May, 10: Researchers have developed a new test that can predict the severity of inflammatory bowel disease. The test will help allow for more personalized treatment plans in the future.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the term that doctors use to describe chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),1.3% of adults in the United States have IBD.
Types of IBD include Crohn’s disease, which involves the lining of the digestive tract, and ulcerative colitis, which affects the lining of the large intestine and rectum.
The symptoms of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis may vary, depending on the severity of inflammation, but they usually involve diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, and weight loss.
Various medicines can treat the symptoms of IBD and stop its reoccurrence, but there is currently no cure. The more severe the inflammation is, the more powerful the drugs need to be, and some of these medications can have unpleasant side effects.
For this reason, researchers are keen to find ways to predict how the course of the disease will progress to guide the treatment options. To date, however, this has not been possible.
(Medical News Today)
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