title: Crohn's disease and its mucocutaneous involvement.
abstract: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder primarily affecting the lower gastrointestinal tract but potentially involving the skin, musculoskeletal system, and eyes. The origin remains unknown, although diverse etiologic agents have been proposed. Characteristic pathologic appearances include the formation of "skip" lesions (discrete regions of inflamed bowel separated by uninvolved mucosae), aphthous ulceration, and fistulation; these signs relate to the presence of an underlying granulomatous transmural inflammation. Cutaneous and oral lesions frequently occur in CD. They may be classified as specific manifestations (in particular, perianal fissures, abscesses, sinuses, and fistulae in ano) with a granulomatous noncaseating inflammation on histologic examination, and nonspecific manifestations (eg, erythema nodosum, neutrophilic dermatoses) with a nonspecific histologic pattern. The diagnosis of CD is based on clinical, endoscopic, radiologic, and histopathologic features. Therapy is mainly aimed at the control of the acute disease and prevention of relapse through the use of mesalazine, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents and very recently, anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha antibodies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruocco
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cuomo
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salerno
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ruocco
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: Adone
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baroni
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007422:Intestines / Q000473:pathology; D009055:Mouth / Q000473:pathology; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000473:pathology*; D053473:Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; C429018:NOD2 protein, human; D053473:Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein