RESEARCH ARTICLE Biomarkers can predict po a

although immunomodulatory agents such as1InDex Pharmaceuticals, Tomtebodavägen 23a, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a disease characterised by chronic inflammation of the rectal and colonic mucosa. The medical management of UC is divided into treatment of active disease and maintenance of remission. The treat-ment of patients with UC aims to reduce inflammation and promote colon healing and mucosal recovery. In the majority of cases the disease may be controlled with conventional drugs including sulphasalazine (SASP), 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) and glucocorticosteroids (GCS) [1,2]. GCS are one of the mainstay treatments in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). GCS are potent anti-inflammatory agents widely used for the suppression of inflammation in chronic diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, IBD and autoimmune diseases [3]. However, 20-50 % of IBD patients will fail to respond to steroid therapy [4] resulting often in a more difficult to manage disease course. Failure to respond to GCS therapy is an indication for potential surgical inter- * Correspondence