Monthly Archives: January 2018

The majority of children who undergo colectomy for intractable Ulcerative Colitis (UC) receive an ileal pouch anal anastomosis (commonly J-pouch) to restore bowel continuity. After surgery, patients report similar quality of life, physical function and… Continue reading →

Interleukin (IL-)33 is a cytokine that possesses dichotomous functions in the gut. Whereas various cell types have been reported to produce IL-33, conventionally it is believed to be released from damaged intestinal epithelial cells. Many cell types ex… Continue reading →

Vedolizumab (VDZ), a gut-selective anti-integrin monoclonal antibody, was approved for the treatment of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in 2014. VDZ is reported to achieve maximal efficacy after several months of therapy. This real-w… Continue reading →

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are an emerging cell therapeutic for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), have demonstrated immunomodulatory effects through interactions with T cells and dendritic cells (DCs). Continue reading →

Extraintestinal complications are common in IBD, and are reported in more than 25% of patients. Anemia is one of the most common manifestations of IBD. One-third of patients with IBD have hemoglobin levels below 12 g/dL. Although ongoing blood loss fro… Continue reading →

Matrix Metalloproteinases 9 (MMP-9) has been implicated to have a key pathogenic factor in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). MMP-9 is elevated in intestinal tissue of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD patients have a defective intesti… Continue reading →

Hospitalized children with severe Ulcerative Colitis who are steroid unresponsive often receive Infliximab (IFX). Standard IFX induction dose is 5mg/kg weeks 0, 2 & 6. The rationale for intensified infliximab induction (III) in severe UC is: higher inflammatory burden, increase in IFX clearance & stool losses. There are no pediatric data on the outcomes of III. Continue reading →

Increased Th1/Th17 immune response is a hallmark of Crohn’s Disease (CD) Immunopathogenesis. CD90+ (myo)fibroblasts (CMF) are an abundant cells in colonic mucosa contributing to the mucosal tolerance via suppression of Th1 cell activity through PD-L1… Continue reading →

There has been limited investigation of pediatric patients with medically refractory inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who have been treated with biologic agents and undergo operative management. Adult studies have been mixed. This study compares patien… Continue reading →

Pro-inflammatory macrophages (Mø) are crucial for onset of intestinal inflammation, and defects that enable persistence of these cells may contribute to inflammatory bowel disease. We recently showed that the ErbB4 receptor tyrosine kinase is induced … Continue reading →