The Journal focuses on inflammatory bowel disease, calprotectin, biological markers, gastrointestinal diseases, and feces/chemistry. . Calprotectin is a protein released by a type of white blood cell called a neutrophil. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term used to describe disorders that involve chronic inflammation of your digestive tract. A bio-marker or biological marker is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated to examine normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention. Biomarkers are used in many scientific fields. Gastrointestinal diseases refer to diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract. Feces are the solid or semisolid remains of food that could not be digested in the small intestine. Bacteria in the large intestine further break down the material. Feces contain a relatively small amount of metabolic waste products such as bacterially altered bilirubin, and the dead epithelial cells from the lining of the gut. Intestinal diseases refer to the infectious, autoimmune or physiological states affecting the small and large intestine. Diseases of intestines generally cause vomiting, constipation and altered stool such as blood in stool.

Calprotectin is an abundant neutrophil protein found in both plasma and stool that is markedly elevated in infectious and inflammatory conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We conducted a systematic review of the published literature regarding fecal calprotectin to evaluate its potential as a noninvasive marker of neutrophilic intestinal inflammation. Reference ranges for fecal calprotectin have been established in healthy adults and children, and elevated concentrations of fecal calprotectin have been demonstrated in numerous studies of patients with IBD. Fecal calprotectin correlates well with histological inflammation as detected by colonoscopy with biopsies and has been shown successfully to predict relapses and detect pouchitis in patients with IBD. Fecal calprotectin has been shown to consistently differentiate IBD from irritable bowel syndrome because it has excellent negative predictive value in ruling out IBD in undiagnosed, symptomatic patients. Fecal calprotectin also may be useful in determining whether clinical symptoms in patients with known IBD are caused by disease flares or noninflammatory complications/underlying irritable bowel syndrome and in providing objective evidence of response to treatment. Although more studies are needed to define fully the role of fecal calprotectin, convincing studies and growing clinical experience point to an expanded role in the diagnosis and management of IBD.

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Editorial Manager
Research and Reports in Gastroentrology
Email: gastro@clinicalmedicaljournals.com