Leading Edge Developments in ... Video Transcript

Participants

, Keith J. Benkov M.D., Judy Cho MD, Lisa Gurevitz , Edward V. Loftus Jr, MD, Scott Eric Plevy MD, David Rubin MD

Summary

Every day brings new developments in techniques to diagnose and treat inflammatory bowel disease. In this webcast, leading scientists and doctors will bring you up-to-date on the latest diagnostic tools.

Webcast Transcript

BETTINA GREGORY, MD: Hello, I'm Bettina Gregory. Welcome to this webcast on leading edge developments in the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. This program is being sponsored by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.

We'll be dividing this webcast into two parts, and we'll begin with a look at what's new in the diagnosis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Joining me are three leading GI specialists: Dr. Edward Loftus, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; Dr. Scott Plevy is from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and Dr. Keith Benkov is a pediatric specialist at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, here in New York.

There's a great deal of research taking place on the genetics of IBD. We'd like to begin this webcast with a look at some of the important science that's been carried out with partial funding by CCFA. Our story starts with a family that clearly carries a genetic predisposition to IBD.

ANNOUNCER: Every eight weeks, Lisa Gurevitz makes a long trip to the University of Chicago Hospitals for an infusion of the medicine Remicade.

LISA GUREVITZ: I have Crohn's disease. My father has ulcerative colitis. My mom was just diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I had a brother who had Crohn's disease... Most of the females on my mom's side of the family at point or another had some type of inflammatory bowel disorder.

DR. DAVID RUBIN: Well, what we currently understand is that the strongest risk factor for an individual to have inflammatory bowel disease is either to be the child of two parents with inflammatory bowel disease. And then, secondly, to be a sibling of somebody who has inflammatory bowel disease.

Lisa's father, Robert Jacobs, had his first flare-up of ulcerative colitis as a young man.

BOB JACOBS: My first bout was-Lisa was just born. It was in 1971. I was very sick for about two years.

ANNOUNCER: Bob then went symptom free until the year 2000. When the colitis flared again, it was severe.

BOB JACOBS: It was bad enough that I had to have surgery. I got sick in January of 2000 to the degree that I was unable to work. I was home for eight months.

ANNOUNCER: The latest diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the family came as one of those surprises in life that in hindsight should not have been.

MARY LOU JACOBS: I actually was diagnosed with Crohn's disease just recently. I've had for many years some sort of stomach problems, stomach pain, diarrhea on and off, an ulcer.

ANNOUNCER: Mary Lou Jacobs, like Bob, now, too, is doing well. In her case, medication is keeping her disease under control.

ANNOUNCER: The real IBD tragedy in the family was what happened to the Jacobs' son, Brian. His story starts with a doctor who, the Jacobs say, was quick to dismiss a diagnosis of Crohn's disease.

MARY LOU JACOBS: Brian was 18. He was anemic and had had diarrhea for quite a while. And the pediatrician kept saying, "He's anorexic." It was his first year of college. "He's not adjusting." And I kept saying, "No, you've got the wrong person."

The first thing I said, "Do you think he has Crohn's disease?" He said, "Oh, no, absolutely not."

ANNOUNCER: Over the next few years, Brian's symptoms got worse. In the Summer of 1992, when Brian was 24, he underwent surgery.

BOB JACOBS: Things just went downhill from the sixth day post-op. He was taking massive doses of immunosuppressive drugs. They compromised his immune system. And he literally came apart surgically at the site of the anastomosis. Peritonitis set in and then it was all downhill from that point. He never left the hospital.