Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, with multifactorial etiologies has led to a global health-associated burden in many countries. Substantial efforts are devoted to understand the pathogenesis, behavioral and environmental triggers, which may be specifically valuable for the treatment of IBD. The specific pathogenesis underlying IBD is as yet incompletely understood. The use of anti-cytokine therapy and small molecule agents targeting the immune system is thought to restore the body's intestinal barrier function and relieve inflammation with manageable adverse effects. In this review, we report recent advances in anti-cytokine therapy and treatment with small molecule agents for the management of IBD.
Keywords: cytokines; inflammatory bowel disease; small molecule therapy.