Crohn’s Disease: A Physician’s Perspective
- By BSTQ Staff
David T. Rubin MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, is a leading authority on Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. In an article titled Leading Expert Has Answers on Crohn’s Disease, he answers common questions regarding symptoms, diagnoses and treatment. To read the full article, go to www.ibsgroup.org/other/articles/ Dr_Rubin_QA.htm.
Q: What causes Crohn’s disease?
A: In people who are susceptible to Crohn’s disease, it is believed that some element of the environment triggers an immune response that loses control. There are theories about Crohn’s disease that suggest it is caused by infections or that there is a specific organism that is at the heart of most patients’ disease. However, it is believed that while infections may trigger the onset of the disease in some people, it is likely more complicated than that.
Q: Is Crohn’s disease hereditary?
A: About 10 percent to 15 percent of people with Crohn’s disease have a family member with Crohn’s disease or another inflammatory bowel condition.
Q: What is the goal with treatment?
A: The treatment of Crohn’s disease is defined with specific goals, the first goal being remission — that the patient is feeling healthy and well. The second goal is known as maintenance, meaning the absence of flares of the disease. This should involve safe and effective therapies that people are willing to take and stay on.
Q: How does stress impact the disease?
A: Although there is no confirmatory evidence that stress drives Crohn’s disease flares, I certainly appreciate that many of the people I treat believe that stress does aggravate their disease and, obviously, when people are stressed, they have poor sleep and eating habits, which may contribute to additional gastrointestinal symptoms.