Ulcerative colitis
Last updated 28 Aug 2023
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Ulcerative colitis is a chronic disorder that affects the digestive system. This condition is characterised by abnormal inflammation of the inner surface (epithelium) of the rectum and colon. The rectum and colon make up most of the length of the large intestine. The inflammation usually causes open sores (ulcers) to develop in the large intestine. Ulcerative colitis usually appears between the age of 15 and 30, although it can develop at any age. The inflammation tends to flare up multiple times throughout a person's life, which causes recurring signs and symptoms.
Description
Ulcerative colitis is a chronic disorder that affects the digestive system. This condition is characterised by abnormal inflammation of the inner surface (epithelium) of the rectum and colon. The rectum and colon make up most of the length of the large intestine. The inflammation usually causes open sores (ulcers) to develop in the large intestine. Ulcerative colitis usually appears between the age of 15 and 30, although it can develop at any age. The inflammation tends to flare up multiple times throughout a person's life, which causes recurring signs and symptoms.
The most common symptoms of ulcerative colitis are cramping abdominal pain and frequent diarrhea, often with blood, pus, or mucus in the stool. Other signs and symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, bowel urgency, fatigue, and fevers. Chronic bleeding from the inflamed and ulcerated intestinal tissue can cause a shortage of red blood cells (anaemia) in some affected individuals. People with this disorder have difficulty absorbing enough fluids and nutrients from their diet and often experience weight loss. Affected children usually grow more slowly than normal. Less commonly, ulcerative colitis causes problems with the skin, joints, eyes, kidneys, or liver, which are most likely due to abnormal inflammation.
Toxic megacolon is a rare complication of ulcerative colitis that can be life-threatening. Toxic megacolon involves a widening (dilation) of the colon and an overwhelming inflammatory response. Ulcerative colitis also increases the risk of developing colon cancer, especially in people whose entire colon is inflamed and in those who have had ulcerative colitis for 8 years or more.
Ulcerative colitis is one common form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Another type of IBD, Crohn's disease, also causes chronic inflammation of the intestines. Unlike ulcerative colitis, which affects only the inner surface of the large intestine, Crohn's disease can cause inflammation in any part of the digestive system, and the inflammation extends deeper into the intestinal tissue.
Inheritance patterns
The source lists the following possible inheritance patterns: Pattern unknown. More than one pattern can apply in different cases.
Related genes
Other names
Colitis gravis
Idiopathic proctocolitis
Inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis type
UC
Related patient information and medicines
Patient information leaflet
Ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis is a disease where inflammation develops in the colon and the rectum (the large intestine). The most common symptom when the disease flares up is diarrhoea mixed with blood. Ulcerative colitis is a disease of the colon and the rectum (the large intestine). Ulcers that occur in ulcerative colitis develop in the large intestine.
Medicine leaflet
Beclometasone tablets for ulcerative colitis
Beclometasone belongs to a class of medicines known as corticosteroids (m... About beclometasone tablets for ulcerative colitis Type of medicine A corticosteroid, also commonly called an oral steroid Used for Ulcerative colitis (in adults) Also called Beclomethasone (in US); Clipper® Available as Modified-release tablets (made to pass through your.
Medicine leaflet
Olsalazine for ulcerative colitis
About olsalazine Type of medicine Aminosalicylate Used for Ulcerative colitis in adults and in children aged over 12 years Available as Capsules and tablets Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation of the large intestine. This can lead to damage to the lining of your intestine (ulceration) and bleeding, and causes symptoms of tummy (abdominal) pain.
Patient information leaflet
Rectal bleeding
See the separ... Ulcerative colitis and other forms of colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a disease where inflammation develops in the colon and rectum. A common symptom when the disease flares up is diarrhoea mixed with blood. The blood comes from ulcers that develop on the lining of the inflamed gut. There are other rare causes of inflammation.
Patient information leaflet
Inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a term used to descr... Ulcerative colitis only affects the intestinal wall of the colon and rectum, whereas Crohn's disease can affect any part of the gut. Surgery Ulcerative colitis only affects the colon and rectum so an operation to remove the large bowel (total colectomy) will cure the condition. Ulcerative.
Patient information leaflet
Steroids
Steroid medicines are used for many different medical conditions. Ulcerative colitis . Arthritis. These should only ever be started by a specialist eye doctor (ophthalmologist) who will usually have used a machine called a slit lamp to look into the bac... Rectal foam or suppositories to treat ulcerative colitis (proctitis) or for Crohn's disease.
Further reading and references
- Ulcerative colitis; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
- Anderson CA, Boucher G, Lees CW, Franke A, D'Amato M, Taylor KD, Lee JC, Goyette P, Imielinski M, Latiano A, Lagace C, Scott R, Amininejad L, Bumpstead S, Baidoo L, Baldassano RN, Barclay M, Bayless TM, Brand S, Buning C, Colombel JF, Denson LA, De Vos M, Dubinsky M, Edwards C, Ellinghaus D, Fehrmann RS, Floyd JA, Florin T, Franchimont D, Franke L, Georges M, Glas J, Glazer NL, Guthery SL, Haritunians T, Hayward NK, Hugot JP, Jobin G, Laukens D, Lawrance I, Lemann M, Levine A, Libioulle C, Louis E, McGovern DP, Milla M, Montgomery GW, Morley KI, Mowat C, Ng A, Newman W, Ophoff RA, Papi L, Palmieri O, Peyrin-Biroulet L, Panes J, Phillips A, Prescott NJ, Proctor DD, Roberts R, Russell R, Rutgeerts P, Sanderson J, Sans M, Schumm P, Seibold F, Sharma Y, Simms LA, Seielstad M, Steinhart AH, Targan SR, van den Berg LH, Vatn M, Verspaget H, Walters T, Wijmenga C, Wilson DC, Westra HJ, Xavier RJ, Zhao ZZ, Ponsioen CY, Andersen V, Torkvist L, Gazouli M, Anagnou NP, Karlsen TH, Kupcinskas L, Sventoraityte J, Mansfield JC, Kugathasan S, Silverberg MS, Halfvarson J, Rotter JI, Mathew CG, Griffiths AM, Gearry R, Ahmad T, Brant SR, Chamaillard M, Satsangi J, Cho JH, Schreiber S, Daly MJ, Barrett JC, Parkes M, Annese V, Hakonarson H, Radford-Smith G, Duerr RH, Vermeire S, Weersma RK, Rioux JD. Meta-analysis identifies 29 additional ulcerative colitis risk loci, increasing the number of confirmed associations to 47. Nat Genet. 2011 Mar;43(3):246-52. doi: 10.1038/ng.764. Epub 2011 Feb 6.
- Danese S, Fiocchi C. Ulcerative colitis. N Engl J Med. 2011 Nov 3;365(18):1713-25. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1102942. No abstract available.
- Di Sabatino A, Biancheri P, Rovedatti L, Macdonald TT, Corazza GR. Recent advances in understanding ulcerative colitis. Intern Emerg Med. 2012 Apr;7(2):103-11. doi: 10.1007/s11739-011-0719-z. Epub 2011 Nov 9.
- Fairbrass KM, Costantino SJ, Gracie DJ, Ford AC. Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome-type symptoms in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in remission: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Dec;5(12):1053-1062. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(20)30300-9. Epub 2020 Oct 2.
- McGuckin MA, Eri R, Simms LA, Florin TH, Radford-Smith G. Intestinal barrier dysfunction in inflammatory bowel diseases. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2009 Jan;15(1):100-13. doi: 10.1002/ibd.20539.
- Pigneur B, Escher J, Elawad M, Lima R, Buderus S, Kierkus J, Guariso G, Canioni D, Lambot K, Talbotec C, Shah N, Begue B, Rieux-Laucat F, Goulet O, Cerf-Bensussan N, Neven B, Ruemmele FM. Phenotypic characterization of very early-onset IBD due to mutations in the IL10, IL10 receptor alpha or beta gene: a survey of the Genius Working Group. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2013 Dec;19(13):2820-8. doi: 10.1097/01.MIB.0000435439.22484.d3.
- Podolsky DK. Inflammatory bowel disease. N Engl J Med. 2002 Aug 8;347(6):417-29. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra020831. No abstract available.
- Shim JO, Seo JK. Very early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in infancy is a different disease entity from adult-onset IBD; one form of interleukin-10 receptor mutations. J Hum Genet. 2014 Jun;59(6):337-41. doi: 10.1038/jhg.2014.32. Epub 2014 May 1.
- UK IBD Genetics Consortium; Barrett JC, Lee JC, Lees CW, Prescott NJ, Anderson CA, Phillips A, Wesley E, Parnell K, Zhang H, Drummond H, Nimmo ER, Massey D, Blaszczyk K, Elliott T, Cotterill L, Dallal H, Lobo AJ, Mowat C, Sanderson JD, Jewell DP, Newman WG, Edwards C, Ahmad T, Mansfield JC, Satsangi J, Parkes M, Mathew CG; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2; Donnelly P, Peltonen L, Blackwell JM, Bramon E, Brown MA, Casas JP, Corvin A, Craddock N, Deloukas P, Duncanson A, Jankowski J, Markus HS, Mathew CG, McCarthy MI, Palmer CN, Plomin R, Rautanen A, Sawcer SJ, Samani N, Trembath RC, Viswanathan AC, Wood N, Spencer CC, Barrett JC, Bellenguez C, Davison D, Freeman C, Strange A, Donnelly P, Langford C, Hunt SE, Edkins S, Gwilliam R, Blackburn H, Bumpstead SJ, Dronov S, Gillman M, Gray E, Hammond N, Jayakumar A, McCann OT, Liddle J, Perez ML, Potter SC, Ravindrarajah R, Ricketts M, Waller M, Weston P, Widaa S, Whittaker P, Deloukas P, Peltonen L, Mathew CG, Blackwell JM, Brown MA, Corvin A, McCarthy MI, Spencer CC, Attwood AP, Stephens J, Sambrook J, Ouwehand WH, McArdle WL, Ring SM, Strachan DP. Genome-wide association study of ulcerative colitis identifies three new susceptibility loci, including the HNF4A region. Nat Genet. 2009 Dec;41(12):1330-4. doi: 10.1038/ng.483. Epub 2009 Nov 15.
- Xavier RJ, Podolsky DK. Unravelling the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. Nature. 2007 Jul 26;448(7152):427-34. doi: 10.1038/nature06005.
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