Lecture 5 - Inflammatory Bowel Disease Flashcards
What is inflammatory bowel disease?
Ulcerative colitis and crohn’s disease
What are ulcerative colitis and crohn’s characterised by?
inflammation, swelling and ulceration of the intestinal tissue
they are chronic with periods of remission
symptoms of IBD?
stomach pain, weight loss, diarrhoea (blood/mucus) and tiredness
What else can IBD cause?
Joint pain, inflamed eyes and rashes
Where does ulcerative colitis effect?
the large bowel
Where does Crohn’s affect?
any area of the GI system from mouth to anus and all layers of tissue can be inflamed
How to diagnose IBD?
symptoms presented
blood tests for anaemia, vit deficiencies and inflammatory markers
xray, CT and MRI scans
sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy
How to diagnose crohn’s disease?
small bowel enema and small capsule endoscopy
what is a small capsule endoscopy?
A patient swallows a large capsule with a camera in it which sends images back to the computer, patient passes capsule and it is removed
What is a sigmoidoscopy?
small camera inserted into the rectum and moves to the lower part of the rectum
What causes IBD?
genetic links
autoimmune disease
environmental
previous infection
When is IBD most common to occur?
In late teens to early 20s, with most diagnosed by the time they are 30
most common in white ethnic groups
more common in women than men
How many people in the UK are affected?
one in every 350
What are the aims of IBD treatment?
induce and maintain remission
reduce symptoms and improve quality of life
reduce inflammation
reduce autoimmune response
what can be used to reduce inflammation?
Steroids, aminosalicylates, cytokine modulators
What can be used to reduce autoimmune response?
Immunosuppressant drugs
What should we consider when deciding treatment?
Clinical severity of the disease (e.g. how much of the colon is affected) and the patient preference
How are corticosteroids administered?
orally or rectally
Formulations of corticosteroids?
GR or MR formulations, enemas or foams
Examples of corticosteroids?
hydrocortisone
beclomethasone
budesonide
prednisolone
What is an enema?
A liquid that comes in a tube and is administered rectally
What is a foam?
aerosol that the patient can administer themselves, more palatable than the enema
What do corticoseroids do?
reduce inflammatory mediators directly and also have effects on expression of genes associated with inflammatory and anti-inflammatory proteins