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The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC), a subdivision of inflammatory bowel disease, is a chronic disease of the large intestines. Ulcerative colitis is normally a lifelong chronic illness with times of intense flairs and remission. During a flare, the lining of the colon becomes inflamed, and develops small ulcers causing patients to experience rectal bleeding, vomiting, anemia and diarrhea. The treatment options available to treat colitis are very small, causing many patients to need a total colectomy with in the first five years of their diagnosis. However, recent advancement in bio-technology has led to the development of a large array of new therapeutic agents intended to target the exact site in the multifaceted cascade of cytokine and chemokine effector molecules involved in UC pathogenesis. This article discusses the introduction of the chimeric monoclonal antibody to TNFa that has deeply affected the clinical treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, opening the door to a new era in the treatment of this disease. Studies discussed in this paper prove the effectiveness of both Remicade and Humira, two different biologics, given to patients with an active state of this disease.

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