Ulcerative Colitis

ALTHOUGH IT HAS MANY SERIOUS COMPLICATIONS, ULCERATIVE COLITIS HAS ALSO GIVEN RISE TO MANY EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS.

Research is necessary in order to understand this disease better so that treatments can be more effective in future clinical trials.

It’s important for researchers to target specific genes involved in this disease so that new treatments can target these genes specifically instead of treating all patients poorly with suboptimal treatments.

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory disease of the innermost part of the large intestine.

It’s a chronic disorder of the human body characterized by periods of inflammation and discontinuation of normal functions.

According to the U.S.

National Institutes of Health, there are over 100 types of ulcerative colitis, which are categorized based on the extent of the damage and organs affected.

Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, weight loss and rectal bleeding.

In some severe cases, patients experience blood in their stools, rectal bleeding and failure to gain weight.

The disease is called ulcerative colitis when there is extensive damage to the rectum and rectal glands.

In addition to causing pain and discomfort, ulcerative colitis can lead to complications such as bleeding, abscesses and submucous foci.

A lack of understanding about this disease impedes researchers from understanding its causes and treating patients effectively.

The disease starts as a mild inflammation in the innermost layer of the large intestine known as the bowel wall.

The inflamed area becomes edematous owing to leukocyte infiltration followed by patchy necrosis.

Focal areas of dead cells form open sores known as ulcers, which can extend outside the intestine’s wall.

In some cases, the sores extend onto the outside of the body.

At this stage, patients experience violent stomach pains due to dumping of their internal organs onto the pathogenic area.

After a while, immune cells start eating away at healthy tissues inside the intestine, causing further damage.

As time goes by, less and less fecal matter reaches the body’s surface, causing severe nutritional deficiency and weight loss.

In extreme cases where patients fail to respond to conventional treatments, surgery can help them get back on their feet.