Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

In recent years there has been a series of advances in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease).¹⁶ Notwithstanding these advances, our understanding of inflammatory bowel disease⁷ has been hindered by the lack of representative animal models, an absence of pathognomonic features, and inadequate therapeutic end points. Sensitive or specific serologic or genetic markers of inflammatory bowel disease have yet to be identified.⁷ At present, the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease and the differentiation between them are based on nonspecific clinical and histologic patterns that are often obscured by intercurrent infectious or iatrogenic . . .