IBD or Inflammatory Bowel Disease
This is a general term for a a series of chronic inflammatory disorders of the intestine. There are two major categories: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. IBD is characterized by repeated inflammation of particular segments of the intestine manifested with diverse symptoms.
Crohn’s disease is distinguished by an inflammatory reaction in every part of the diameter of the bowel wall. In about 40% (forty percent) of cases the granulomas (inflammatory lesions) are not present at all or abysmally developed. Crohn et al limited the disease segments in 1932 to the ileum, the last portion of the small intestine.
It is worthwhile noticing that the same granulomatous activity may involve oral mucosa, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, jejunum, and the colon. If the small intestine is affected it may be called regional enteritis. If the colon is involved Crohn’s disease might be called granulomatous colitis.
Ulcerative Colitis
This involves a non-specific inflammatory response, mostly restricted to the lining of the colon. Both diseases share many features like: (1)
1. The colon is frequently involved in Crohn’s disease and is invariably involved in ulcerative colitis.
2. Although rare, patients with ulcerative colitis who have total colon involvement may develop a so called backwash ileitis. Thus, both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis may cause changes in the small intestine.
3. Patients with Crohn’s disease often have close relatives with ulcerative colitis, and vice versa.
4. When there is no granulomatous reaction in Crohn’s disease of the colon, the two lesions may resemble each other in both the clinical picture and the biopsy result.
5. The many epidemiological similarities between the two diseases include sex, age, race, and geographic distribution.
6. Both conditions are associated with similar manifestation outside the gastrointestinal tract (extra-intestinal).
7. The causative factors appear to be parallel for the two conditions.
8. Both conditions are associated with an increased frequency of colonic carcinoma.
Tomorrow I will continue with common causes of these diseases.
In the meantime increase your High- Complex Carbohydrate and fiber intake. Stay away from wheat bran, since there is a correlation between high intolerance of wheat in IBD patients. All this will be covered in subsequent posts this week.
In the meantime:
Beste Gesundheit
Werner
(1) Murray M., N.D., Pizzorno J. N.D., Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. (1998). Three Rivers Press, New York, New York. pg. 588