[Advances in diagnosis and therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases]

The inflammatory bowel diseases have been an interesting topic not only for gastroenterologists, but also for other medical professionals, since the beginning of the last century, when this group of inflammatory autoimmune diseases was revealed. Logically, the doyen of Czech gastroenterology, Professor MUDr. Zdeněk Mařatka, DrSc., who dedicated a substantial part of his life to research into inflammatory bowel disease, particularly ulcerative colitis, was no exception. The current century is characterized by a very rapid development of scientific research and almost immediate introduction of scientific knowledge into clinical practice. In the area of inflammatory bowel diseases, the biggest advances have been made in diagnosis and therapy. The examination of the small bowel and large bowel by magnetic resonance belongs at the very pinnacle in the non-invasive diagnosis of the lower part of the gastrointestinal tract. The administration of biological therapy to patients with the most severe forms of inflammatory bowel diseases should be considered a breakthrough since the introduction of corticosteroids into the therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases in the 1950s.