Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic-relapsing diseases, the clinical courses of which are characterized by periods of remission and periods of acute flare up, determining clinical symptoms which have a strong impact on the quality of life for patients.

Clinical data presented today at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) show that REMICADE significantly reduces the incidence of colectomy surgeries for patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC).

Post-hoc and other analyses of secondary endpoints of a long-term safety and tolerability study of Shire plc's (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY, TSX: SHQ) ulcerative colitis (UC) drug LIALDA™ (mesalamine) provide further data on LIALDA in patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis.

In a series of mouse experiments, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have pinpointed a specific immune deficiency as the likely fundamental cause of ulcerative colitis, a chronic, sometimes severe inflammatory disease of the colon or large intestine that afflicts half a million Americans.

The use of biologic agents for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may benefit patients, but doctors need to consider the potential associated side effects in determining treatment course, according to a consensus paper published in this month’s issue of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

Findings presented at Digestive Disease Week® 2007 (DDW), from long-term extensions of the ACT trials (Active Ulcerative Colitis 1 & 2) show that subjects with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) who had responded to REMICADE® (infliximab) in the blinded phase of the trials maintained improvement in their clinical symptoms for up to two years.

Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is an umbrella term referring to a group of disorders that cause inflammation of the intestines, including ulcerative colitis, diverticular disease and perianal fistula.

Nearly three out of four ulcerative colitis (UC) sufferers (73 percent) responding to a new nationwide survey say not feeling well has become a normal part of life. Furthermore, they describe UC as disruptive when it comes to their relationship with a spouse (64 percent), their sexual relations (75 percent) and their emotional state (82 percent).

A consortium of Canadian and American researchers report in Nature Genetics the results from a search of the entire human genome for genetic risk factors leading to the development of Crohn's disease. Specifically, using a novel approach, the authors identified that the PHOX2B, NCF4 and ATG16L1 genes constitute genetic risk factors for Crohn's disease.