Understanding The Autoimmune Disorder Crohn’s Disease

Crohns disease is a systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of unknown cause, that results in chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract.

It can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, and can also cause complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract.

The incidence of Crohn’s disease in North America is 6:100 000, and is thought to be similar in Europe, but lower in Asia and Africa Unlike the other major inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, there is no known medical or surgical cure for Crohn’s disease.

Many medical treatments are however available for Crohn’s disease with a goal of keeping the disease in remission.

Many patients with Crohn’s disease have symptoms for years prior to the diagnosis. Because of the patchy nature of the gastrointestinal disease and the depth of tissue involvement, initial symptoms can be more vague than with ulcerative colitis.

Common initial symptoms of Crohn’s disease include the following;
Abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, and peri anal discomfort.