There is no single truth regarding the recognition and management of IBD. In this regards the old dictum “there is no disease but the patient” should be the golden rule. Nowadays, more complicated Crohn's disease cases at relatively young ages are not unusual. Various clinical and extraintestinal manifestations have been seen rarely until now. The evolution of the therapeutic armamentarium is now a double-edged sword since “more drugs” may mean “more side-effects, less compliance and a more critical attitude of health authorities towards the cost of treatment”. Education of the patient and the family, creation of empathy and a positive rapport with the patient and a careful analysis of confounding/contributing factors to the disease behaviour are essential elements of optimal therapy of IBD patients.
This book contains the proceedings of Falk Symposium 159, entitled IBD 2007 -- Achievements in Research and Clinical Practice, held in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 4--5, 2007, where opinion leaders with worldwide reputations discuss IBD and related issues in a less well-known part of the world with respect to prevalence, disease behaviour and patient characteristics, as well as the difficulties faced in differential diagnosis and management.