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Sunday, October 17, 2010

>Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

IBD:

Inflammatory bowel disease or IBD includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which causes inflammation in the digestive tract. The causes of IBD are unknown. Inflammatory bowel disease symptoms include abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, and fever. Other symptoms of IBD include weight loss. The goal of IBD treatment is to suppress inflammation.


IBD is of two types:
                                   1.Crohn's Disease
                                   2.Ulcerative Colitis

Crohn's Disease:

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines. Symptoms include abdominal pain and diarrhea, sometimes bloody, caused by inflammation of the intestines. Crohn's can be managed but not cured.

What Causes Crohn’s Disease?

Although there are many theories about what causes Crohn's disease, none of them have been proven. So exactly what causes it is unknown. There is a benefit, though, in understanding the possible causes of Crohn's disease and how they interact with one another. Doing so can help you better understand the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Crohn's disease.
Scientists believe that Crohn's disease is caused by these factors:
  • Immune system problems
  • Genetics
  • Environmental factors

Crohn's Disease - Symptoms

The main symptoms of Crohn's disease include:
  • Abdominal pain. The pain often is described as cramping and intermittent, and the abdomen may be sore when touched. Abdominal pain may turn to a dull, constant ache as the condition progresses.
  • Diarrhea. Some people may have diarrhea 10 to 20 times a day. They may wake up at night and need to go to the bathroom. Crohn's disease may cause blood in stools, but not always.
  • Loss of appetite.
  • Fever. In severe cases, fever or other symptoms that affect the entire body may develop. A high fever may mean that you have a complication involving infection, such as an abscess.
  • Weight loss. Ongoing symptoms, such as diarrhea, can lead to weight loss.
  • Too few red blood cells (anemia). Some people with Crohn's disease develop anemia because of low iron levels caused by bloody stools or the intestinal inflammation itself.
People with Crohn's disease also may have:
  • Sores in the mouth.
  • Nutritional deficiencies, such as lowered levels of vitamin B12, folic acid, iron, and fat-soluble vitamins, because the intestines may not be able to absorb nutrients from food.
  • Bowel obstruction.
  • Signs of disease in or around the anus. These may include:
    • Abnormal tunnels or openings called fistulas that sometimes form between organs. These develop because Crohn's disease causes inflammation and ulcers in the deep layers of the intestinal wall. Fistulas may form between parts of the intestine or between the intestine and another organ such as the bladder, vagina, or skin. A fistula may be the first sign of Crohn's disease.
    • Pockets of infection (abscesses).
    • Small tears in the anus (anal fissures).
    • Skin tags that may resemble hemorrhoids. These are caused by inflamed skin.
Because there is some immune system involvement, you also may have symptoms and complications outside the digestive tract, such as joint pain, eye problems, a skin rash, or liver disease.
Other conditions with symptoms similar to Crohn's disease include diverticulitis and ulcerative colitis.


Crohn's Disease Complications

Complications of Crohn's disease may be related or unrelated to the inflammation within the intestine (such as intestinal or extra-intestinal). Intestinal complications of Crohn's disease include obstruction and perforation of the small intestine, abscesses (collections of pus), fistulae, and intestinal bleeding. Massive distention or dilatation of the colon (megacolon), and rupture (perforation) of the intestine are potentially life-threatening complications. Both generally require surgery, but, fortunately, these two complications are rare. Recent data suggest that there is an increased risk of cancer of the small intestine and colon in patients with long-standing Crohn's disease.
Extra-intestinal complications involve the skin, joints, spine, eyes, liver, and bile ducts. Skin involvement includes painful red raised spots on the legs (erythema nodosum) and an ulcerating skin condition generally found around the ankles called pyoderma gangrenosum. Painful eye conditions (uveitis, episcleritis) can cause visual difficulties. Arthritis can cause pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints of the extremities. Inflammation of the low back (sacroiliac joint arthritis) and of the spine (ankylosing spondylitis) can cause pain and stiffness of the spine. Inflammation of the liver (hepatitis) or bile ducts (primary sclerosing cholangitis) also can occur. Sclerosing cholangitis causes narrowing and obstruction of the ducts draining the liver and can lead to yellow skin (jaundice), recurrent bacterial infections, and liver cirrhosis with liver failure. Sclerosing cholangitis with liver failure is one of the reasons for performing liver transplantation. Sclerosing cholangitis frequently is complicated by the development of cancer of the bile ducts.

Diagnosing Crohn's Disease:

There isn't one test that can tell you whether or not you have Crohn's disease. And Crohn's disease has many possible symptoms that are the same as symptoms for other health problems. So, to make a diagnosis of Crohn's disease, your doctor is likely to gather information from multiple sources. You'll probably go through a combination of exams, lab tests, and imaging studies with these goals in mind:
  • rule out other health problems that have similar symptoms
  • make a clear diagnosis of Crohn's disease
  • determine exactly which part of the digestive tract is affected

Crohn’s Disease Treatment: Common Medications for Treating Crohn’s

Crohn's disease -- also known as ileitis or enteritis -- is a chronic illness. In Crohn's, the intestine, or bowel, becomes inflamed and ulcerated -- marked with sores. Along with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease is part of a group of diseases known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Crohn's disease usually affects the lower part of the small intestine, which is called the ileum. The disease, though, can occur in any part of the gastrointestinal system. Thus, the disorder may affect the large or small intestine, the stomach, the esophagus, or even the mouth. Crohn's can occur at any age. It is most commonly diagnosed in people who are between the ages of 20 and 30.
 

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