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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 12/5/2007 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
I don't understand if CD is a general weakness in the immune system or just wrong decisions made by the immune system in attacking the intestine, or a combination?? Anyways, my question is, will I be more likely to get the common cold, flu, etc?

Thanks,
lug
Posted 12/5/2007 2:15 PM (GMT 0)
Our immune systems do not function properly. do you take any meds? taking meds that comprimise the immune system and therfore, regulate the functioning of it definately leaves you more likely to get a cold. I take Imiuran and prednisone now I just got over my first cold of the season. Last year I got a cold 1 x a month that lasted about a week. Last yr I found Ziacam and believe in it. Its an over th ecounter cold/flu product. I am trying to keep a healthy diet, and exercise, and I take Vit C. to try and keep my body in good condition also.. take care..
Posted 12/5/2007 2:19 PM (GMT 0)
I am on Asacol 400mg, 12 a day.
Posted 12/5/2007 2:25 PM (GMT 0)
Just having Crohns doesn't make you more prone to colds or the flu, but if you are on meds like Imuran, 6mp, Remicade or Humira, these are immune suppressants and they can make you more susceptible to colds and flu.  I only take Asacol myself and get a flu shot every year and I usually don't get the flu or colds that often.
Posted 12/5/2007 2:27 PM (GMT 0)
Ok, thanks.
Posted 12/5/2007 2:28 PM (GMT 0)
Crohn's disease is NOT a weakness in the immune system. It is an overactive immune response in the GI tract. Your own immune system basically attacks your body, causing chronic inflammation and all the symptoms and complications that go with it. As noted, unless you are placed on immunosuppressant medications (to tone down the immune system) you should not be overly susceptible to infectious agents like the cold virus.

Posted 12/5/2007 4:27 PM (GMT 0)
MikeB, our GI (Crohn's specialty) doctor told us HE no longer believes Crohn's to be an auto-immune disease. Please read the article dakotagirl posted under the thread "Antibiotics offer hope..." This article also states something like "Crohn's used to be considered an auto-immune disease..." Even ccfa.org now says, "Crohn's disease is a chronic (ongoing) disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive or gastrointestinal (GI) tract." Their information only 6 months ago when my son was diagnosed said it was "auto-immune." I know there are a few docs out there who still consider it auto-immune, but they're beginning to be in the minority. The tide is changing ever so slowly...

Sooooo, it's my understanding CD is now thought to be an infectious disease--they just aren't sure exactly what the infectious agent is. Some folks may even have more than one infectious agent present. Understanding what the infectious agent is is critical to knowing what antibiotic to use or that further antibiotics may need to be developed to deal with it.

luglug, it's my understanding that doctors believe there is an immune DEFICIT issue compounding the problem. For whatever reason, in Crohn's sufferers the immune system isn't able to attack the infectious agent and kick it out. This is often compared to H.pylori (bacteria that causes stomach ulcers). Not everyone gets stomach ulcers, but I had a roommate back in college (early '80s) who had them. We ate and drank the same food--lived in the same house, but SHE got sick w/stomach ulcers and I did not. The doc who discovered H.pylori back in the early '90s won the Nobel Prize, I believe. He identified the nasty critter and what antibiotic killed it and, voila! no more stomach ulcers! Could this happen with CD? I hope so. I just worry, as the article mentioned above stated, that there is no $$$ in it for drug companies, so research may be extremely slow.

I don't know, though, if we should extrapolate and say that simply because the immune system doesn't handle bad bacteria in the intestines, that a person would be more susceptible to colds and flu (unless you're on immuno-suppressants, as Nanners pointed out). Again, doctors and scientists have barely scratched the surface with respect to understanding the immune system, so who knows?

Recent research on immunity does focus on proper intestinal flora, so taking probiotics may be helpful for your CD and help stave off colds and flu this season!
Posted 12/5/2007 5:58 PM (GMT 0)
CCFA may no longer call it an autoimmune disease, but 3 paragraphs down it explains the "abnormal response by the body's immune system."  I believe the latest thinking is that it is a combination of an infectious agent (that may be different depending on the patient) and a genetic predispositions for an out of control immune response that causes inflammation which causes damage, etc. 

Drugs that target out immune response are working very well for a large section of CD patients but not everyone. 

So, I believe they still don't know, and it may be likely that cause and treatment will be different for different subsets of Cder's. 

Anyway, as far as being more likely to get a cold?  Probably doesn't make any difference, but as other posters have mentioned, the medications to suppress your immune response may make you more susceptible.  Personally, I rarely get colds, my immune system is pretty strong otherwise, although I shouldn't have said that because now I'll get a cold. 

Posted 12/5/2007 6:24 PM (GMT 0)
HaHa Judy, thats my thought too. I say I rarely ever get colds and my first thought was "dummy, now you will get one just cuz you said you rarely do". HAHA!
Posted 12/5/2007 8:00 PM (GMT 0)
I'm going to go with the widely held belief by most doctors (and I think they are still in the vast majority) who feel that Crohn's is as originally described, an excessive autoimmune response to what are probably several factors, including geentic predisposition and bacteria. There is always a theory out there that proposes a "magic bullet" cause (MAP being one) but I'm sorry, until there is real and conclusive evidence of same, I don't buy it. It's just too easy with something as complex and interconnected as the human immune system.

Posted 12/5/2007 8:05 PM (GMT 0)
Well I'm pretty sure the jury is still out on whether it's over-active or underactive regarding the immune system...I thought I just recently read that the long time theory of it being over-active was changed to under-active which is leading researchers down that path now.

see this link...

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTX031960.html

There is also this link...

http://outlook.wustl.edu/summer2003/crohnsdisease.html

:)

Posted 12/5/2007 8:46 PM (GMT 0)
Not too long ago, doctors also said that ulcers were NOT caused by bacteria. Well, as research and common updated knowledge now says they were wrong. I think crohn's is caused by a bacterial infection and one day, they'll find the bacteria and cure us--or at least give us treatment that will really put us in remission.   Until then, remember to take your PRObiotics. They help fight and crowd out the bad bacteria.

As for our scarred, shorter, and damaged intestintes, there is no medical cure, unfortunately.

Roni
Posted 12/6/2007 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
Traditionally, most doctors thought Crohn's was due to over-active immune systems.

However, in recent years doctors at the cutting edge of Crohn's research have found evidence that people with Crohn's actually have under-active immune systems.

Traditional knowledge about the immune system is like the dark ages compared to knowledge gathered in recent years. The link below is only one of the investigations providing evidence that Crohn's patients have under-active immune systems:

www.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTX031960.html
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