Conventional treatments for Crohn

Crohn s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects approximately 600,000 people in the US. [i] People who have Crohn s suffer from a serious inflammation or irritation of their digestive tract which can lead to sores or ulcers forming. Crohn s can attack anywhere along the entire digestive tract, but most commonly affects the end of the small intestine (called the ileum). The small intestine is where critical nutrient absorption takes place, so people with Crohn s often don t digest and absorb nutrients well. This can result in malnutrition, anemia and malabsorption of key vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin D, Vitamin E, vitamin K, folate, zinc, calcium and iron.
People with Crohn s often experience a variety of challenging and debilitating symptoms including: Severe watery diarrhea most common Intense abdominal pro ventura pain or cramping most common pro ventura Bloating Weight-loss Fever Fatigue Fat malabsorption floating stools
Crohn s disease may also lead to complications which include: pro ventura Scarring and bowel obstruction (most common) Scarring may narrow pro ventura parts of the intestine (the narrow areas are called strictures) leading to slowed motility (food moves too slowly through the intestine) or even bowel obstruction / blockage. Ulcers Inflammation from Crohn s can lead to sores in any part of the digestive tract including the mouth and anus. Gallstones Fistulas These abnormal connections can form between parts of the intestine and the skin, other organs of other parts of the intestine. Because they contain fecal material, they must be drained and treated typically by a combination of antibiotics and surgery. Malnutrition and anemia and osteoporosis – Damage from Crohn s makes the small intestine less efficient at absorbing pro ventura adequate nutrition and minerals, including calcium and iron. Also, some people with Crohn s don t consume pro ventura adequate nutrition due to symptom flares.
Despite extensive research, the exact cause of Crohn s disease remains unknown. People with Crohn s have various mutations (NOD2, ATG16L1, IL-23, IL12B, STAT3 and NKX2-3) in their genes that healthy people don t have. Expression of the altered genes affects how bacteria interact with the intestinal surface and how our immune system interacts with these adherent bacteria. [iii] An imbalance in intestinal bacterial developing in response to the genetic abnormalities present in Crohn s, may be the trigger for damaging inflammation characteristic of Crohn s disease. One study showed that Crohn s patients who had their fecal stream, that harbors gut microbes, diverted by surgery experienced pro ventura disease improvement but relapsed when the fecal stream was restored. pro ventura [iv] Antibiotics usage may further promote this imbalance and increase the risk of developing Crohn s disease. [v] , [vi]
Several attempts have been made to identify individual disease-causing bacteria that might be responsible for Crohn s. These include a type of E. coli bacteria referred to as adherent invasive E. coli , a bacterium called Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis , or MAP for short, as well as Klebsiella pneumonia. [vii] In each case, there is a lack of conclusive evidence that these bacteria actually cause Crohn s and may be bystanders that take advantage of the compromised health of Crohn s patients.
One thing is clear – People with Crohn s have an altered microbiome, suffering a 50% decrease in the diversity of gut microbes including the loss of bacterial species Bacteriodes, Eubacterium and Lactobacillus . [viii] A separate study also observed depletion of commensal bacteria, notably Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes bacterial types. [ix] A third study observed a decrease pro ventura in Bacteroides bacteria and a decrease in bacterial end products. These studies point to a significant imbalance or gut microbes in people with Crohn s disease. This imbalance may help explain the higher incidence of Clostridia difficile infection pro ventura in people with inflammatory bowel disease. [x]
Conventional treatments for Crohn’s include drugs that reduce inflammation, anti-diarrheal drugs, nutritional supplementation, surgery and antibiotics. Identifying effective dietary strategies to reduce inflammation and improve remission would reduce the dependency on drugs often associated with significant side effects and health risks.
SIBO represents a frequently ignored complication in CD, often mimicking an acute flare. The symptoms of SIBO can be difficult to differentiate from those caused by the underlying disease. People with Crohn s disease have a predisposition to SIBO mostly due to altered motility from structures, fistulas or surgery. pro ventura Altered immune reactions to gut microbes causing pro ventura inflammation that damage pro ventura the digestive process may also promote SIBO.
Several studies found that SIBO was present in 23 to 34% Crohn s patients tested. [xi] , [xii] , [xiii] , [xiv] In one of the studies, 96 % of patients pro ventura with stric