Crohn's Disease

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Crohn’s disease is a chronic condition that affects a person’s digestive system with no known cause. When Crohn’s disease strikes, it can affect any part of your digestive system ranging from your mouth, all the way to your anus. Crohn’s disease is chronic and there is no known cure for this condition. So basically, once someone is diagnosed with this condition, they might as well get used to living out the remainder of their life being affected by Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s is not, shall we say, “constant”. The symptoms happen on and off in what are usually called “flare-ups”.

While there is no known cause, some people suspect that certain kinds of mycobacterium may really be the cause of Crohn’s disease, but that is just a strong theory that they are testing out. In a healthy person, their immune system is made up of what are called immune cells. These immune cells then produce some proteins that inhabit the immune system. These proteins, along with the cells that produce them, help to strengthen the immune system by protecting the body against bacteria, viruses, and fungi, along with any other invader of the body that may cause harm to your body. When the immune system is called upon to rid the body of one of these invaders, the area of tissues that the immune system is called on to protect, then becomes inflamed.

When a person is affected with Crohn’s, the immune system protecting the body then becomes called on a lot more often. But in this case when the immune system is called on, there aren’t any foreign invaders to be found in the body. With the extra unnecessary protection and inflammation of the body, the intestines can become damaged and ulcers can occur.

In the first stages of this condition, erosi...

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...e-up of ulcerative colitis and cause the symptoms to worsen.

So all in all, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis have a lot of similarities. Their symptoms and causes are very similar. Both of these conditions can be very painful, and they have life-long effects on the human body. However, Crohn’s disease can affect a person on a deeper level and cause more damage along the whole digestive tract instead of just a few places. However, I sure wouldn’t want to have to face any of these conditions.

Works Cited

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001296/

http://www.webmd.com/ibd-crohns-disease/crohns-disease/tc/crohns-disease-topic-overview?page=2

http://www.medicinenet.com/crohns_disease/article.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/crohns-disease/DS00104/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151620.php

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