Drug Treatments for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are idiopathic, relapsing, and remitting chronic inflammatory diseases that affect the gastrointestinal tract, bringing significant morbidity and loss of quality of life for the affected individuals. In UC, the inflammation is mostly restricted to the mucosa and involves only the colon, although the extent of colonic involvement may vary among patients and over time. In CD, the inflammatory process is transmural, affecting any portion of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus, and may be associated with penetrating phenomena such as intraperitoneal abscesses or fistulas. Although the etiology is unknown, the interaction of environmental factors with the gut microbiota of a genetically susceptible host is believed to lead to the abnormal colonic mucosal immune response seen in these diseases.

Current pharmacological strategies for the management of IBD include the use of aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, thiopurines, cyclosporine, and biological therapies. These drugs aim to silence both active and chronic inflammation and prevent the progression of the disease, with the ultimate goal to induce clinical, biochemical, and endoscopic remission. However, a high percentage of individuals do not respond or lose response to treatments over time, and a prolonged use of such therapeutics can even result in side effects that, other than the disease itself, contribute to reducing the patients' quality of life. For these reasons, the search for new therapeutic targets/approaches to better manage the symptoms of these serious diseases as well as therapy-related potential side effects is worth pursuing.

This Special Issue of Pharmaceuticals, entitled “Drug Treatments for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases”, focuses on the most recent and relevant advances in new/potential drugs and therapies, which have shown promising results in preclinical studies and may represent effective future strategies for the management of these serious diseases. In this regard, the Special Issue welcomes original research articles, short communications, basic science reviews, as well as case studies and clinical trials.

Prof. Dr. Anderson Luiz-Ferreira
Dr. Carmine Stolfi
Guest Editors

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