Main description:

This book provides a comprehensive account of the pathogenesis and treatment of intestinal fibrosis, covering both the clinical and molecular aspects of the disease. It begins by describing the epidemiology and genetics of fibrostenosing IBD in Crohn's disease and Ulcerative colitis as well as the epigenetics and cellular and molecular mechanisms of the disease. Readers will obtain an in-depth overview of the disease from biomarkers and histology to surgical intervention, imaging and current and future drug therapies. Medical management of fibrosis, endoscopy and imaging as well as surgical approaches are all discussed. Through the links to videos contained in the book, the reader will become familiar with interventional procedures such as endoscopic balloon dilation and surgical techniques for stricturing IBD, such as resection and strictureplasties. This is an indispensable volume for anyone working on fibrostenotic IBD, such as gastroenterologists, internists, radiologists, colorectal surgeons, pathologists and researchers. It has been written by a team of top experts from North America, Asia and Europe.

Contents:

Foreword.- Fibrostenotic Inflammatory Bowel Disease - a Cinderella story.- Epidemiology and natural history of fibrostenosing IBD.- The genetics of IBD associated fibrosis.- Epigenetic regulation of intestinal fibrosis.- Anti-cytokine or growth factor therapy as a future therapeutic of fibrostenosing IBD.- Inflammation independent mechanisms of intestinal fibrosis.- Environmental factors and their influence on intestinal fibrosis.- Fat and fibrosis.- Sources of mesenchymal cells in intestinal fibrosis.- Animal models of intestinal fibrosis.- Mechanisms of resolution of intestinal fibrosis.- The intestinal mesenchymal cell and extracellular matrix as a pathogenetic factor in inflammation driven intestinal carcinogenesis.- Fibrosis in Ulcerative Colitis.- Histopathology of intestinal fibrosis.- Clinical, Cellular and Serologic Biomarkers of intestinal fibrosis .- Imaging in intestinal fibrosis - What is state or the art?.- The future of intestinal fibrosis imaging.- Medical therapy of stricturing IBD.- Endoscopic therapy of intestinal strictures - What is state of the art?.- The future of endoscopic therapy of intestinal strictures.- Surgical therapy of intestinal strictures - What is state of the art?.- The future of surgical therapy of structuring IBD.- Challenges of translation of anti-fibrotic therapies into clinical practice in IBD.- What distinguishes mechanisms of fistula and stricture formation.- The Pathogenesis of Intraabdominal Adhesions: Similarities and differences to luminal fibrosis.- Anti-fibrotic therapies from other organs - What the gut can learn from the liver, skin, lung and heart.