Disappointing durable remission rates in complex Crohn's disease fistula.

Background: Despite potent drugs and surgical techniques, the treatment of perianal fistulizing Crohn's disease (CD) remains challenging. We assessed treatment strategies for perianal fistulizing CD and their effect on remission, response, and relapse.

Methods: Patients with perianal fistulizing CD visiting the Erasmus MC between January 1, 1980 and January 1, 2000 were identified.

Suppression of p21Rac signaling and increased innate immunity mediate remission in Crohn's disease.

In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), large areas of apparently healthy mucosa lie adjacent to ulcerated intestine. Knowledge of the mechanisms that maintain remission in an otherwise inflamed intestine could provide important clues to the pathogenesis of this disease and provide rationale for clinical treatment strategies. We used kinome profiling to generate comprehensive descriptions of signal transduction pathways in inflamed and noninflamed colonic mucosa in a cohort of IBD patients, and compared the results to non-IBD controls.

Peripheral neutrophil functions and cell signalling in Crohn`s disease.

The role of the innate immunity in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD), an inflammatory bowel disease, is a subject of increasing interest. Neutrophils (PMN) are key members of the innate immune system which migrate to sites of bacterial infection and initiate the defence against microbes by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS), before undergoing apoptosis. It is believed that impaired innate immune responses contribute to CD, but it is as yet unclear whether intrinsic defects in PMN signal transduction and corresponding function are present in patients with quiescent disease.

Phenotype of inflammatory bowel disease at diagnosis in the Netherlands: a population-based inception cohort study (the Delta Cohort).

Background: To describe the clinical characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at diagnosis in The Netherlands at the population level in the era of biologics.

Methods: All patients with newly diagnosed IBD (diagnosis made between January 1, 2006 and January 1, 2007) followed in 9 general hospitals in the southwest of the Netherlands were included in this population-based inception cohort study.

Results: A total of 413 patients were enrolled, of which 201 Crohn's disease (CD) (48.

Increased suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 expression predicts mucosal relapse in ulcerative colitis.

Background: Most biomarkers predicting mucosal relapse of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients in clinical remission represent low levels of mucosal inflammation. Since SOCS3 expression may increase the vulnerability of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) to various insults, we investigated whether its expression predicts mucosal relapse in UC patients in clinical remission without any signs of mucosal inflammation.

Methods: UC patients (n = 32) in clinical, endoscopic, and histological remission were followed up for 9 years.

Majority of patients with inflammatory bowel disease in clinical remission have mucosal inflammation.

Background: Management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasingly focused on mucosal remission. We assessed the prevalence of mucosal inflammation during clinical remission, the clinical consequences, and the impact on disease course.

Methods: IBD patients from two referral centers who underwent a surveillance colonoscopy while clinically in remission between January 2001 and December 2003 were included.