Common intestine diseases

The common intestine diseases are tightly connected with malabsorption. Sometimes malabsorption is the cause of pathology; sometimes the roles are reversed.

Crohn’s disease

• Description: It is a chronic inflammatory disease of the small and large intestine manifested through painful inflammatory patches
• Cause: Unknown. Some researchers try to connect the disease with some autoimmune reactions. Genetics can also contribute to the probability of the development of the disease.
• Symptoms: abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and fatigue

Irritable bowel syndrome

• Description: It is a chronic condition of inconsistent bowel movements that affects the large intestine. The condition does not cause changes in bowel tissue or increase the risk of cancer.
• Cause: Unknown. The following factors could be possible causes of the disease or can contribute to the development of the symptoms: prolonged muscle contractions, abnormalities in nerves of the digestive system, severe infection, stressful events, drastic changes of gut microbiome
• Symptoms: abdominal cramping, bloating, diarrhea, constipation

Celiac disease

• Description: It is an immune disease in which your own body attacks the small intestine upon eating food containing gluten.
• Cause: Genetic. The disease is inherited, and blood tests, family medical history, and biopsy can easily detect the presence of the disease.
• Symptoms: They vary from individual to individual. They can be local (abdominal pain, diarrhea) or global (irritation, depression).

Ulcerative Colitis

• Description: It is a condition causing inflammation and sores, named ulcers, in the lining of the large intestine.
• Cause: Unknown. One possibility could be the malfunction of the immune system where the immune cells attack tissues of the large intestine while fighting some pathogen. It can also be genetic; however, there is no proof of that yet.
• Symptoms: abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, weight loss, tiredness, anemia

The mentioned diseases are only a fragment of all conditions that can develop in the gastrointestinal tract. Some are mild, like hemorrhoids or infections, while some can be life-threatening and require rapid detection and treatment (cancer).