Recent developments in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic inflammatory bowel diseases that have been treated with corticosteroids, 5-aminosalicates and thiopurines, but therapeutic options have been broadened with the arrival of anti-tumor necrosis factor antibodies. In this article we reviewed the current evidence-based approach to inflammatory bowel disease, the modifications that have been made to existing therapies and discussed new drugs that have shown success in clinical trials. The new drugs discussed here are those that disturb lymphocyte homing to the gut (natalizumab, vedolizumab and anti-mucosal addressin cellular adhesion molecule); one that blocks interleukin (IL)-12 as well as the IL-23/T helper 17 (Th17) axis (ustekinumab) and one that blocks the signaling of multiple cytokines (tofacitinib).