Zinc status in inflammatory bowel disease

1. The zinc contents of plasma, erythrocytes, polymorphonuclear leucocytes and mononuclear leucocytes from 18 normal control subjects, 31 patients with Crohn's disease and 15 patients with ulcerative colitis were measured. 2. Plasma zinc levels were low in Crohn's disease, particularly in malnourished patients, and related to plasma albumin concentrations, but were normal in ulcerative colitis. 3. Erythrocyte zinc levels were normal in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. 4. Mean polymorphonuclear leucocyte zinc levels were normal in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Ten per cent of Crohn's disease patients had subnormal levels, which were associated with inactive disease, while 10% had elevated levels, which were associated with active disease. Seven per cent of ulcerative colitis patients had subnormal levels. Mononuclear leucocyte zinc levels were normal in Crohn's disease and in ulcerative colitis. 5. Tissue zinc depletion occurs in only a few patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.     

Treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease with monoclonal antibody

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are nonspecific inflammatory diseases of unknown etiology. Recent immunological studies have shown that proinflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules play an important role in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Therefore, monoclonal antibodies to proinflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules are used to suppress the mucosal inflammatory response in experimental colitis and ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Anti-TNF alpha antibody and anti-alpha 4 beta 7 integrin antibody are well-tolerated and effective for treatment of patients with Crohn's disease. This review described clinical features and immunopathophysiology of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, proinflammatory cytokines and immunosuppressive cytokines and adhesion molecules involved in the pathogenesis of both disease, and treatment of both diseases with monoclonal antibodies.     

Ultrasonography in amebic colitis

Ultrasonography was performed on eight patients with confirmed amebic colitis to determine whether it is possible to differentiate amebic colitis from Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Bowel wall thickening was similar to that found in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis; thus, other tests should be used to confirm sonographic findings. However, ultrasonographic findings of thickened bowel wall should suggest amebic colitis in areas endemic for amebiasis.     

血浆早老蛋白-1对溃疡性结肠炎及克罗恩病的诊断价值

【目的】研究炎症性肠病患者血浆早老蛋白-1（Presenilin-1）的表达和对溃疡性结肠炎及克罗恩病的鉴别诊断价值。【方法】应用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）分析克罗恩病患者、溃疡性结肠炎患者和正常对照者血浆中Presenilin1的表达水平。通过受试者工作特征（receiver-operatingcharacteristic,ROC）曲线观察血浆Presenilin-1水平对溃疡性结肠炎患者和克罗恩病患者的鉴别诊断价值。【结果】溃疡性结肠炎患者血浆Presenilin-1水平显著高于正常对照者（Pd0．01）和克罗恩病患者（P=0．0053）,同时血浆对Presenilin-1水平对克罗恩病患者和溃疡性结肠炎患者具有显著的鉴别价值（AUC=0．7657,P〈0．01）,但是溃疡性结肠炎患者血浆Presenilin-1与内镜疾病活动性无显著相关性（Spearman r=0．1224,P=0．4022）。【结论】溃疡性结肠炎患者血浆Presenilin-1表达水平增高,可能对鉴别诊断克罗恩病有一定价值。     

Toll-like receptor 9-induced type I IFN protects mice from experimental colitis

Experimental colitis is mediated by inflammatory or dysregulated immune responses to microbial factors of the gastrointestinal tract. In this study we observed that administration of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonists suppressed the severity of experimental colitis in RAG1-/- but not in SCID mice. This differential responsiveness between phenotypically similar but genetically distinct animals was related to a partial blockade in TLR9 signaling and defective production of type I IFN (i.e., IFN-alpha/beta) in SCID mice upon TLR9 stimulation. The addition of neutralization antibodies against type I IFN abolished the antiinflammatory effects induced by TLR9 agonists, whereas the administration of recombinant IFN-beta mimicked the antiinflammatory effects induced by TLR9 agonists in this model. Furthermore, mice deficient in the IFN-alpha/beta receptor exhibited more severe colitis than wild-type mice did upon induction of experimental colitis. These results indicate that TLR9-triggered type I IFN has antiinflammatory functions in colitis. They also underscore the important protective role of type I IFN in intestinal homeostasis and suggest that strategies to modulate innate immunity may be of therapeutic value for the treatment of intestinal inflammatory conditions.     

晚发溃疡性结肠炎的临床特征分析

[目的]探讨发病晚于50岁的溃疡性结肠炎患者的临床特征.[方法]回顾性分析160例溃疡性结肠炎患者的临床资料.[结果]晚发溃疡性结肠炎组患者出现粘液血便、弥漫分布病变表现明显少于早发组,且差异有显著性（P〈0.05）,晚发组肠外症状表现明显轻于早发组,且无并发症发生.[结论]晚发溃疡性结肠炎与早发溃疡性结肠炎二者疾病行为相近,但晚发组患者疾病活动程度相对较轻.     

Inflammatory bowel disease

Idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease consists of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Crohn's disease can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus, and is also known as regional enteritis, terminal ileitis, or granulomatous colitis. Ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon and rectal involvement is present 95% of the time. Ten percent to fifteen percent of patients with irritable bowel syndrome cannot be clearly defined as having either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis and are termed indeterminate colitis.     

Analysis of direct tissue isoelectric focused protein profiles of resected intestinal mucosa and endoscopic biopsies from patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Direct tissue isoelectric focusing was used as a procedure to analyze differences in soluble tissue protein profiles of resected intestinal segments and endoscopic biopsies from patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and colonic cancer. Extraction of tissue proteins was accomplished by electrophoresis of mucosal cryostat sections on agarose gels across a broad pH gradient. The inflamed colonic mucosa from Crohn's disease patients showed similar isoelectric focusing protein patterns. Small bowel mucosa from a patient with both colonic diverticular disease and Crohn's disease showed protein patterns identical with that of the mucosa from a patient with only Crohn's disease. The inflamed mucosae from ulcerative colitis patients revealed identical protein patterns but were distinct from those of non-inflamed ulcerative colitis mucosa and from the inflamed mucosae from Crohn's disease patients. Non-inflamed small bowel mucosae from cancer, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease patients showed distinct protein patterns which were absent in the non-inflamed large bowel mucosae. The inflamed resected ileum of a Crohn's disease patient exhibited protein patterns similar to those of the biopsy of an inflamed mid-transverse large bowel. Mucosal biopsies from inflamed sigmoid colon of a Crohn's disease patient showed different protein patterns than those in biopsies from the inflamed mid-transverse colon. Thus, distinctive isoelectric focusing protein patterns may be useful in differentiating Crohn's colitis and ulcerative colitis when granulomata are absent, and in resolving indeterminant colitis to one of these classic inflammatory bowel diseases.     

Ultrasound findings in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis: a prospective study

In a prospective study, 118 patients with Crohn's disease, 51 patients with ulcerative colitis, and 72 patients with no disease of the intestine proximal to the rectum were evaluated by ultrasound. In Crohn's disease, thickening of the bowel wall and inflammatory masses were detected in 72.0% of the patients. With a transducer having optimal imaging properties in the near range, these findings were detected in 87.2% of a group of 47 patients. In ulcerative colitis, bowel wall thickening was detected in 52.9% of all patients. Thickening of the bowel wall was more marked in Crohn's disease than in ulcerative colitis. Most pathologic findings in Crohn's disease were located in the right lower abdomen, whereas those in ulcerative colitis were in the left abdomen, in particular in the lower quadrant. The frequency of wall thickening was correlated to the activity of the disease in ulcerative colitis but not in Crohn's disease. Considerably increased wall thickness, when localized in the right lower quadrant and found in combination with inflammatory masses or an abscess, suggests Crohn's disease.     

The association of autoimmune disorders with inflammatory bowel disease

Medical records of patients with ulcerative colitis (n = 858), Crohn's disease (n = 378) and coeliac disease (n = 148) were examined to determine the prevalence of associated autoimmune disorders. Of outpatient controls (n = 300), 2 per cent had at least one autoimmune disorder, compared to 7 per cent with ulcerative colitis, 2 per cent with Crohn's disease and 6 per cent with coeliac disease. Inclusion of primary sclerosing cholangitis with the autoimmune disorders increased the overall prevalence in ulcerative colitis to over 9 per cent. The results provide further indirect evidence of involvement of autoimmune mechanisms in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis.     

CT小肠造影影像对结肠型克罗恩病与溃疡性结肠炎的诊断价值

目的 探究CT小肠造影（CTE）对结肠型克罗恩病与溃疡性结肠炎的诊断及鉴别诊断价值。方法 选取蚌埠医学院第一附属医院和南京中医药大学附属江苏省中医院于2019年1月～2022年1月收治的结肠型克罗恩病患者36例和溃疡性结肠炎患者36例行CTE检查,分别观察两组影像特征,结合实验室指标、临床表现对克罗恩病和溃疡性结肠炎患者进行回顾性分析。结果36例克罗恩病患者中,CTE影像示肠壁不均匀增厚21例、肠道狭窄22例、瘘管形成7例及累及升结肠21例,均高于溃疡性结肠炎患者,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）;36例溃疡性结肠炎患者,粘液便18例及血便22例高于克罗恩病患者（P<0.05）,溃疡性结肠炎患者平均发病年龄较结肠型克罗恩病患者平均发病年龄大（P<0.05）。克罗恩病患者与溃疡性结肠炎患者的C反应蛋白及红细胞沉降率含量均值分别为28.17 mg/L vs 17.67 mg/L、32.25 mm/h vs 22.95 mm/h;C反应蛋白及红细胞沉降率含量的平均值对克罗恩病与溃疡性结肠炎的鉴别无统计学意义（P>0.05）。结论 通过CTE影像特征更直观地对结肠型克罗...     

Transrectal ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: To aim of the present study was to determine the value of transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) in the assessment of disease activity in ulcerative colitis patients, and in differentiating between mucosal inflammation and transmural inflammation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: TRUS examinations were used to study 30 control individuals and 76 patients with inflammatory bowel disease, including 50 cases of ulcerative colitis and 26 of Crohn's disease. A rigid linear endorectal probe was used to examine the rectal wall. RESULTS: In the 30 control individuals, the rectal wall showed five layers, with a mean total diameter of 2.6 mm. There were significant differences between patients with quiescent ulcerative colitis, active ulcerative colitis, and control individuals with regard to the total rectal wall thickness (P<0.001), submucosal thickness (P<0.001) and mucosal thickness (P<0.001). Using cut-off values, differentiation between active ulcerative colitis and remission ulcerative colitis was found to be 100% specific and 73 % sensitive for submucosal thicknesses. TRUS revealed a 100% specificity in differentiating between remission ulcerative colitis and control cases based on the total rectal wall thickness, submucosal, and mucosal thicknesses. In the differential diagnosis of active and remission ulcerative colitis, an increase in submucosal wall thickness and the existence of arterial and venous capillary flow in the submucosa were found to be specific and more sensitive than the other parameters. TRUS examination revealed transmural inflammation in 21 of the 26 Crohn's disease patients, and mucosal inflammation in all 50 of the ulcerative colitis patients. CONCLUSION: TRUS is a reliable and easy method of assessing ulcerative colitis activity and differentiating between rectal diseases.     

Colitis of Behçet's syndrome — Radiologic and pathologic features

Three patients with Behçet's syndrome and colitis are described. The radiologic and histologic appearances of the colitis are discussed. The similarities of Behçet's colitis to Crohn's disease are outlined. The cases demonstrate the necessity to consider Behçet's syndrome in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease.     

Frequency and spectrum of microorganisms isolated from biopsy specimens in chronic colitis.

In 109 patients with chronic diarrhea colonic biopsies were examined for the presence of specific microorganisms. A positive result was obtained in 48% of patients with ulcerative colitis, 50% with Crohn's disease, 21% with non-specific colitis and 36% with non-specific proctitis. Chlamydiae were found most frequently in all groups. Obligate enteropathogenic bacteria were isolated in only three cases of nonspecific colitis. Of the facultatively enteropathogenic organisms Klebsiella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated in 31% and 24%, respectively, of patients with ulcerative colitis, in 21% and 7% of patients with Crohn's disease, and in 10% and 6% of patients with non-specific colitis. Whereas chlamydial proctitis is a well-known disease, the results of this study point also to a possible pathogenic role of chlamydiae in the proximal colon. Facultatively enteropathogenic organisms causing acute diarrhea might have aetiologic relevance in some cases of chronic non-specific colitis.     

Clinical features, morbidity and mortality of Scottish children with inflammatory bowel disease

From the Scottish Hospitals in-patients statistics for the years 1968-1983 all children and teenagers (a total of 1257) admitted to a National Health Service hospital with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis were identified. Case records of samples of patients with onset of symptoms at or before age 16 years were examined to establish the features, morbidity and mortality of unselected cohorts of young patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Median delay in diagnosis was less than six months. Anatomical distribution for Crohn's disease was similar to that in adults (small bowel 30 per cent; large bowel 28 per cent; small and large bowel 38 per cent) and almost half the patients with ulcerative colitis had extensive colitis. The morbidity was substantial in both. In-patient days for Crohn's disease ranged from seven to 322, median 64 days and for ulcerative colitis one to 275, median 30 days. At diagnosis, 11 of 40 young children with Crohn's disease but none of 14 with ulcerative colitis, were below the third centile for height. Despite treatment with corticosteroids 72 per cent of patients with Crohn's disease and 30 per cent of patients with ulcerative colitis required surgical treatment. Seventeen per cent have a permanent stoma. There were only six deaths, all before 1978.     

Current status of drug therapy for inflammatory bowel disease

Both topical steroids and sulfasalazine are useful for patients with ulcerative proctitis and distal colitis. For patients with more extensive ulcerative colitis with moderate symptoms, prednisone and/or sulfasalazine will result in improvement in about 80% of patients. Parenteral corticosteroids or ACTH should be used in the setting of severe colitis and antibiotics added if the patient appears toxic. Sulfasalazine is of proven efficacy as maintenance therapy in ulcerative colitis. Prednisone and sulfasalazine are useful in Crohn's disease, although the latter is of limited use in patients with ileitis alone. Immunosuppressive agents such as azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine may be especially helpful in Crohn's patients refractory to other drugs or dependent on high doses of steroids. Azathioprine is of proven usefulness as maintenance treatment of Crohn's disease. Metronidazole is as effective as sulfasalazine in Crohn's disease involving the colon and has an important role in severe perineal disease. New forms of steroid enemas and topical and oral forms of 5-aminosalicylate based on sulfasalazine should be available soon for patients with both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.     

Autoimmunity, inflammatory bowel disease and hyposplenism.

The presence or absence of nine autoantibodies were assessed in 44 patients with ulcerative colitis (17 with hyposplenism) and 22 patients with Crohn's disease (eight with hyposplenism). The purpose of the study was to determine whether hyposplenism in inflammatory bowel disease is associated with an increased tendency to autoimmunity, or whether autoimmunity is linked not to hyposplenism itself but to the underlying bowel disease. The results strongly suggest that the latter hypothesis is correct. There was a much higher frequency of autoantibodies in patients with ulcerative colitis than in those with Crohn's disease (P < or = 0.01), suggesting that autoimmune factors are more important in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis than in Crohn's disease.     

Genetic and immunological basis for ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the rectum and colon. Results from many studies in people and animals of intestinal inflammation suggest that ulcerative colitis results from environmental factors triggering a loss of tolerance for normal intestinal flora in genetically susceptible individuals. Although progress has been made in the overall management of the disease, there are few clinical data on biological agents in contrast to Crohn' s disease. Here, we discuss the genetic and immunological basis of ulcerative colitis including the recent findings.     

Plasma levels of endogenous opioid peptides in patients with chronic colitis

Abnormal content and proportion of leucin-and methionine-enkephalins and beta-endorphin were found in blood plasma of chronic colitis sufferers. Nonspecific ulcerative colitis was associated with relevant peptides deficiency varying with the disease gravity, whereas in catarrhal colitis the peptides concentration was significantly elevated. Endogenous opioid peptides seem to play a role in pathogenesis of various colitis forms.     

Chromium 51-ethylenediaminetetraacetate test: a useful test in the assessment of inflammatory bowel disease

We evaluated the usefulness of urinary excretion values in assessing mucosal damage in inflammatory bowel disease after administration of chromium 51-labeled EDTA either orally or rectally. In the oral study, 19 controls, 18 patients with Crohn's disease, and 13 patients with ulcerative colitis were given 100 microCi 51Cr-EDTA by mouth. The amount of 51Cr-EDTA in a 24-hour urine collection was expressed as a percentage of the ingested dose. The patients with Crohn's disease of the small bowel excreted 6.3% +/- 4.3%, which was significantly (P less than 0.001) higher than the percentage in patients with ulcerative colitis (1.7% +/- 1.1%) and controls (1.4% +/- 0.6%). In the enema study, 19 patients with ulcerative colitis, two with Crohn's disease, two with radiation colitis, and four controls (spastic colitis, lactose intolerance) were given 100 microCi 51Cr-EDTA by retention enema. The patients with active colonic inflammation excreted 8.4% +/- 3.9% of the dose given by enema, which was significantly (P less than 0.01) higher than in other controls (1.9% +/- 0.91%) or patients with inactive colitis (2.2% +/- 1.9%). The 51Cr-EDTA excretion test is a safe, inexpensive test useful in evaluating patients with inflammatory bowel disease. It can be given orally to screen patients with abdominal complaints who are suspected of having Crohn's disease involving the small intestine, and when given by enema it provides additional objective assessment of idiopathic ulcerative colitis or proctitis.