What is Ulcerative Colitis
Ulcerative colitis is a disease that causes inflammation
of the large intestine - or colon. This is the last
metre or so of the intestine closest to the anus. Symptoms
vary in severity from pain and discomfort, through mucous
in the stools to in the most severe cases blood in the
stools. It is generally diagnosed by inspection of the
colon by a hospital consultant - a colonoscopy.
The underlying cause of ulcerative colitis is still not known
- though the disease is associated with dysfunction of the
immune system. In the disease the body's own T-cells attack
the lining of the bowel - and hence cause it to be inflamed.
This bodies immune system then takes this inflammation to
be a further sign of infection - increasing the immune response
- in a vicious cycle. This situation is what people would
term a flare-up.
Ulcerative colitis is treated using a variety of medications
designed to either directly reduce the inflammation
- such as steroids - or to reduce the immune response
such a immunomodulators.
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