IS APPENDECTOMY A CAUSATIVE FACTOR IN ULCERATIVE-COLITIS

There are strong indicators that the aetiology of inflammatory bowel d isease should be regarded as multifactorial, involving an interaction between genetic and environmental factors which give rise to an inadeq uate immunological response, During the past decade at least seven cas e-control studies have shown an inverse association between appendecto my and ulcerative colitis. Conclusions have been that either ulcerativ e colitis protects against appendicitis, or appendectomy protects agai nst ulcerative colitis. The immunological function of the appendix is not well known, but experimental studies suggest that the appendix is possibly an important site for priming of the cells involved in the de velopment of inflammatory bowel disease, Experimental and prospective cohort studies are needed to provide more insight in a possible relati on between ulcerative colitis and the appendix. Eur J Gastroenterol He patol 10:455-457 (C) 1998 Lippincott-Raven Publishers.