Ulcerative Colitis

About Ulcerative Colitis & Proctitis When you first learn that you have ulcerative colitis, you will probably feel overwhelmed. You may not even have heard of ulcerative colitis until now. And even if you are familiar with the disorder, the information you have may be pretty limited. That's all about to change. Clearly, you will have many questions about how this disease will affect you -- both now and down the road. For example, you'll want to know:

• Will I be able to work, travel, and exercise?
• Should I be on a special diet?
• How will other people react to my illness?
• Could my medications have side effects?
• How will ulcerative colitis change my life?

Learning all you can is an important step toward taking charge of your illness -- and your life. The following is an overview of ulcerative colitis. It is designed to help you understand more about the diagnosis and treatment of this illness, and its impact on the day-to-day lives of patients and their families. The better informed you are about ulcerative colitis, the more equipped you'll be to participate as an active member of your healthcare team.

What is Ulcerative Colitis?

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic (ongoing) disease of the colon, or large intestine. The disease is marked by inflammation and ulceration of the colon mucosa, or innermost lining. Tiny open sores, or ulcers, form on the surface of the lining, where they bleed and produce pus and mucus. Because the inflammation makes the colon empty frequently, symptoms typically include diarrhea (sometimes bloody) and often crampy abdominal pain.

The inflammation usually begins in the rectum and lower colon, but it may also involve the entire colon. When ulcerative colitis affects only the lowest part of the colon -- the rectum -- it is called ulcerative proctitis. If the disease affects only the left side of the colon, it is called limited or distal colitis. If it involves the entire colon, it is termed pancolitis.

Ulcerative colitis differs from another inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn's disease. Crohn's can affect any area of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, including the small intestine and colon. Ulcerative colitis, on the other hand, affects only the colon. The inflammation involves the entire rectum and extends up the colon in a continuous manner. There are no areas of normal intestine between the areas of diseased intestine. In contrast, such so-called "skip" areas may occur in Crohn's disease. Ulcerative colitis affects only the innermost lining of the colon, whereas Crohn's disease can affect the entire thickness of the bowel wall.

Both illnesses do have one strong feature in common. They are marked by an abnormal response by the body's immune system. The immune system is composed of various cells and proteins. Normally, these protect the body from infection. In people with IBD, however, the immune system reacts inappropriately. Mistaking food, bacteria, and other materials in the intestine for foreign or invading substances, it launches an attack. In the process, the body sends white blood cells into the lining of the intestines, where they produce chronic inflammation. These cells then generate harmful products that ultimately lead to ulcerations and bowel injury. When this happens, the patient experiences the symptoms of IBD.

Neither ulcerative colitis nor Crohn's disease should be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a disorder that affects the motility (muscle contractions) of the colon. Sometimes called "spastic colon" or "nervous colitis," IBS is not characterized by intestinal inflammation. It is, therefore, a much less serious disease than ulcerative colitis. IBS bears no direct relationship to either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.

What Causes Ulcerative Colitis?

Although considerable progress has been made in IBD research, investigators do not yet know what causes this disease. Studies indicate that the inflammation in IBD involves a complex interaction of factors: the genes the persont has inherited, the immune system, and something in the environment. Foreign substances (antigens) in the environment may be the direct cause of the inflammation, or they may stimulate the body's defenses to produce an inflammation that continues without control. Researchers believe that once the IBD patient's immune system is "turned on," it does not know how to properly "turn off" at the right time. As a result, inflammation damages the intestine and causes the symptoms of IBD. That is why the main goal of medical therapy is to help patients regulate their immune system better.

CCFA-sponsored research has led to progress in the fields of immunology, the study of the body's immune defense system; microbiology, the study of microscopic organisms with the power to cause disease; and genetics. Many scientists now believe that the interaction of an outside agent (such as a virus or bacterium) with the body's immune system may trigger the disease, or that such an agent may cause damage to the intestinal wall, initiating or accelerating the disease process. Through CCFA's continuing research efforts, much more will be learned and a cure will eventually be found.

Is Ulcerative Colitis Inherited? We know that ulcerative colitis can tend to run in families. Studies have shown that up to 20 percent of people with ulcerative colitis will have a close relative with either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. Most often, the affected relative of the colitis patient will also have ulcerative colitis. However, based on current research, there does not appear to be a clear-cut pattern to this inheritance. Researchers continue to seek specific genes involved in the cause of the diseases. At this time, however, there is no way to predict which, if any, family members will develop ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.

 

News about Ulcerative Colitis

Channel: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology News From Medical News Today

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