Real-world Effectiveness of Tofacitinib on Ulcerative Colitis-Associated Spondyloarthropathy: a multicenter prospective study from the Italian Group for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IG-IBD).

Background: The efficacy of tofacitinib (TOFA) in various rheumatic diseases has generated interest in its potential benefits for treating spondyloarthritis (SpA) associated with ulcerative colitis (UC).

Objectives: RETUCAS (Real-world Effectiveness of Tofacitinib on Ulcerative Colitis-Associated Spondyloarthropathy) is the first study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of TOFA in UC-associated SpA.

Design: This was a prospective, multicentre, single-arm, observational study promoted by the Italian Group for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Digital biomarkers and artificial intelligence: a new frontier in personalized management of inflammatory bowel disease.

Background And Aims: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly gaining traction in gastroenterology, particularly in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Given the complexity of IBD care, AI offers the potential to enhance diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment. This review aims to summarize recent developments in AI applications for IBD and identify key challenges and opportunities for future research and clinical implementation.

Long-term comparative outcomes after ileocecal resection for inflammatory versus complicated Crohn's disease. A multicenter, retrospective study (Crohn´s-Urg).

Background: Surgical intervention in Crohn's disease (CD) is often reserved for complications or failure of medical therapy. However, the benefits of early ileocecal resection for inflammatory phenotype (ICR) in patients with uncomplicated disease remain debated, particularly regarding long-term outcomes compared with complicated cases.

Methods: This international, multicenter, retrospective cohort study evaluated long-term outcomes of ICR in patients with inflammatory (uncomplicated) and complicated CD phenotypes.

GLP-1 receptor agonists in IBD: exploring the crossroads of metabolism and inflammation.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) represent a cornerstone in the treatment of diabetes and obesity and have emerged as a promising option for other metabolic disorders, including hepatic steatosis. Recent evidence highlights the direct and indirect anti-inflammatory properties of GLP-1, suggesting a potential additional therapeutic strategy for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, side effects of GLP-1 RAs, particularly those affecting the gastrointestinal system, may limit their use in patients with IBD.

Efficacy and Safety of Infliximab and Vedolizumab Maintenance Therapy in Patients with Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Direct comparative data for infliximab and vedolizumab are limited due to lack of head-to-head trials. This systematic review and meta-analysis compared the efficacy and safety of infliximab and vedolizumab as intravenous or subcutaneous maintenance treatments for adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Medical databases, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched from January 2010 to May 2024 to identify Phase 1 to 3 randomized controlled trials.

Navigating Neoplasm Risk in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis.

(1) Background and Aims: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) face a significantly increased risk of malignancies, including a 10-fold higher risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) and a lifetime risk for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) exceeding 20%. The mechanisms underlying this elevated risk remain elusive. This review consolidates recent findings on cancer risk in PSC-IBD patients, focusing on molecular pathways, diagnostic innovations, and prevention strategies.

Attitudes of physicians managing inflammatory bowel disease toward alterations of liver function tests: an Italian Group for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IG-IBD) survey.

Background: Liver diseases are common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Little is known about how specialists perceive and manage liver enzyme abnormalities. This study investigates the current practice and educational needs of IBD specialists in the management of liver enzyme abnormalities.

TL1A as a Target in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Exploring Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic disorders characterized by persistent inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Despite advances in treatment, a significant proportion of patients remain refractory to current therapies and develop complications, particularly fibrosis, leading to strictures and fistulae. Tumor necrosis factor-like ligand 1A (TL1A) has emerged as a promising new target for IBD treatment, due to its dual role in inflammatory and fibrotic pathways.

Impact of mirikizumab treatment on fatigue in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease: results from the phase 3 VIVID-1 study.

Background: Fatigue is a debilitating multifactorial symptom experienced by patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Mirikizumab, an anti-interleukin-23p19 antibody, demonstrated significant efficacy and safety in the patients with moderately to severely active CD. This analysis investigated the impact of mirikizumab on fatigue and the association between changes in clinical, endoscopic, and patient-reported outcomes with improvement in fatigue from baseline in the Phase 3 VIVID-1 study.

Positioning Guselkumab in The Treatment Algorithm of Patients with Crohn's Disease.

Guselkumab, a selective interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor, has emerged as a promising biologic therapy for the management of patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease (CD) and has been recently approved for its treatment. Unlike conventional therapies, guselkumab offers a different mechanism of action by selectively inhibiting IL-23, a key cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of CD. IL-23 drives intestinal inflammation through activation of the Th17 cell pathway and other immune processes, positioning IL-23 inhibition as a critical therapeutic approach.

Therapeutic adherence in inflammatory bowel disease: User guide from a multidisciplinary modified Delphi consensus.

Background: Therapeutic non-adherence can significantly impair the quality of life of patients affected by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), leading to worse treatment outcomes, more frequent hospitalizations, and increased healthcare expenses. Identifying and enhancing treatment adherence is a key goal in managing IBD.

Aim: To establish a consensus on the definition of therapeutic adherence, determination of risk factors, and identify patients with IBD at higher risk of non-adherence.

The 'totality of evidence' and 'extrapolation' of SB17, a ustekinumab biosimilar.

Introduction: SB17 is a ustekinumab (UST) biosimilar targeting interleukin-12/23 for treating immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). The development of UST biosimilars like SB17 may help address the high cost of innovator biologics, offering affordable alternatives without compromising efficacy or safety.

Areas Covered: This review encompasses the totality of evidence supporting SB17's similarity to UST, its regulatory approval, and indication extrapolation.

Vedolizumab in inflammatory bowel disease: Real-world outcomes and their prediction with machine learning-the IG-IBD LIVE study.

Background And Aims: Real-world studies on vedolizumab in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are often limited by small sample size and short follow-up. In this study, we investigated the 2-year effectiveness and safety of vedolizumab in patients with IBD, and applied eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) to identify predictors of both.

Methods: The Long-term Italian Vedolizumab Effectiveness (LIVE) study is multicentric, ambispective, observational study enrolling 1111 IBD patients (563 Crohn's disease, CD, 542 ulcerative colitis, UC).

Developing IBD Outcome Effect Size Thresholds to Inform Research, Guidelines, and Clinical Decisions.

Background: When designing clinical trials, interpreting trial outcomes for guideline development or sharing decisions with patients in clinical practice, the clinical outcomes used and the implicit choices on what constitutes a clinically significant finding can vary greatly. This can lead to diversity or even inequity in care offered to patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The GRADE approach to guideline development has proposed a process to address this prospectively to solve these issues, but this has never been used in IBD.

Predicting conversion to tailor patient expectations and perioperative pain management in ileocecal resection for Crohn's disease.

This study aims to identify risk factors of conversion to open surgery for patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery for their CD and to develop a predictive scoring system. Data from patients undergoing minimally invasive resection for their CD were collected in two European referral centers. The scoring system was developed from a logistic regression model including clinical and operative variables and its performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) area under the curve (AUC).

Adaptation of the European Crohn's Colitis Organisation quality of care standards to Italy: The Italian Group for the study of inflammatory bowel disease consensus.

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) poses significant clinical challenges due to its chronic, disabling nature. Despite established guidelines, care standards remain inconsistent globally. In 2020, the European Crohn's Colitis Organisation (ECCO) developed quality-of-care standards.

Definitions, diagnosis, and management of postoperative recurrence in Crohn's disease patients with permanent ileostomy-a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: Over 10% of patients with Crohn's disease require permanent ileostomy. We aimed to summarize the existing data on diagnosis, definitions of recurrence, and management of Crohn's disease patients with permanent ileostomy.

Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL databases were searched from inception to February 6, 2024.

Nonmedical switch of anti-TNF-α biosimilars has no major clinical, pharmacokinetic and psychological impact on patients with IBD - the SAFER Study.

Background: Data on nonmedical switching from one anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α biosimilar to another in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are relatively sparse. We aimed to study the effects of nonmedical switch from infliximab biosimilar CT-P13 to SB2 and from adalimumab biosimilar ABP 501 to SB5.

Methods: In this observational study, consecutive IBD patients receiving nonmedical switch were prospectively followed-up for 12 months.

Drug Development in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: What Is Next?

: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), which include Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are chronic conditions requiring long-term therapy to maintain remission and improve quality of life. Despite the approval of numerous drugs, IBD continues to present treatment challenges. This review aims to summarize novel therapeutic target agents in phases II and III of development, including sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulators (S1P), anti-interleukin-23 (IL-23), and other small molecules and monoclonal antibodies currently under investigation (e.

Guidance for Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Trials in Ulcerative Colitis: The Second ROME Consensus Conference.

Background: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is emerging as a potential treatment modality for individuals living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Despite its promise, the effectiveness of FMT for treating IBD, particularly for ulcerative colitis (UC), still requires thorough clinical investigation. Notwithstanding differences in methodologies, current studies demonstrate its potential for inducing remission in UC patients.

Assessment of activity and severity of inflammatory bowel disease in cross-sectional imaging techniques: a systematic review.

Background And Aims: Cross-sectional imaging techniques, including intestinal ultrasonography (IUS), computed tomography enterography (CTE), magnetic resonance enterography (MRE), are increasingly used for the evaluation of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). We aimed to systematically review literature evidence on the assessment of disease activity, and/or severity through cross-sectional imaging in IBD patients, and to offer guidance on their most effective utilization.

Methods: We performed a systematic review of PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus to identify citations pertaining to the assessment of disease activity and/or severity at cross-sectional imaging techniques compared to a reference standard (ie, other radiological techniques, endoscopy, histopathology, and surgery) in IBD patients published until December 2023.

Impact of histologic disease activity on long-term outcomes in patients with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis.

Background: Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) for ulcerative colitis (UC) can incur in complications. The impact of histological activity on the development of pouch-related complications is poorly studied.

Aim: To assess the association between histology and long-term outcomes in UC-IPAA.

Outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection for high-risk colorectal colitis-associated neoplasia in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background:  Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk of colorectal cancer. High-risk colorectal colitis-associated neoplasia (HR-CAN) can be difficult to treat using traditional endoscopic resection methods. This study evaluated the outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in patients with IBD and HR-CANs.