Tillotts Pharma AG - DISEASE INFORMATION

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF CROHN'S DISEASE?
WHAT ARE FISTULAE?
WHO CAN SUFFER FROM CROHN'S DISEASE?
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF CROHN'S DISEASE?
ARE THERE OTHER PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH CROHN'S DISEASE?
HOW IS CROHN'S DISEASE DIAGNOSED?

What are the symptoms of Crohn's disease?
The disease often starts with vague symptoms, such as tiredness and lethargy and weight loss. You may have diarrhoea and see mucus or even blood in the toilet. Some people also get a cramped pain in the abdomen. Fever, abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting and anaemia are often present as well.

What are fistulae?
They are small openings that may develop especially around the bottom. They connect the bowel with the skin and sometimes the bladder or even the vagina. They can be very troublesome and sometimes need to be treated surgically.

Who can suffer from Crohn’s disease?

The illness affects both men and women and can occur at any age, but often begins before the age of 30.
It occurs most frequently amongst Northern European and North American people.
CD is also a rare disease. About 1 in 1000 people is affected.

What are the causes of Crohn's disease?
Although the cause of the disease is still largely unknown it becomes increasingly clear that it involves a genetically influenced disturbance of the immune response to bacterial products in the bowel. Not infrequently, the disease occurs in families. In more than 20% of families, another family member is affected.

Are there other problems associated with Crohn's disease? Frequently people with Crohn’s disease develop symptoms outside the intestinal tract, i.e. joint and back pain, lesions of the skin (erythema nodosum), inflammation of the eyes or gall stone disease. Also loss of bone mass is a typical consequence of CD. Growth retardation may be the initial disease manifestation in children.Delayed sexual maturity is another problem. The risk of developing cancer later in life is similar to that in ulcerative colitis. Surveillance should be performed. The risk may be reduced since most patients receive continuous supervision and treatment.

How is Crohn's disease diagnosed?
The doctor first eliminates disorders that may mimic the symptoms of Crohn's disease. He makes a full physical examination as well as blood and stool tests. If the doctor thinks you have Crohn's disease, he will examine your small bowel with x-ray and your large bowel with a thin, flexible, lighted tube called an endoscope (colonoscopy). The latter examination shows details of the extent and severity of the inflammation and allows taking small samples of the inflamed large bowel wall (biopsy) for microscopic tissue examination.