Amy Lightner, MD, is a physician-scientist and colorectal surgeon whose work centers on inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease. Based in CA, she serves as a Professor at the Scripps Research Institute and practices clinically with the Scripps Clinic Medical Group. Her background spans academic medicine, translational research, and leadership roles at institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Lightner has led clinical trials, contributed extensively to peer-reviewed literature, and focuses on advancing treatments through regenerative medicine and drug discovery. Her combined expertise in patient care and research provides a strong foundation for understanding the symptoms, progression, and potential causes of Crohn’s disease, a complex condition that continues to challenge both clinicians and researchers.
Symptoms and Potential Causes of Crohn’s Disease
Crohn’s disease is a form of inflammatory bowel disease characterized by swelling and irritation of tissues throughout the digestive tract. This irritation, known as inflammation, can lead to incredibly painful, sometimes debilitating symptoms. The exact symptoms people living with Crohn’s disease experience can vary considerably in both nature and severity, partly because inflammation can occur at different places along the digestive tract. That said, the disease typically impacts the end of the small intestine as it transitions into the large intestine, with many cases subsequently spreading into a person’s bowels.
A few of the most common issues physicians associate with Crohn’s disease include diarrhea, bloody stool, cramping and pain in the stomach, and reduced appetite. These and other symptoms can cause individuals to experience significant weight loss and malnutrition, with potentially life-threatening consequences. Other symptoms range from mouth sores to fatigue.
In some cases, intense inflammation creates a tunnel into surrounding layers of skin, which results in pain and drainage around the anus. Health professionals refer to these tunnels as fistulas. Not everyone living with Crohn’s will develop fistulas or complications of malnutrition. The severity of symptoms range from case to case, and individuals living with the disease may experience periods of dormancy, which provide relief to affected areas.
On the other hand, chronic and severe Crohn’s disease can manifest many additional symptoms, with inflammation spreading to the skin, eyes, joints, liver, and bile ducts. Severe Crohn’s can also cause kidney stones and a type of iron deficiency called anemia. Children who develop severe Crohn’s may experience stunted growth or delayed sexual development.
Although doctors have yet to develop a cure for the disease, individuals can mitigate symptoms and resolve certain complications caused by Crohn’s. A person should contact a health care provider if they see blood in their stool or experience diarrhea for two or more weeks, especially if these symptoms are accompanied by unexplained weight loss, nausea, fever, and stomach pain.
Following various lab tests and procedures, doctors can diagnose and develop a treatment plan for Crohn’s disease. Common approaches include the use of corticosteroids, oral 5-aminosalicylates, and various immunosuppressors and biologics, or some combination of these treatments. Janus kinase inhibitors, antibiotics, and other medications can have positive effects on Crohn’s and related symptoms.
Individuals can also benefit from nutrition therapy, as certain foods may trigger or worsen Crohn’s symptoms. In some cases, a surgeon may need to remove severely damaged portions of the digestive tract to address severe symptoms, though surgical intervention usually only offers temporary relief.
Part of the reasons physicians and medical researchers have struggled to develop a cure for Crohn’s is because the disease mechanism remains unclear. Doctors have linked over 200 genes to the disease, though a specific connection continues to be elusive. Similarly, individuals with weak immune systems may have a higher likelihood of developing the disease, but health care providers are not sure which viruses or strains of bacteria lead to disease development.
Many risk factors for Crohn’s are uncontrollable, such as family history and ethnicity. That said, cigarette smokers have a greater risk of developing the disease, so individuals living at an elevated risk for Crohn’s should limit their use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines.
About Amy Lightner
Amy Lightner, MD, is a professor at the Scripps Research Institute and a colorectal surgeon with the Scripps Clinic Medical Group. Her work focuses on inflammatory bowel disease, regenerative medicine, and translational research. She has held leadership roles at the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic and has conducted multiple clinical trials. Dr. Lightner has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed publications and contributes to advancing treatment approaches through research and clinical care.
