Combined therapeutic approach: Inflammatory bowel diseases and peripheral or axial arthritis

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), particularly Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are associated with a variety of extra-intestinal manifestations (EIMs). About 36% of IBD patients have at least one EIM, which most frequently affect the joints, skin, eyes and the biliary tract. The EIMs associated with IBD have a negative impact on patients with UC and CD, and the resolution of most of them parallels that of the active IBD in terms of timing and required therapy; however, the clinical course of EIMs such as axial arthritis, pyoderma gangrenosum, uveitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis is independent of IBD activity. The peripheral and axial arthritis associated with IBD have traditionally been treated with simple analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, sulfasalazine, methotrexate, local steroid injections and physiotherapy, but the introduction of biological response modifiers such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha blockers, has led to further improvements. (C) 2009 The WIG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.