IBD: What do we really know about these digestive diseases that affect 200,000 French people?
In France, more than 200,000 people are affected. IBD is most often diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 30. However, it can occur at any age. Thus, 15% of cases affect children.
The highest number of cases is reported in industrialized countries, particularly in Northwestern Europe and the United States. Thus, certain environmental factors (diet, pollution, etc.) could play a role in the occurrence of IBD, although this link remains rather unclear for the moment.
Genetic factors have also been highlighted. Finally, an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota is found in patients. This imbalance could promote the initiation, maintenance, or severity of inflammation. "In approximately 5% of patients with Crohn's disease, for example, we find a family of Escherichia coli that is more adherent to the cells of the intestinal wall and more invasive than the usual strains," notes Inserm.
IBD is an incurable disease. The goal of treatment is therefore to control it. "Some treatments are used during flare-ups to suppress inflammation and heal lesions," notes the François Aupetit association, which supports and informs patients. "Then, others are used to prevent the appearance of other lesions and extend the remission period; these are called disease-modifying treatments. Different classes of treatments exist, and the therapeutic arsenal continues to expand." Thus, "current medications allow, in the vast majority of cases, lasting control of the disease, for several years, associated with a satisfactory quality of life," adds Inserm.
Finally, "for patients who are resistant to well-followed treatment, or following the appearance of complications, surgical treatment may be proposed. After 10 years of disease progression, more than one in two patients has undergone an operation to remove the most affected segment of their digestive tract."
Note: Research is progressing. The intestinal microbiota is a prime therapeutic target due to the imbalances observed in IBD. For example, teams are attempting to create genetically modified probiotics, which would allow the implantation of a bacterial species of interest into the patients' microbiota.
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