
Somatosensory Profiles in Individuals With Persistent Musculoskeletal Pain and Inflammatory Bowel...
Inflammatory Bowel DiseasesChronic Pain1 moreThis study evaluates nervous system hypersensitivity in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and experiences of ongoing musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. Previous results and current literature suggest that MSK pain in IBD may be influenced by hypersensitivity of the central nervous system, termed central sensitization. However, specific mechanisms contributing to pain experiences are unknown. Therefore, primary aims are to explore aspects of central sensitization through sensory testing in this population, and to investigate association of psychological and IBD features to sensory profiles. This study hypothesizes that IBD patients with MSK pain will demonstrate altered sensory function, and IBD/psychosocial features will be associated with altered sensory functioning and worse pain experiences.

Metabolomic Markers of Fatigue in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
FatigueInflammatory Bowel Disease2 moreFatigue is a common symptom and a leading concern in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and often persists despite clinical and endoscopic remission. This study evaluates the metabolomic profile of fatigued patients with IBD.

Tissue Characterization With Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI)
Tissue PerfusionTumor2 moreHyperspectral Imaging (HSI) is a contact free method to analyse the from the tissue reflected light in the range of 500-1000nm. Aim of the study is to identify special reflex patterns to identify special tissue

Evaluation of Stricturing Crohn's Disease Using Digital Holographic Microscopy
Inflammatory Bowel DiseasesCrohn DiseaseCrohn's Disease (CD) patients, belonging to Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), frequently suffer from uncontrolled intestinal inflammation. This can lead to severe disease complications requiring hospitalization. Up to 50% of all CD patients develope intestinal strictures. Intestinal strictures can be subdivided into predominantly inflammatory and predominantly fibrotic types. This subclassification in different types of strictures is important for clinical decision making: patients with predominantly fibrotic strictures would undergo surgery or interventional endoscopic treatment and patients with predominantly inflammatory strictures would be treated anti-inflammatory. To determining the degree of fibrosis and inflammation in CD strictures remains difficult. Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is a new imaging approach belonging to the group of quantitative phase imaging. DHM enables stain-free quantitative phase contrast imaging and provides the determination of an refractive index which directly correlated to tissue density. This study aims to evaluate DHM for assessing the degree of fibrosis and inflammation in surgical specimen from patients with stricturing CD. The investigators collect full thickness surgical resection specimen from 29 patients with symptomatic CD strictures. More detailed, the investigators collect full thickness surgical resection specimen out of stenotic and non-stenotic bowel segments from each patient. For primary purposes, the investigators analyze the obtained tissue using DHM and compare differences of the refractive index, determined by DHM, between stenotic and non-stenotic parts of the intestinal wall. For secondary purposes, the investigators will correlate the findings made by DHM with a detailed analysis by a histopathologist using a scoring system (Goldstandard) to determine the degree of fibrosis and inflammation in the samples.

Chromoendoscopy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
ColonoscopyPatients with longstanding ulcerative colitis (inflammatory bowel disease, IBD) have increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) when compared with that of the general population. Therefore patients with longstanding colitis undergo regular screening colonoscopy at varied time intervals depending on their individual risk. This is thought to detect early mucosal (interior bowel lining) abnormalities, known as dysplasia, which can progress to CRC. Until recently, IBD surveillance has relied upon colonoscopy with multiple (at least 33) random biopsies of the bowel lining to detect dysplasia, but now international guidelines recommended a technique called chromoendoscopy. Chromoendoscopy involves applying a dye, called indigo-carmine, to the bowel lining whilst performing colonoscopy which highlights more subtle abnormalities, therefore increasing dysplasia detection rate. There is no standard international concentration of the dye spray used during chromoendoscopy. Studies have used different concentrations of indigo-carmine dye ranging from 0.1 to 0.4%. We have recently shown that 0.2% dye improves detection rates compared to high definition white light. The recent international SCENIC guidelines suggest using 0.03% indigo-carmine via a foot pump. However there are no trials comparing the two methods and no previous trials have used the 0.03%. We therefore aim to perform a randomised control trial, comparing 0.03% indigo-carmine dye versus 0.2% in detecting dysplasia in patients undergoing surveillance colonoscopy in IBD. Any lesions seen will assessed using standard endoscopic appearance but also using optical biopsy forceps to further characterise the lesion, then manage the lesion as standard guidelines. We will also take two additional rectal biopsies, which will be snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and then studied using Raman Spectroscopy, Infra Red spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance to develop optical markers to identify patients at higher risk of dysplasia.

Study "HEMORROIDAL SURGERY AND Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease"
HemorrhoidsChronic Inflammatory Bowel DiseaseHemorrhoidal surgery is considered potentially harmful in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Patients with Crohn's disease may have ano-perineal involvement during the course of the disease or even before diagnosis. In addition, patients with IBD (Crohn's or RectoColitis Haemorrhagic, UC) may have rectal involvement. In both cases, hemorrhoidal surgery can be harmful to the anorectal level. However, recent data from the literature has proven to be reassuring. Indeed, the latest studies published on this subject have shown that hemorrhoidal surgery can be performed in a large majority of patients with IBD, especially when the disease is quiescent. The main objective is to assess the morbidity of hemorrhoidal surgery in IBD patients who have been operated on at our center. Postoperative complications will be the main elements sought in the study. The secondary objective is to search for predictive factors of complications from hemorrhoidal surgery in patients with IBD. This requires an exhaustive collection of clinical data.

Non Invasive Characterization of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Using Multispectral Optoacoustic...
Crohn's DiseaseUlcerative Colitis1 moreMonocentric, prospective observational study to assess bowel inflammation in children with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT).

Endocytoscopy for in Vivo Determination of Mucosal Inflammatory Cells and Intestinal Disease Activity...
Crohn´s DiseaseUlcerative ColitisPrecise activity assessment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is essential to determine the extent and severity of the disease for further specific therapy. Nevertheless, despite ongoing developments in the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy, the final diagnosis still relies on the interpretation of histopathological features of intestinal biopsies taken during the endoscopic examination. Recently, endocytoscopy (EC) was introduced as a new endoscopic imaging modality, enabling microscopic imaging within the mucosal layer of the gut at a magnification level of up to 1400-fold.

Significance of Ficolin 2 in the Determination of Serological Activity in Chronic Inflammatory Bowel...
Crohn DiseaseBackground Determining disease activity in IBD is sometimes difficult and, to be accurate, requires endoscopy. The serum marker CRP has not proven sufficiently valuable as a marker for IBD specific inflammation. As an alternative, so far fecal calprotectin appears to be more reliable and has shown a certain value as predictive marker. Our preliminary data now show, that the serum concentrations of ficolin-2 are significantly higher in CD patients with a HBI >3. Ficolin-2 is a lectin and acute phase protein produced in the liver and, like MBL, can activate the lectin pathway of complement. Unlike MBL, deficiency for ficolin-2 was not detected in our patient cohort, nor could we find functional deficiencies for ficolin-2 (paper submitted). Study Aims The study is aimed to substantiate the data from our pilot study which shows that ficolin-2 is significantly increased in CD patients during inflammation. Therefore, the study will measure ficolin-2 concentrations in a sufficiently large patient group to obtain enough statistical power and to compare these results with the endoscopic disease score (SES-CD) and CRP and calprotectin values. Statistical analysis of the data will show us if ficolin-2 is a reliable and easy to obtain new marker for active inflammation in CD. Study Design Based on a power analysis 112 CD patients and 112 UC patients need to be analyzed. They will be recruited from Bern, Basel and Lausanne. Only patients with routine endoscopy will be included in the study and will be scored by SES-CD. Blood samples will be collected at the day of endoscopy. Stool sample will be collected within the same week of endoscopy. Calprotectin and CRP concentrations will be determined by routine diagnostics, ficolin-2 concentrations will be determined by ELISA in our laboratory. Finally, all data will be statistically analyzed.

Monroe County Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Registry
Inflammatory Bowel DiseaseCrohn's Disease1 moreThis phase is to register all subjects in Monroe County, New York with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) not already included to update the database for years 1990-2003. This will give us a truly population based study which will add to our knowledge of IBD epidemiology, allowing us to compare our rates with the rest of the world. We will be able to provide accurate incidence data from 1980 to 2000, and point prevalence from 12/31/2000. It will have special significance because of the relatively stable Monroe County population prior to 2000 (population in 1970=711,917; population in 2000 = 735,343).