Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by repetitive episodes of inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, IBD encompasses two main types: Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD) that are differentiated by their location and depth of involvement in the bowel wall, The most important determinant of the clinical course of IBD is the balance between proinflammatory, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulating factors. Inflammatory reactions localized in the bowel wall may penetrate the surrounding visceral adipose tissue,evidence for submucosal fat deposition in the bowel is observed in CD and UC patients. The anatomic proximity of the bowel and visceral fat favors the activation of adipocytes. One of the recently reported adipokines involved in IBD is visfatin. It increases the epithelial expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-l, IL-6, and adhesion molecules. It is a noninvasive, easily measured, and an inexpensive marker to diagnose and monitor activity and severity in IBD.
AIM OF THE WORK:
The aim of this study was to determine the serum concentrations of visfatin in IBD patients, to evaluate its role in the diagnosis of IBD and correlate it with disease activity and colonoscopic findings.