Crohn’s Disease

DAREDEVILS:Prajwal Acharya, Cristina Johnson, Julie David, Jen Masciovecchio, Yen Phan

Objectives We chose to study this topic because many

people are affected by Crohn’s disease, including loved ones of our group members.

To better our understandings of the disease and how it biologically functions.

To learn about the treatment options and how the options are improving.

What is Crohn’s Disease? Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory

condition of the gastrointestinal tract. It belongs to a group of conditions known as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD).

It most commonly affects the end of the small bowel (ileum) and the beginning of the colon but it may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract.

Symptoms Since Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the

GI tract, symptoms vary from patient to patient. This also makes it very hard to diagnose.

Some of the common symptoms are: Recurrent, lower abdominal discomfort Failure to gain weight normally, especially in the young Chronic fatigue &lethargy Bowel urgency and/or diarrhea, sometimes

bloody Stores of drainage in the anal area

Who is affected? Men and women are equally likely to be affected.

It can occur at any age but it’s more prevalent among adults and the young adults between the ages 16 and 35.

Also the age group between 50- 70 have high numbers of people suffering from the Crohn’s disease.

About 400,000- 600,00 people are affected by the disease in North America while prevalence in Northern Europe is found between 27-48 % per 100,000.

What causes the Crohn’s disease? The causes of Chrone’s disease are not well understood

but the recent researches suggests that hereditary, genetics, and/or environmental factors contribute to the development of Crohn’s Disease.

Diet and stress may aggravate Crohn’s Disease, but they do not cause the disease on their own.

Genetic Factors Crohn's disease tends to run in families, so if a close

relative has the disease, family members have a significantly increased chance of developing Crohn’s.

Studies have shown that 5% to 20% of affected

individuals have a first – degree relative (parents, child, or sibling) with one of the disease. The risk of a child having the disease is higher if both parents have it.

Genetic Factors Crohn’s disease may result from a combination of

certain genetic variations, changes in the immune system, and the presence of bacteria in the digestive tract.

Some variations in specific genes including ATG16L1, IL23R, IRGM, and NOD2 influence the risk of developing Crohn’s disease.

These genes codes for proteins that are responsible for the proper functioning of the immune system and any changes to the gene can disrupt the cells ability to respond to the bacteria. This may lead to chronic inflammation and digestive problems.

Researchers have also discovered genetic variations in certain regions of chromosome 5 and chromosome 10 that appear to contribute to Crohn’s disease risk.

Environmental Factors The disease is most common among people of

eastern European backgrounds.

However, in recent years, an increasing number of cases have been reported among African American populations.

The environment in which you live also appears to play a big role in Crohn’s disease.

Smokers have high risks of getting the disease than non smokers.

Treatments DIET AND NUTRITION: Eating a well-balanced, healthy

diet. No specific diet has been shown to make Crohn's symptoms better or worse.

MEDICATIONS: Medication can be taken to treat some of the symptoms such as very bad diarrhea. Some of the medications that are recommended are Fiber supplements, Acetaminophen (Tylenol), Aminosalicylates (5-ASAs) and Antibiotics.

Treatments Surgery: Patients who have Crohn's disease that

does not respond to medications may need surgery to treat problems such as:

Bleeding (hemorrhage) Fistulas (abnormal connections between the intestines and

another area of the body) Infections Narrowing of the intestine

Conclusion Crohn’s disease result from different genetic

variation that changes the functioning of the immune system. These changes in the immune system disrupts the cells ability to respond to the bacteria which leads to chronic inflammation and digestive problems.

Though there is no specific cure for the Crohn’s disease but having a healthy diet, specific medication and/or surgery can reduce the severity of the disease.

Further Questions Why is there different levels of severity of the

disease if its all caused by the same mutations?

Why does the disease affect different parts of the GI tract instead of the same part for everyone?

For most people the disease is diagnosed after the age of 16, why does the disease seem to appear in older ages?