Current Drug Targets - Volume 15, Issue 11, 2014

Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two major forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). These progressive and disabling diseases represent a major challenge for clinicians facing complex patients. The multifaceted aspects of disease characteristics require constant update for the gastroenterologists taking care of both CD and UC patients. In this special issue of Current Drug Targets several aspects o Read More

Goals of therapy for inflammatory bowel disease have advanced beyond symptom control to the normalization of biomarkers of inflammation, and mucosal healing in particular, with the expectation that this will change the natural history of these diseases. Concurrent with higher treatment expectations has come an expanded therapeutic armamentarium to achieve these goals, and a greater ability to optimize each therape Read More

Iron deficiency (ID) and anemia of chronic diseases (ACD) are the most common causes of anemia in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and frequently coexist. In these circumstances, detection of ID may be difficult as inflammation influences the parameters of iron metabolism. The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) ranges between 36% and 76% in this population of patients. Anemia may impair physical con Read More

The present article aims to review the literature on the relationship between psychology and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In particular, the first section is dedicated to explore the role of psychological factors in the etiopathology of the disease, its development and the efficacy of treatments, while the second analyzes existing literature on the role of psychological interventions in the care of IBD patients. Although t Read More

Seventy five percent of hospitalized patients with Crohn’s disease suffer from malnutrition. One third of Crohn’s disease patients have a body mass index below 20. Sixty percent of Crohn’s disease patients have sarcopenia. However some inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are obese or suffer from sarcopenic-obesity. IBD patients have many vitamin and nutrient deficiencies, which can lead to important consequences su Read More

The optimal care of patients with inflammatory bowel disease depends on adherence to standards of care regarding diagnosis, informing the patient of potential risks of treatment, obtaining recommended baseline studies, and monitoring the patient for efficacy and adverse effects. In clinical research as well as practice, financial conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed to insure that patients have sufficient i Read More

In Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients, thiopurines promote carcinogenesis of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-related lymphomas, non-melanoma skin cancers and urinary tract cancers, while anti-TNF agents could promote carcinogenesis of melanomas. Patients with IBD and previous cancer are at a higher risk of developing new or recurrent cancer than IBD patients without a history of cancer, irrespective of the use of immu Read More

This review discusses the rationale behind recommending immunopharmacological guidance of long-term therapies with anti-TNF-α specific biotherapies. “Arguments why therapeutic decision-making should not rely on clinical outcomes alone are presented. Central to this is that the use of theranostics (i.e., monitoring circulating levels of functional anti-TNF-α drugs and antidrug antibodies) would markedly improve treat Read More

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic, disabling, progressive and destructive disease. The general goal of conventional step-up strategy in CD treatment is to treat and control symptoms. This strategy did not change the disease course and is now being replaced with a treat-to-target approach. Achieving deep remission (clinical remission and absence of mucosal ulcerations) is the target in CD in 2014. Inducing and maintaining d Read More

Extraintestinal manifestations (EIM) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) occur frequently and may present themselves before or after IBD diagnosis. They most commonly affect the eyes, skin, and joints, but can also involve other organs such as the liver. Some EIM are associated with intestinal disease activity and ameliorate by treatment of the underlying IBD. This is seen in patients with peripheral Type 1 arthritis, oral Read More

Surgery has been associated with variable effect on the quality of life of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, depending on clinical patterns and baseline disease characteristics. However, surgical treatment is often conceived by these patients with distress and considered as the failure of their therapies. Lack of control, risk of complications, defacement of the body image, need of ostomy and hospitalization may be trigger Read More

Complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) are defined as therapies that are presently not considered part of conventional medical practice. They are termed “complementary” when used in addition to conventional therapies and termed “alternative” when used instead of conventional therapies. CAM includes many different practices, for example Ayurveda, acupuncture or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), phytothera Read More