Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Analyzing Beneficial Effects of Nutritional Supplements on Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Functions During Experimental Colitis
Published on: January 5, 2017
Personalizing therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases
1Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 165 Cambridge Street, 9th Floor, Boston, MA 02114, USA. aananthakrishnan@partners.org
Abstract:
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs; e.g., Crohn's disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC]) are chronic immunologically mediated diseases characterized by frequent relapses, often requiring hospitalization and surgery. There is substantial heterogeneity in the progressive natural history of disease with cumulative accrual of bowel damage and impairment of functioning. Recent advances in therapeutics have significantly improved our ability to achieve disease remission; yet therapies remain expensive and are associated with significant side effects precluding widespread use in all patients with IBD. Consequently, algorithms for the management of patients with IBD require a personalized approach incorporating an individual's projected likely natural history, the probability of response to a specific therapeutic agent and an informed approach to management of loss of response to current therapies.
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