Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Complexity and Variability Need Integration

Frontiers in Medicine

Claudio Fiocchi¹ 

关键词: inflammatory bowel disease;    ulcerative colitis;    Crohn’;    s disease;    systems biology;    network medicine;    complexity;    variability;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2018.00075

学科分类：医学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

In the last century, humanity has being increasingly affected by a large number of chronic conditions that fall into two major categories: neoplastic and inflammatory diseases. Unlike infectious diseases, which have a defined etiological agent, the etiology of these two dominant forms of disease is still undefined, although there is overwhelming evidence that the cause is multifactorial as are the underlying biological mechanisms (1). Chronic inflammatory diseases, autoimmune or otherwise, exhibit two cardinal features: complexity and variability (2). Complexity is due to the seemingly endless number of factors and mechanisms associated with the disease, and variability is due to the intrinsic heterogeneity of the affected individuals and the surrounding environment in which they live in. Complexity and variability are inextricably intertwined in conditioning, predisposing, triggering, and mediating the disease process and the ensuing clinical manifestations, which are also variable and unpredictable. These features are shared by numerous conditions but, in this opinion article, the focus will be on inflammatory bowel disease [IBD; Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)] as the prototypical example of a chronic inflammatory disease (3). The main factors that contribute to the complexity and variability of IBD will be discussed, the need to integrate these factors will be highlighted, and comprehensive data integration offered as the solution to the development of target-specific therapies that allow the implementation of precision medicine.

【 授权许可】

CC BY