Most symposia on chronic inflammatory bowel disease during the last few years have focused on new aspects of aetiology and pathophysiology. However, based on such new aspects, changes in diagnosis and treatment have been developed over the last few years and some others are currently under investigation. This book, the proceedings of Falk Symposium 97, `Clinical Challenges in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment', held in Lugano, Switzerland, 18-19 April 1997, summarizes these changes and new developments, discusses their value and defines further new approaches. The topics include primary diagnosis, definition of different patient groups, special problems of these patients in daily life and very new therapeutic principles. This volume opens new possibilities of diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease to physicians and provides stimulation for further development.

Reviews focused topics – both clinical and basic science - in the fast-moving area of IBD, providing emphasis on the current challenges faced in the successful management of the disease Turn to Challenges in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) when you need an expert opinion on the new, unusual or controversial areas of IBD and not just the tried and tested information. Current and concise reviews of the latest scientific discoveries are translated into cutting-edge clinical guidance to address those challenging cases faced by every medical team caring for patients with IBD. Refer to this book to answer burning questions, to read an in depth review of the controversial topics and to provide a clear explanation of issues.

The amount of information on the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease is growing rapidly. This is reflected by a continuous increase in the number of papers presented at international GI meetings. To make things more difficult for practicing physicians, there is also a large number of new clinical trials being published which require periodical critical reviews and recommendations. Faced with these issues, the scientific commitee of the Falk Symposium No. 140 decided to take a different approach and to apply a novel format that is reflected in the title of the Symposium: "Translation from basic research to clinical practice". This book contains the proceedings of that Symposium, held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on May 7–8, 2004. The sections are designed so that they start with the information from basic sciences on different aspects of these complex diseases and further lead to their clinical implications. Special attention is paid to the mechanisms of actions of established drugs. The last two sections are clinically oriented and focus on the most difficult aspects of both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. This format provides state-of-the-art chapters by leading experts in the field and at the same time up-to-date information on the clinical application of the new knowledge.

Evidence-based guidance to answer more than 60 controversial clinical questions on inflammatory bowel disease Clinical Dilemmas in Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a practical handbook providing quick but detailed answers to the questions and challenges that you are faced with daily in the clinical setting. Each short chapter addresses a different topic and provides evidence-based guidance on subjects ranging from optimising current management through to special management problems and novel treatments. This book is suitable for all medical professionals involved in the care of patients with IBD: established and trainee gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons, pathologists, radiologists, specialist nurses, pharmacists, dieticians and counsellors

The aetiology of the chronic inflammatory bowel diseases - Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis - is still enigmatic. The therapeutic approach has therefore traditionally focused on anti-inflammatory principles, including corticosteroids and aminosalicylates. Since a significant proportion of patients is steroid-dependent or refractory and because of the problematic side-effects of long-term systemic steroids, active immunosuppression has gained acceptance in the field. The classical immunosuppressants azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine have long been evidence-based in IBD, but underused. Recently, methotrexate and cyclosporine have also been proven to be effective in certain situations. Newer drugs like tacrolimus, mycophenolate and others may be similarly useful but their potential is still unclear. Finally, the immune modifiers including IL-10 and TNF-antibodies have been successfully subjected to controlled trials. Other experimental drugs discussed in this book are on the horizon. This volume is the Proceedings of Falk Symposium 119 held in Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany, October 3-4, 2000, and covers systematically the field of immunosuppression in inflammatory bowel diseases. It is hoped that it will further the prudent use of these drugs in the proper clinical situations by increasing our understanding of both the mechanisms of action and the clinical benefit to the patient.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease remain a great therapeutic challenge to the medical community. In recent years knowledge about the pathogenesis of these diseases has progressed rapidly but the cause of the diseases remains completely unknown. It has become clear that dysregulation of the mucosal immune system is the basis for the chronic evolution of the diseases in a genetically susceptible population. Exciting new therapeutic approaches have been attempted in the last couple of years and cytokine and anti-cytokine treatments in particular seem very promising, especially in intractable disease. The format of the Falk Symposium 106 on `Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases', held in Brussels, Belgium, June 18-20, 1998, was somewhat innovative as each session attempted to link the new insights into pathogenetic mechanisms with new therapeutic approaches, resulting in optimal information transfer. The classic therapeutic schemes were updated with a special focus on step-wise build-up of therapy.

Research in Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), together known as the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), has truly seen a revolution in the last 5-10 years. This book examines how these genetic discoveries have led to the identification of biological functions not previously associated with IBD pathophysiology (e.g. autophagy), how multiple genetic risk factors for IBD converge on given biological functions and that together the identified variants in these genes have predisposing and protective roles (e.g. the multiple variants in the receptor for the IL23 cytokine and its signaling cascade), and how having such a large number of known genetic risk factors has changed our understanding not only about the genetic and molecular overlap between CD and UC, but also between these diseases and other chronic inflammatory diseases (e.g. psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and many others).

Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases represent an important medical problem, since they have a devastating impact on the quality of life and require longstanding medical care. Many medical disciplines are involved in tackling the immensely complex studies on pathogenesis, clinical expression and treatment possibilities. This book, the proceedings of the Falk Symposium 105 on `Innovative Concepts in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases', held in Rostock, Germany, on April 30 - May 2, 1998, brought together experts from different fields of science to allow a unified view on clinical and basic research. The main themes of the meeting were genetics, animal models, immunology, epithelial cells, endotoxin, diagnostic procedures, malignancy, medical therapies, and surgery. In each section of the book experts present state-of-the-art reviews with the very latest developments in the respective research areas followed by chapters on different aspects of inflammatory bowel diseases. They provide suggestions concerning future research and clinical management of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

This book, the proceedings of Falk Symposium No. 123, VI International Symposium on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, held in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 3-5, 2001, focuses on the issues and controversies pertinent to IBD in the 21st century. The achievements in medical, surgical, and in the basic sciences in the last twenty years since the first Jerusalem IBD Symposium are summarized in detail. Controversies with respect to the medical treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases are discussed. One section deals with surgical issues such as laparoscopic surgery in inflammatory bowel diseases, ileo-anal pouches and the surgical treatment of Crohn's disease. The last section is devoted to the biological treatment of IBD and to the needs both in medical science and in the clinic.

This book provides a comprehensive account of the pathogenesis and treatment of intestinal fibrosis, covering both the clinical and molecular aspects of the disease. It begins by describing the epidemiology and genetics of fibrostenosing IBD in Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis as well as the epigenetics and cellular and molecular mechanisms of the disease. Readers will obtain an in-depth overview of the disease from biomarkers and histology to surgical intervention, imaging and current and future drug therapies. Medical management of fibrosis, endoscopy and imaging as well as surgical approaches are all discussed. Through the links to videos contained in the book, the reader will become familiar with interventional procedures such as endoscopic balloon dilation and surgical techniques for stricturing IBD, such as resection and strictureplasties. This is an indispensable volume for anyone working on fibrostenotic IBD, such as gastroenterologists, internists, radiologists, colorectal surgeons, pathologists and researchers. It has been written by a team of top experts from North America, Asia and Europe.