What is Ulcerative colitis?
What is Ulcerative colitis?
- Ulcerative colitis: Ulcerative colitis (Colitis ulcerosa, UC) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis, a disease of the intestine, specifically the large intestine or colon, that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores, in the colon.
- Ulcerative colitis: chronic, recurrent ulceration of the colon mucosa and submucosa.
Source - Diseases Database
- Ulcerative colitis: a serious chronic inflammatory disease of the large intestine and rectum characterized by recurrent episodes of abdominal pain and fever and chills and profuse diarrhea.
Source - WordNet 2.1
Ophanet, a consortium of European partners,
currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000.
They list Ulcerative colitis as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet
Ulcerative colitis: Introduction
Types of Ulcerative colitis:
Broader types of Ulcerative colitis:
Who gets Ulcerative colitis?
Patient Profile for Ulcerative colitis: Usually 15-40
Profile for Ulcerative colitis:
Ulcerative colitis occurs most often in people ages 15 to 40, although
children and older people sometimes develop the disease. Ulcerative
colitis affects men and women equally and appears to run in some families.
(Source: excerpt from Ulcerative Colitis: NIDDK)
How serious is Ulcerative colitis?
Prognosis of Ulcerative colitis: Patients with ulcerative colitis usually have an intermittent course, with periods of disease inactivity alternating with "flares" of disease. Patients with proctitis or left-sided colitis usually have a more benign course: only 15% progress proximally with their disease, and up to 20% can have sustained remission in the absence of any therapy. Patients with more extensive disease are less likely to sustain remission, but the rate of remission is independent of the severity of disease.
Complications of Ulcerative colitis:
see complications of Ulcerative colitis
What causes Ulcerative colitis?
Causes of Ulcerative colitis: see causes of Ulcerative colitis
Causes of Ulcerative colitis:
Theories about what causes ulcerative colitis
abound, but none have been proven. The most popular theory is that the
body's immune system reacts to a virus or a bacterium by causing ongoing
inflammation in the intestinal wall.
People with ulcerative colitis have abnormalities of the immune system,
but doctors do not know whether these abnormalities are a cause or a
result of the disease. Ulcerative colitis is not caused by emotional
distress or sensitivity to certain foods or food products, but these
factors may trigger symptoms in some people.
(Source: excerpt from Ulcerative Colitis: NIDDK)
What are the symptoms of Ulcerative colitis?
Symptoms of Ulcerative colitis:
see symptoms of Ulcerative colitis
Complications of Ulcerative colitis:
see complications of Ulcerative colitis
Onset of Ulcerative colitis: Ulcerative colitis can occur in people of any age, but it usually starts between the ages of 15 and 30, and less frequently between 50 and 70 years of age. It affects men and women equally and appears to run in families, with reports of up to 20 percent of people with ulcerative colitis having a family member or relative with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. A higher incidence of ulcerative colitis is seen in Whites and people of Jewish descent.
Can anyone else get Ulcerative colitis?
Inheritance:
see inheritance of Ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis: Testing
Diagnostic testing: see tests for Ulcerative colitis.
Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Ulcerative colitis.
How is it treated?
Doctors and Medical Specialists for Ulcerative colitis: General practitioner, Primary care physician, Gastroenterologist, General surgeon, Hematologist, Immunologist, Oncologist, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Oncology surgeon, Genetic diseases specialist, Genetic counselor, Medical oncologist, Gastroeneterology surgeon, Anaesthetist, Rheumatologist, Ophthalmogist, Dermatologist
;
see also doctors and medical specialists for Ulcerative colitis.
Treatments for Ulcerative colitis:
see treatments for Ulcerative colitis
Research for Ulcerative colitis:
see research for Ulcerative colitis
Society issues for Ulcerative colitis
Hospitalization statistics for Ulcerative colitis:
The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Ulcerative colitis:
- 0.19% (23,735) of hospital consultant episodes were for ulcerative colitis in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- 82% of hospital consultant episodes for ulcerative colitis required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- 52% of hospital consultant episodes for ulcerative colitis were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- 48% of hospital consultant episodes for ulcerative colitis were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- more statistics...»
Organs Affected by Ulcerative colitis:
Organs and body systems related to Ulcerative colitis include:
Name and Aliases of Ulcerative colitis
Main name of condition: Ulcerative colitis
Class of Condition for Ulcerative colitis: autoimmune possibly
Other names or spellings for Ulcerative colitis:
colitis, ileitis, Inflammatory bowel disease, Colitis ulcerosa
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» Next page: Online Medical Textbooks for Ulcerative colitis
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