A single finding of histological normalization is associated with a favorable prognosis in ulcerative colitis (UC), but this endpoint does not represent a cure, according to a small observational study. Among 30 UC patients who achieved histological normalization -- a state with no indication of acute or chronic inflammation -- one-third appeared to have stable disease, but when followed up longer term, a majority of these patients had histological findings of classical quiescence, reported David T. Rubin, MD, of the University of Chicago Medicine, and colleagues. "This suggests that the prior normalization finding was either transient or may have been a sampling or interpretation error," the team wrote online in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology . "These patients require ongoing monitoring and follow-up," the study's first author, Amanda M. Israel, MD, also of the University of Chicago Medicine, told MedPage Today. The finding comes at a time when th...