Daniel C. Baumgart
Editor

2012

From Epidemiology and Immunobiology
to a Rational Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approach

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis – two chronic inflammatory diseases (IBD) on the rise – result from an inappropriate immune response, in genetically susceptible individuals, to microbial antigens of commensal microorganisms. This inappropriate response is promoted by certain environmental factors including Western life style, explaining their globally increasing incidence.