Inflammatory mediators in inflammatory bowel disease

Research this year concentrated on defining the role of inflammatory mediators and their modulation in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and experimental colitis. Whereas leukotriene B₄ blockade was found to have no effect on ulcerative colitis, blockade of thromboxane A₂, the inducible nitric oxide synthase, and elimination of oxygen radicals seemed efficacious in animal models. Interest in nitric oxide and oxygen free radicals increased, demonstrating the deleterious effect these molecules have on intestinal inflammation.