Gut-Wrenching: Crohn's, Colitis and More (Guests: Drs. Davidovics and Benson‍) | S4 E9

Abdominal cramps, severe diarrhea and even rectal bleeding? We’re breaking down treatment, risks, and what to avoid with inflammatory bowel diseases from the adult and child perspective with two Hadassah experts in this episode.
#pediatrics #gastroenterology #healthyliving #medicaleducation #tips #hadassahoncall
Today, approximately 1.3% of US adults (3 million people) have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, which inflames the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and disrupts your body's ability to digest food, absorb nutrition and healthily eliminate waste. Yet did you know that Crohn's disease, colitis and other diseases could impact so many other things in the gut? Ever wonder if it could increase your risk of colon cancer? This is the subject of our newest podcast episode, Gut-Wrenching: Crohn's, Colitis and More. So, we sat down with two senior gastroenterologists from Hadassah Medical Center.
Gastroenterologist Dr. Ari Benson and Pediatric Gastroenterologist Dr. Zev Davidovics talk about Crohn's and colitis symptoms, which can include intense abdominal pain, fatigue, severe diarrhea, weight loss and malnutrition. According to experts, Crohn's disease is two to four times more prevalent among people of Ashkenazic ancestry than non-Jewish European ancestry.
As we learn in the podcast, no specific gene has been discovered that causes Crohn's and colitis, though there is thought to be a familial component and possible relations to auto-immunity, diet and bacterial makeup of the intestines.
"Crohn's disease is thought to be lifelong," explains Dr. Davidovics. "Though there are medications that work well to have our children and adults in clinical remission."
Listeners will also hear: How can you spot if you have Crohn's disease? What new treatments are available to manage the disease? What's the difference between irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease? How do these diseases tie to colon cancer? And much, much more.
Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine is a production of Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America. Hadassah enhances the health of people around the world through medical education, care and research innovations at the Hadassah Medical Organization. For more information on the latest advances in medicine, please head over to hadassah.org.
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The show is hosted by Maayan Hoffman and produced by the team at the Hadassah offices in both New York and Israel.
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