruction may occur as a complication of chronic inflammation, and those with the disease are at greater risk of colon cancer and small bowel cancer.
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the other type being Crohn's disease. It is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and anemia may also occur. Often, symptoms come on slowly and can range from mild to severe. Symptoms typically occur intermittently with periods of no symptoms between flares. Complications may include abnormal dilation of the colon (megacolon), inflammation of the eye, joints, or liver, and colon cancer.
Haematochezia is the passage of fresh blood through the anus, usually in or with stools. The term is from Greek αἷμα ("blood") and χέζειν. Hematochezia is commonly associated with lower gastrointestinal bleeding, but may also occur from a brisk upper gastrointestinal bleed. The difference between hematochezia and rectorrhagia is that, in the latter, rectal bleeding is not associated with defecation; instead, it is associated with expulsion of fresh bright red blood without stools. The phrase bright red blood per rectum is associated with hematochezia and rectorrhagia.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine, with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine, as well as the mouth, esophagus, stomach and the anus, whereas UC primarily affects the colon and the rectum.
Colitis is swelling or inflammation of the large intestine (colon). Colitis may be acute and self-limited or long-term. It broadly fits into the category of digestive diseases.
Mesalazine, also known as mesalamine or 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), is a medication used to treat inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. It is generally used for mildly to moderately severe disease. It is taken by mouth or rectally. The formulations which are taken by mouth appear to be similarly-effective.
Crohn's & Colitis UK is a UK charity dedicated to Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and other forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It was founded in 1979 as the National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease.
Colectomy is bowel resection of the large bowel. It consists of the surgical removal of any extent of the colon, usually segmental resection. In extreme cases where the entire large intestine is removed, it is called total colectomy, and proctocolectomy denotes that the rectum is included.
The specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) is a restrictive diet originally created to manage celiac disease; it limits the use of complex carbohydrates. Monosaccharides are allowed, and various foods including fish, aged cheese and honey are included. Prohibited foods include cereal grains, potatoes and lactose-containing dairy products. It is a gluten-free diet since no grains are permitted.
Biological therapy, the use of medications called biopharmaceuticals or biologics that are tailored to specifically target an immune or genetic mediator of disease, plays a major role in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Even for diseases of unknown cause, molecules that are involved in the disease process have been identified, and can be targeted for biological therapy. Many of these molecules, which are mainly cytokines, are directly involved in the immune system. Biological therapy has found a niche in the management of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and diseases of unknown cause that result in symptoms due to immune related mechanisms.
Faecal calprotectin is a biochemical measurement of the protein calprotectin in the stool. Elevated faecal calprotectin indicates the migration of neutrophils to the intestinal mucosa, which occurs during intestinal inflammation, including inflammation caused by inflammatory bowel disease. Under a specific clinical scenario, the test may eliminate the need for invasive colonoscopy or radio-labelled white cell scanning.
Lloyd Mayer was an American gastroenterologist and immunologist. He was Professor and Co-Director of the Immunology institute at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, now known as the Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute.
The Journal of Crohn's and Colitis is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering inflammatory bowel diseases. It was established in 2007 and was originally published by Elsevier, but has been published by Oxford University Press since January 2015. It is the official journal of the European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation. The editor-in-chief is Laurence J. Egan. The journal has a 2022 impact factor of 8.0. In 2022, it was ranked 7th by Scimago journal rankings in the field of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Leukocyte apheresis is a medical device therapy for the treatment of inflammation of the colon. It works by removing from the blood a group of white blood cells called activated leukocytes that play a key role in the inflammatory stages of ulcerative colitis (UC). Selectively reducing these cells in the blood helps to reduce inflammation in the colon. Leukocyte apheresis can help UC patients with chronic, grumbling disease who are either unsuitable for, intolerant of, or failing on medicines described above.
The Kenneth Rainin Foundation is an American family run foundation based in Oakland, California. The foundation funds early childhood education programs in Oakland, various arts programs around the San Francisco Bay Area, and research into inflammatory bowel disease.
David T. Rubin is an American gastroenterologist and educator. He is the Joseph B. Kirsner Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, where he is also the Chief of the Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. He also serves as the Co-Director of the Digestive Diseases Center.
World Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day, also known as World IBD Day, is an annual event to raise awareness of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, known collectively as inflammatory bowel disease. The day is coordinated by the European Federation of Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA). It was created in 2010 during Digestive Disease Week in the United States and takes place on 19 May.
Maria M. Oliva-Hemker is a Cuban-American pediatrician. She is the Stermer Family Professor of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Director of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Vice Dean for Faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Shomron Ben-Horin is an Israeli physician, a co-founder & Chief Medical Officer of Evinature, and professor of medicine at the Tel-Aviv University.
Intestinal Research is a quarterly peer-reviewed open access medical journal covering the fields of intestinal diseases. It is published by the Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases in collaboration with the Asian Organization for Crohn's and Colitis, Chinese Society of IBD, Japanese Society for IBD, Taiwan Society of IBD, and Colitis Crohn's Foundation (India). The editor-in-chief is Toshifumi Hibi. The journal was established in 2003 and published semiannually; as of 2012 it appears quarterly. Originally published in Korean with abstracts in English, the journal is now published exclusively in English.
