Challenges in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

SECTION 1: EPIDEMIOLOGY, AETIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS 1 Is the incidence rising 2 Is familial disease the same as sporadic disease? 3 Do susceptibility genes exist, and how can we find them? 4 Is clinical phenotype genetically determined? 5 Is there are a role for micro-organisms? 6 A genetic environmental contribution? SECTION 2: DIAGNOSIS & ASSESSMENT 7 What are the current controversies in histopathological diagnosis? 8 What do new diagnostic tools offer the investigation of disease? SECTION 3: MANAGEMENT 9 Is mesalazine useful for treating Crohn's disease?10 Diet or steroids? 11 Is there a role for antibiotics in Crohn's disease? 12 What are the prospects for immunosuppression and immunomodulation? 13 How should refractory distal colitis be measured? 14 What are the current controversies in the surgical management of ulcerative colitis? 15 What are the current controversies in the surgical management of Crohn's disease? 16 What are the causes and treatment of ileo-anal pouch dysfunction? SECTION 4: SURVEILLANCE FOR COLORECTAL CANCER 17 How is dysplasia recognised? 18 What is the case for surveillance? 19 What is the case against surveillance? 20 A balanced view? SECTION 5: LONG-TERM COMPLICATIONS: DISEASE THERAPY 21 Growth retardation in children 22 Osteopenia SECTION 6: PROGNOSIS 23 How can we predict prognosis?