Objective. The objective is the investigation of Joint Hypermobility (JH) and the Hypermobility Syndrome (HMS) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Methods. We examined 83 patients with IBD and 67 healthy individuals for the presence of JH. Patients were excluded if they were under 18 or over 50 years of age and if they had other conditions which affect joint mobility. Thex2and the Fisher exact test were used appropriately between study groups. Odds ratios (ORs) for the risk of JH and HMS in IBD groups were calculated.Results. A total of 150 individuals (83 IBD patients and 67 healthy controls) participated in the study. 69 IBD patients, 41 with Crohn's Disease (CD) and 28 with ulcerative colitis (UC), were finally eligible. JH was detected in 29 CD patients (70.7%), in 10 UC patients (35.7%), and in 17 healthy control subjects (25.4%). Significant difference was detected on JH in CD patients as compared to UC patients (P=.0063) and controls (P<.0001). The estimated OR for JH was 7.108 (95% CI: 2.98–16.95) in CD and 1.634 (95% CI: 0.63–4.22) in UC patients. HMS was detected in 5 (12.2%) CD and in 1 (3.57%) UC patients. The OR for HMS in CD was 3.75 (95% CI: 0.41–34.007), while 7 (17.1%) CD patients had overlapping symptoms for both HMS and early spondylarthropathy.Conclusions. JH and the HMS are common in CD patients, thus articular manifestations should be carefully interpreted. This implies an involvement of collagen varieties in the pathogenesis of IBD.

Peer reviewed article authored by (Efremidou EI, Kouklakis G, Mitrakas A, Liratzopoulos N, Polychronidis AC). Read article or submit your manuscript for publishing.

To access the correlation of Chromogranin A (CgA) with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) activity and responsiveness to medical therapy. A prospective observational study was conducted in 56 patients with moderate ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) (UC, n = 29, CD, n = 27), 17 patients with irritable bowel syndrome and predominant diarrhea (IBS-D) and 40 healthy volunteers. IBD patients were treated by biologics (infliximab or adalimumab) or conventional agents (aminosalicylates, thiopurines or methotrexate and steroids) and were classified according to their treatment in two groups. Serum CgA was measured at baseline and 4-week posttreatment period. Serum CgA was significantly higher in IBD patients than in those with IBS-D or healthy volunteers (p < 0.01). Furthermore, serum CgA was markedly increased in CD patients than in UC patients (p < 0.01). CgA value was significantly reduced in 'biologic' group (24 IBD patients, UC, n = 15, CD, n = 9) at 4-week posttreatment period (p < 0.01), while 18/24 (72%) patients were already in remission during that time. In contrast, CgA value was significantly increased in the 'conventional' treatment group (32 IBD patients, UC, n = 14, CD, n = 18) between the two visits (p < 0.01), although 22/32 (69%) patients were in remission during the 4-week posttreatment period. CgA appears to be a reliable marker of disease activity in IBD patients and especially in those who received biologic therapy. IBS-D patients presented normal CgA values.