Finding the right treatment for someone with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis is more of an art than a science.
The chronic autoimmune conditions — both considered types of inflammatory bowel disease — cause a myriad of symptoms including ulcers, stomach cramps, fatigue, and diarrhea. Some patients have all of these symptoms, while others have just one or two. They all trace back to chronic inflammation in the digestive tract.
There are treatment options. Several of the drugs that have landed on pharmacy shelves over the last two decades can be used to address the various overactive parts of the immune system that wreak havoc on the gut. But pairing patients with a medication takes guesswork, and across the board, only about 30% of people with inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, find relief.
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