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1. Introduction. Multiple cytokines have been studied for their role in the propagation of the inflammatory process related to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), but the role of interleukin-4 remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of two IL-4 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in disease susceptibility and phenotypic expression. 2. Materials and Methods. A group of 160 patients with IBD (86CD/74UC) and 160 healthy controls were genotyped for IL-4 rs2243250/−590C/T and rs2070874/−34C/T using real-time polymerase chain reaction with TaqMan assay. 3. Results. The analysis of IBD patients and controls revealed a significantly reduced frequency of the minor allele T of both SNPs in CD patients (p = 0.03, OR 0.55 and p = 0.02, OR 0.52) and for the entire IBD group (p = 0.01, OR 0.57 and p = 0.01, OR 0.55). Haplotype analysis identified the most frequent haplotype (rs2243250/rs2070874 CC) associated with a high risk for developing IBD (either UC or CD) (p = 0.003). IBD patients with extraintestinal manifestations had significantly increased frequency of the minor alleles T. We also found an association between the presence of allele C of rs2070874 and response to antiTNF treatment. 4. Conclusions. This is the first study to investigate the IL-4 gene's relation to IBD susceptibility conducted in Romania. Both SNPs were found to be associated with disease susceptibility and phenotypic features, such as extraintestinal manifestations and response to antiTNF agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Inflammatory bowel diseases are a main focus in current research, with diet being an emerging therapeutic line due to its links in both onset and progression. A Western-style diet high in processed foods, food additives, red meat, and animal fat has been linked to a higher risk of developing IBD. The aim of this study was to establish an association between an anti-inflammatory exclusion diet and maintenance of remission in IBD. Also, we assessed the efficacy and safety of this diet compared to a non-dietary group and the possible therapeutic effect of this diet in the maintenance of IBD remission. Materials and Methods: A total of 160 patients with IBD were screened for inclusion, but 21 did not met the inclusion criteria. Thus, 139 patients were assigned to either an exclusion diet or a regular diet according to their choice. Results: Clinical remission after six months was maintained in the exclusion diet arm (100%). In the control arm, four patients had clinically active disease (one patient with UC and three with CD), and 90 patients maintained the clinical remission state (95.7%) (p-value = 0.157). Regarding biochemical markers, ESR at baseline was higher in the exclusion diet arm: 29 (5–62) versus in the control arm 16 (4–48) (p-value = 0.019), but six months after, the groups were similar (p-value = 0.440). Conclusions: Patients who followed an exclusion diet maintained clinical remission more frequently. However, the threshold for statistical significance was not achieved. There was also a trend of improvement in inflammation tests in the intervention group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]