Antibacterial and antimycobacterial treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.

A variety of medicines have been used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Antibacterial therapy has demonstrated promise by both improving symptoms and causing disease remission. The mechanism is unknown, but may be related to either eliminating a key pathogen, decreasing the number of bacterial secretory products or defective particles, a direct immunomodulating effect, or reducing secondary bacterial invasion. Historically, a large number of bacterial species have been suspected as being major contributors to the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Many trials of antibacterial agents have been carried out in inflammatory bowel disease. Recently, treatments have focused on Gram-negative anaerobes and mycobacteria. The present paper briefly reviews antimicrobial and antimycobacterial treatments in inflammatory bowel disease.