Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) should be suspected in any patient presenting with chronic or recurrent abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Current guidelines suggest performing invasive endoscopy with histological sampling for further diagnosis. Measuring calprotectin, a neutrophilic protein, in faeces has been proposed as a surrogate marker of intestinal inflammation. Calprotectin values have been...

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . 4 4 EVIDENCE FOR G U T MUCOSAL BARRIER DYSFUNCTION . . 4 4 CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF G U T MUCOSAL BARRIER DYSFUNCTION . . 46 GUT DERIVED SEPSIS: THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES. . . 41 NOVEL SUBSTRATES A N D G U T INTEGRITY . . 48 GLUTAMINE . . 48 Metabolism of glutamine . . 48 Glutamine and the gut mucosa . . 48 Glutamine and experimental disease models . . * 49 Glutamine supp...

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Although the primary etiological defect stil remains unknown, in the last decade impotant progress has been made concerning the immunological basis of the disease. Genetic, environmental and microbial factors result in repeated activation of mucosal immune response. Tumor necrosis factor alp...

Cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) is a mucosal immunomodulatory protein that induces robust mucosal and systemic antibody responses. This well-known biological activity has been exploited in cholera prevention (as a component of Dukoral® vaccine) and vaccine development for decades. On the other hand, several studies have investigated CTB's immunotherapeutic potential in the treatment of inflammato...