• Print Article
• Email Article

Colitis Treatment

Treatment

Standard treatment for ulcerative colitis depends on extent of involvement and disease severity. The goal is to induce remission initially with medications, followed by the administration of maintenance medications to prevent a relapse of the disease. The concept of induction of remission and maintenance of remission is very important. The medications used to induce and maintain a remission somewhat overlap, but the treatments are different. Physicians first direct treatment to inducing a remission which involves relief of symptoms and mucosal healing of the lining of the colon and then longer term treatment to maintan the remission.

Drugs used

• Aminosalicylates

Sulfasalazine has been a major agent in the therapy of mild to moderate UC for over 50 years. In 1977 Azad Khan determined that 5-aminosalicyclic acid (5-ASA and mesalazine) was the therapeutically active compound in sulfasalazine. Since then many 5-ASA compounds have been developed with the aim of maintaining efficacy but reducing the common side effects associated with the sulfapyridine moiety in sulfasalazine.

• Mesalazine, also known as 5-aminosalicylic acid, 5-ASA, Asacol, Pentasa and Mesalamine.
• Sulfasalazine, also known as Azulfidine.
• Balsalazide, also known as Colazal.
• Olsalazine, also known as Dipentum.


• Corticosteroids
  • Cortisone
  • Prednisone
  • Prednisolone
  • Hydrocortisone
  • Methylprednisolone
  • Budesonide
• Immunosuppressive drugs
  • Mercaptopurine, also known as 6-Mercaptopurine, 6-MP and Purinethiol.
  • Azathioprine, also known as Imuran (US) or Azasan, which metabolises to 6-MP.
  • Methotrexate, which inhibits folic acid
• Biological treatment
  • Infliximab

Surgery

Unlike Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis can generally be cured by surgical removal of the large intestine. This procedure is necessary in the event of: exsanguinating hemorrhage, frank perforation or documented or strongly suspected carcinoma. Surgery is also indicated for patients with severe colitis or toxic megacolon. Patients with symptoms that are disabling and do not respond to drugs may wish to consider whether surgery would improve the quality of life.

Ulcerative colitis is a disease that affects many parts of the body outside the intestinal tract. In rare cases the extra-intestinal manifestations of the disease may require removal of the colon.

Alternative treatments

Dietary modification

Dietary modification may reduce the symptoms of the disease.

• Lactose intolerance is noted in many ulcerative colitis patients. Those with suspicious symptoms should get a lactose breath hydrogen test. If lactose is restricted, calcium may need to be supplemented to avoid bone loss.
• Patients with abdominal cramping or diarrhea may find relief or a reduction in symptoms by avoiding fresh fruits and vegetables, caffeine, carbonated drinks and sorbitol-containing foods.
• Many dietary approaches have purported to treat UC, including the Elaine Gottschall's specific carbohydrate diet and the "anti-fungal diet" (Holland/Kaufmann).

Fats and oils

• Fish oil. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), derived from fish oil. This is an Eicosanoid that inhibits leukotriene activity. It is effective as an adjunct therapy. There is no recommended dosage for ulcerative colitis. Dosages of EPA of 180 to 1500 mg/day are recommended for other conditions.
• Short chain fatty acid (butyrate) enema. The colon utilizes butyrate from the contents of the intestine as an energy source. The amount of butyrate available decreases toward the rectum. Inadequate butyrate levels in the lower intestine have been suggested as a contributing factor for the disease. This might be addressed through butyrate enemas. The results however are not conclusive.

Herbals

• Herbal medications are used by patients with ulcerative colitis. Compounds that contain sulphydryl may have an effect in ulcerative colitis (under a similar hypothesis that the sulpha moiety of sulfasalazine may have activity in addition to the active 5-ASA component). One randomized control trial evaluated the over-the-counter medication methionine-methyl sulphonium chloride (abbreviated MMSC, but more commonly referred to as Vitamin U) and found a significant decreased rate of relapse when the medication was used in conjunction with oral sulfasalazine.

Aloe Vera

The Aloe Vera plant is believed by many to be one of nature's most incredible byproducts.  It has been used for many years around the house to treat cuts and burns, and has been incorporated into countless of commercial products such as lip-balm, shampoo, and sunscreen/sunburn lotions.  However, there exists a concentrated powdered extract from aloe called aloe mucilaginous polysaccharide. It is used to treat auto-immune disorders and diseases.   Particularly those in the digestive tract.

Aloe Mucilaginous Polysaccharides can be used to help treat ulcerative colitis.  Aloe mucilaginous polysaccharides are long-chain sugar molecules composed of individual mannose and glucose sugar molecules connected together — which have been attributed to subduing and reducing symptoms associated with UC. 

The AMP molecule is extracted from the aloe plant in a controlled environment.  To get the highest refinement of AMP, lyophilization must be used to preserve the varying sizes of molecules that contain these potent healing properties.  Unfortunately, there are few manufacturers that offer the freeze-dried extracted form of AMP as it is expensive to manufacture.   To learn more about lyophilization, read this article: Processing of Aloe Mucilaginous Polysaccharides. 

SEROVERA® AMP 500 is currently the only manufacturer of freeze-dried AMP.

Bacterial recolonization

• Probiotics may have benefit. One study which looked at a probiotic known as VSL#3 has shown promise for people with ulcerative colitis.

• Fecal bacteriotherapy involves the infusion of human probiotics through fecal enemas. It suggests that the cause of ulcerative colitis may be a previous infection by a still unknown pathogen. This initial infection resolves itself naturally, but somehow causes an imbalance in the colonic bacterial flora, leading to a cycle of inflammation which can be broken by "recolonizing" the colon with bacteria from a healthy bowel. There have been several reported cases of patients who have remained in remission for up to 13 years.

Intestinal parasites

Inflammatory bowel disease is less common in the developing world. Some have suggested that this may be because intestinal parasites are more common in underdeveloped countries. Some parasites are able to reduce the immune response of the intestine, an adaptation that helps the parasite colonize the intestine. The decrease in immune response could reduce or eliminate the inflammatory bowel disease.

Helminthic therapy using the whipworm Trichuris suis has been shown in a randomized control trial from Iowa to show benefit in patients with ulcerative colitis. The therapy tests the hygiene hypothesis which argues that the absence of helminths in the colons of patients in the western world may lead to inflammation. Both helminthic therapy and fecal bacteriotherapy induce a characteristic Th2 white cell response in the diseased areas, which is somewhat paradoxical given that ulcerative colitis immunology was thought to classically involve Th2 overproduction.