Patients with IBD More Likely to Be Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis

Main Category: Multiple Sclerosis
Article Date: 02 Sep 2005 - 9:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

A possible association between inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis (MS) has been suspected for decades, but previous studies have lacked the statistical power to confirm the relationship. A study published in this month's Gastroenterology is the first to confirm a nearly two-fold increased risk of multiple sclerosis in IBD patients. In addition to MS, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found an association between IBD, optic neuritis and other demyelinating disorders.

Patients being treated with anti-TNF alpha therapies, such as Remicade and Humira, were previously thought to be the only ones with an increased risk of developing these neurological disorders. As a result, clinician and patient label warnings were added to this class of drugs in 2004. Study authors say the causal relationship between these drugs and demyelinating disorders has not clearly been established because of the small amount of data available from controlled clinical trials.

"While our study findings do not refute an association between anti-TNF alpha medications and these disorders, they point out that IBD patients appear to have an increased risk of multiple sclerosis even when they are not being treated with these medications," said James D. Lewis, MD, MSCE, study author from the University of Pennsylvania. "The development of neurologic symptoms in patients with IBD should prompt their physician to look for evidence of multiple sclerosis and other nervous system disorders."

This study identified more than 20,000 patients from the UK's General Practice Research Database diagnosed with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis between January 1988 and October 1997. Each study subject was then matched to four controls, making for an inclusion of about 80,000 control subjects without IBD. The odds of an IBD patient being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, optic neuritis and other demyelinating disorders was found to be 1.7 times as high as those patients without IBD. If the association is confirmed by other studies, researchers believe findings may help to identify common genetic or environmental factors contributing to the development of Crohn's and ulcerative colitis.

(Increased Risk of Demyelinating Diseases in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Gupta, et al.)

About the AGA
The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is dedicated to the mission of advancing the science and practice of gastroenterology. Founded in 1897, the AGA is the oldest medical-specialty society in the United States. The AGA's 14,500 members include physicians and scientists who research, diagnose and treat disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. On a monthly basis, the AGA publishes two highly respected journals, Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The AGA's annual meeting is Digestive Disease Week®, which is held each May and is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

About Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA, is the most prominent journal in the subspecialty and is in the top one percent of indexed medical journals internationally. The journal publishes clinical and basic studies of all aspects of the digestive system, including the liver and pancreas, as well as nutrition. The journal is abstracted and indexed in Biological Abstracts, CABS, Chemical Abstracts, Current Contents, Excerpta Medica, Index Medicus, Nutrition Abstracts and Science Citation Index. For more information, visit http://www.gastrojournal.org.

Kimberly Wise
media@gastro.org
301-941-2620
American Gastroenterological Association
http://www.gastro.org

• Additional
• References
• Citations