Involvement of oxygen-derived free radicals in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. The most widely prescribed drug for treatment of these diseases, sulfasalazine, has been shown to inhibit the activity of free radicals, as the active moiety of sulfasalazine, 5-aminosalicylic acid, is a radical scavenger. This effect of 5-aminosalicylic acid may be of clinical relevance, as a recent study has shown that 5-aminosalicylic acid reacts with oxygen-derived free radicals formed in the intestine in this disease. Reaction with free radicals does not, however, occur in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with the same agent. Furthermore, a significant correlation exists between the activity in the intestine of free radicals, as measured by the rate of lipid peroxidation, and the disease activity.