Anti-inflammatory drugs:
Anti-inflammatory drugs are often the first step in the treatment of ulcerative colitis and are appropriate for the majority of people with this condition. These drugs include:
• 5-aminosalicylates: Examples of this type of medication include sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), mesalamine (Asacol HD, Delzicol, others), balsalazide (Colazal) and olsalazine (Dipentum). Which one you take, and whether it is taken by mouth or as an enema or suppository, depends on the area of your colon that's affected.
• Corticosteroids: These drugs, which include prednisone and budesonide, are generally reserved for moderate to severe ulcerative colitis that doesn't respond to other treatments. Due to the side effects, they are not usually given long term.
Immune system suppressors:
These drugs also reduce inflammation, but they do so by suppressing the immune system response that starts the process of inflammation. For some people, a combination of these drugs works better than one drug alone.
• Azathioprine (Azasan, Imuran) and mercaptopurine (Purinethol, Purixan): These are the most widely used immunosuppressants for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
• Cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune). This drug is normally reserved for people who haven't responded well to other medications.
• Tofacitinib (Xeljanz): This is called a "small molecule" and works by stopping the process of inflammation.
Courtesy: Mayo Clinic