Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Clinical Background
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) of the digestive tract are a series of related disorders with unknown or poorly understood etiologies. Overall, these diseases can be viewed as inflammatory disorders of the mucosal lining of the gastro-intestinal tract. Diagnostically, these diseases include Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The cumulative incidence of these disorders is estimated to be in the order of 10 million cases annually in the United States, or approximately 3% of the population.
IBD symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, gas, cramping, bloating and blood in the stool. In severe cases there can be a complete obstruction of the gut, which can be life threatening if not treated quickly. The typical patterns of IBD are chronic, in either a persistent progressive form, or a relapsing-remitting form. Treatments for IBD can include the use of anti-inflammatories (including steroids), fluid and electrolyte replacement, and/or antibiotics to control bacterial overgrowth. IBD symptoms can sometimes be controlled with changes in diet, particularly by reducing the amounts of dairy products and fiber being consumed. Ultimately, surgery may be required to remove or repair badly damaged tissue.
Animal Model
Biomodels has developed rodent models of ulcerative colitis, using Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS) and oxazolone, and Crohn’s Disease, using Trinitrobenzene Sulfonic Acid (TNBS). Biomodels has added video endoscopy as a primary method of in-life evaluation for all of its IBD models, in addition to the more classical measures of weight change, histology, immunohistochemistry, protein/RNA expression, ELISA, and others.
Video endoscopy permits longitudinal assessment of disease progression and resolution with endoscopic colonic endpoints similar to those employed for the evaluation of human IBD. This method of rodent endoscopy will be of considerable value in evaluating the effectiveness of new pharmacological therapies for the treatment of IBD and in defining their mechanisms of action.
 Endoscopy-Normal Colon |
 Endoscopy-IBD Colon |
