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A surgical procedure meant to counter ulcerative colitis, an immune disease affecting the colon, may trigger a second immune system attack, a new study shows.
The study results revolve around the immune system, the cells and proteins that destroy invading bacteria and viruses. Activating it brings about inflammation, responses like swelling and pain that result from cells homing in on the site of infection or injury. Autoimmune diseases like ulcerative colitis occur when this system mistakenly damages the body s own tissues.
Colon tissue damaged by the disease is routinely addressed with a J-pouch procedure wherein a pouch is surgically constructed from nearby, healthy small intestine tissue to replace the damaged section of the colon. The procedure is designed to restrain the inflammatory attack on the colon, but more than half of these patients, unfortunately, go on to develop inflammation in the J-pouch (pouchitis).