TYPE-I HYPERSENSITIVITY REACTIONS AND PATHOGENESIS OF ULCERATIVE-COLITIS

There is a body of clinical, epidemological, biologic, histological an d therapeutic data suggesting that type I hypersensitivity plays a rol e in the pathogenesis and maintenance of ulcerative colitis. Contradic tory evidence from different studies on the pathogenic mechanisms may simply mean that there is not one but several types of ulcerative coli tis. Chronic inflammation of the intestine would cover a heterogeneous group of conditions. Genetic susceptibility controlling one of more a nomalies of the immune system would be triggered by external factors s uch as respiratory or food allergies, viral or bacterial infections or other factors including smoking or stress. The wide range of factors involved would explain the variety of findings reported by different g roups searching for a single pathogenic mechanism. Finally, as emphasi zed by other authors, screening for subgroups of patients with allergy among the ulcerative colitis population would be useful in adapting t reatment and developing a more specific therapeutic strategy not only for acute phases but perhaps also for preventive treatment.