IBDs (inflammatory bowel diseases) are a group of diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract. The diseases are multifactorial and cover genetic aspects: susceptibility genes, innate and adaptive responses to inflammation, and structure and efficacy of the mucosal protective barrier. Animal models of IBD have been developed to gain further knowledge of the disease mechanisms. These topics for...

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) include ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) and are due to a dysregulation of the antimicrobial defense normally provided by the intestinal mucosa. This inflammatory process may extend outside the bowel to many organs and also to the respiratory tract. The respiratory involvement in IBD may be completely asymptomatic and detected only at lung funct...

For a long time the relationship between inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and psoriasis has been investigated by epidemiological studies. It is only starting from the 1990s that genetic and immunological aspects have been focused on. Psoriasis and IBD are strictly related inflammatory diseases. Skin and bowel represent, at the same time, barrier and connection between the inner and the outer ...

Present therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) is aimed at relieving inf lammation and treating signs and symptoms. Therapy consists of nonspecific anti-inflammatory agents, such as 5-aminosalicylic acid, glucocorticoids, immunomodulators and anti-TNF therapy. The goals of therapy should include the induction and maintenance of remission and an attempt to heal the mucosa with the ultimat...

The inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a group of chronic diseases that result from a confluence of genetic and environmental triggers. IBD have two main clinical phenotypes, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). UC is characterized by mucosal inflammation that is limited to the colon, beginning in the rectum and extending proximally in a continuous and circumferential fashion. C...

The widespread availability of gastrointestinal endoscopy has changed the management of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to an important extent. The need for an unpleasant bowel preparation, the high cost, and the discomfort sometimes caused by endoscopic procedures should nonetheless force the clinician to optimize the indications. In this section we will describe the most characteristic lesi...

: Spondyloarthropathy (SpA) as observed in patients with idiopathic inflammatory bowel diseases is categorized according to the recently developed criteria of the European Spondylarthropathy Group, and belongs to a large complex of rheumatic disorders, encompassing ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's disease, psoriatic arthritis, and reactive arthritis. It has been recognized for many years that p...

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are inflammatory diseases with a multifactorial component that involve the intestinal tract. The two relevant IBD syndromes are Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). One factor involved in IBD development is a genetic predisposition, associated to NOD2/CARD15 and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) polymorphisms that might favor infectious enterocolitis tha...

Colorectal cancer development is possibly the most important complication of inflammatory bowel diseases. Colorectal cancer generally develops in long-standing inflammatory bowel diseases. Although previously it was believed that there is higher risk in ulcerative colitis patients, nowadays, it has been shown that the risk for colorectal cancer is almost the same in both Crohn’s disease and ulc...