2. An Autoimmune Disorder

3.  Crohn’s disease is inflammation of the digestive system that results from an abnormal immune response.  A cure has not yet been discovered.

4.  Inherited Genes  The Immune System  Environmental Factors ◦ Antigens

5.  Crohn’s Disease is diagnosed by a variety of medical tests and exams.  It is often misdiagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Colon Cancer, and Ulcerative Colitis.

6.  Blood work to check for inflammation or Anemia  Barium X-Ray  CAT scan  Video Capsule Endoscopy  Colonoscopy  Biopsy of enflamed tissue

7.  The person would have many symptoms ◦ Diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, appetite loss, weight loss, nausea, fever, rectal bleeding  The patient will experience little to no symptoms but will eventually have flare ups  The intestines may be obstructed by inflammation of the intestines which will form scar tissue

8.  Patients with mild to no symptoms will not need treatment  A patient with severe symptoms will be put on anti-inflammatory medicines, topical antibiotics, and/or immune modulators  If the disease is severe enough, they will need surgery to remove scar tissue from the intestines.

9.  Abnormalities of lymph drainage have been linked to Crohn’s disease  Lymphatic System develops the inflammation of the Digestive Tract/ Intestines.  Lymph flows through lymph nodes sampling antigens to the immune system. The antigens may then cause inflammation of the digestive tract which leads to Crohn’s disease.

10.  20% of Crohn’s disease patients have a blood relative with some sort of Inflammatory Bowel Disease  People of Jewish heritage have a greater risk of developing Crohn’s disease  African Americans have a lower risk of developing the disease

11.  www.medicinenet.com www.medicinenet.com  www.crohnsonline.com www.crohnsonline.com  www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov  www.justcrohns.com www.justcrohns.com

12.  By: Alex Caldwell and Logan McNamara