New Inflammatory Index and ulcerative colitis

An August 2024 study by Chinese Medical Journals Publishing

• “Importantly, the assessment of activated immune cell infiltrations in the colonic lamina propria may provide a rationale for the precision diagnosis of histological healing in UC patients.”  

• “[The] inflammatory cell enumeration index (ICEI).’ Patients with lower values than the established ICEI threshold, and without crypt abscesses, mucin depletion, surface epithelial damage, and crypt architectural irregularities, were considered as having achieved tissue healing.”

• “As clinical therapy goals in UC continue to evolve, from endoscopic MH to histopathological healing, the ICEI offers a valuable tool for assessing and predicting the prognosis of UC patients. These advancements will definitely contribute to a deeper understanding of UC and offer opportunities for more tailored and effective management strategies.”

'Good' bacteria, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis

A May 2021 study by the UNC Multidisciplinary IBD Center said,

• "The idea with this treatment is to restore the normal function of the protective bacteria in the gut, targeting the source of IBD, instead of treating its symptoms with traditional immunosuppressants that can cause side effects like infections or tumors,"

• "It also decreased pathobionts - bacteria that can cause harm - while expanding resident protective bacteria, and produced metabolites promoting mucosal healing and immunoregulatory responses,”

• "Simply put - the treatment increased the good guys and decreased the bad guys."