Gold standard ‘Mayo Score’ detects ulcerative colitis severity and assists in tracking treatment effectiveness
Tool helping uncover new treatment options as research progresses
William Tremaine, M.D.
Kenneth Schroeder, M.D., Ph.D
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a disease that causes ulcers and inflammation in the digestive tract. Common symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramping, weight loss, fatigue, fever and more, which can sometimes lead to life-threatening complications. There is currently no known cure for this condition, but several new treatments can reduce and control symptoms.
In 1987, two Mayo Clinic physicians, Kenneth Schroeder, MD, and William Tremaine, MD, saw the need for a standardized, easy-to-use tool to track UC symptoms and severity.
Working together, Drs. Schroeder and Tremaine developed the Mayo Clinic Endoscopic Score, more commonly referred to as the ‘Mayo Score.’ This thoroughly validated1, short questionnaire has been labeled the gold standard2 for evaluating and assessing disease severity in UC patients by the FDA. It is used regularly today in monitoring patients throughout treatment.
“We needed a simple tool to review the severity of ulcerative colitis while assessing the efficacy of a new medication we were testing,” says Dr. Schroeder. “Using common UC symptoms and endoscopic findings, we developed this scoring system. It is gratifying to know it has proven helpful for others to use in similar studies over these past years.”
Still making an impact today
As science progresses and new research is conducted on UC in search for treatments, accurately monitoring a patient’s condition and tracking changes to it becomes increasingly important. The Mayo Score has been used in over 170 clinical trials to test the efficacy of UC treatments.
Mayo Clinic regularly licenses the use of this tool to external organizations to ensure quality and standards are used in research and treatment of ulcerative colitis. The scoring system has been touted as the preferred method due to its clarity and consistency and has been licensed more than 100 times.
The Mayo Score is the go-to tool in the industry to assess UC symptoms and is used every day in hospitals worldwide.
1 Validity of Outcome Measures, April 2016, National Library of Medicine, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539018/
2 Khanna, R., Ma, C, Jairath, J., Casteele, N., Zou, G., Feagan, B., April 2022, Endoscopic Assessment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Activity in Clinical Trials, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, https://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(20)31674-8/fulltext
Share this story
Related Content
AI-assisted heart failure screening
New FDA-approved echocardiogram model used to detect disease.
Microvessel cancer diagnostic
Using high-definition ultrasound imaging to accurately diagnose cancer.