Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: From Epidemiology and Immunobiology to a Rational Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approach

The conditions of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are excellent examples of how the exponential growth of knowledge in biomedical science can make a remarkable impact on clinical practice and patient’s quality of life. It has led to the development of unique novel immunomodulatory treatments. These are continuously being refined to treat not only the two original conditions in the gut, but the systemic immunologic illness with its associated extraintestinal disorders. New therapies are sometimes complex and associated with important risks requiring a deeper understanding of their molecular principles from clinicians.

Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis serves as a unique combined resource for physicians and scientists addressing the needs of both groups. It will stimulate exchange and collaboration and shorten the path between discovery and application of new knowledge and also help clinicians understand new therapeutic concepts from their origins. This volume provides an introduction to mucosal immunology which forms the basis of modern immunotherapy. It also serves as a comprehensive guide to the current diagnostic modalities, including enhanced imaging techniques such as MRI and CT enterography, virtual colonoscopy, ultrasound, and endomicroscopy as well as conventional and complex immunomodulatory principles. Each chapter is written by experts in their field and includes the most up to date information. Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis will be of great value to gastroenterologists, surgeons, internists, pediatricians and gynecologists trainees, as well as all those involved in Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and related autoimmune disorders.