The new information presented in Digestive Disease Week has allowed us to 
speculate on the future of inflammatory bowel disease. Manipulation of diet and 
the microbioma will probably play an increasingly important role in the 
treatment of this disease and, in the long term, in its prevention. Biological 
agents will probably be used earlier and more widely; new information on levels 
of biological agents, mucosal healing and new comparative studies will also 
allow these agents to be used in a more precise and personalized way. In 
addition to infliximab, adalimumab, natalizumab and certolizumab, other 
biological agents will be employed; among the first of these to be used will be 
ustekinumab, golimumab and vedolizumab. In the near future, biological agents 
will be used as frequently in ulcerative colitis as in Crohn's disease. New 
healthcare models will be developed that will progressively include greater 
participation among patients and nurses. The ability to predict new diagnostic 
and prognostic models will allow decisions to be more individualized.