Role of Fecal Lactoferrin as a Non Invasive Biomarker in Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Assessment of Disease Activity

Abstract

SUMMARY nflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are organic inflammatory diseases, caused by chronic mucosal inflammation of the gasrtointetinal tract. IBD occurs more in people of Caucasian and Ashkenazic Jewish origin than in other racial and ethnic subgroups. They are typically characterized by variable disease activity, often with repeated periods of intermittent disease activity and remission. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is quite prevalent in the general population (from 5% to 20%) and represents the functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder most frequently encountered in primary and secondary care. IBS is characterised by abdominal discomfort, pain and changes in bowel habits (constipation and/or diarrhea). As the presenting manifestations of IBD and IBS are similar and can include diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating, obtaining a clinical diagnosis can be difficult, and further invasive diagnostic procedures may be required in order to obtain a confirmed diagnosis. Fecal biomarkers provides a non invasive diagnostic tool for identification of those patients. Fecal biomarkers are acute phase proteins produced by inflamed mucosa that can help to I Summary  128 gain an objective measurement of disease activity as symptoms are often subjective and also help to avoid invasive procedures which are often a burden to the patient and the health care system. Fecal lactoferrin assay is one of those fecal biomarkers that is characterized by its high sensitivity and specificity in identification of patients with inflammatory bowel disease from healthy subjects.