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Top 10 IBD Stories of 2015
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Developments in inflammatory bowel disease were consistent hot topics on Healio.com in 2015, with no shortage of new data published in the journals and presented at DDW, ACG, AIBD and other scientific meetings throughout the year.
Using web analytics, social media and expert opinion, Healio Gastroenterology has compiled the year’s top 10 most popular articles from our IBD news feed and Ulcerative Colitis Resource Center.
1. Curcumin shows promise for treatment of mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis
Charles N. Bernstein
When combined with mesalamine therapy, curcumin, a natural phytochemical derived from turmeric, was superior to placebo in inducing clinical and endoscopic remission in patients with mild-to-moderate UC, according to results from a double-blind randomized controlled trial.
These investigators “have tackled an important therapeutic need in UC, a well-tolerated, inexpensive, oral therapy in mild-to-moderate UC, resistant to mesalamine,” Charles N. Bernstein, MD, from the University of Manitoba IBD Clinical and Research Center, wrote in a related editorial. Read more
2. Genetics suggest three IBD types rather than UC, Crohn's binary
Dermot McGovern
The largest genotype association study of inflammatory bowel disease to date showed the disease may be better explained by a spectrum of three main disease types — ileal Crohn’s, colonic Crohn’s and UC — rather than the current binary categorization. Researchers said this data provides a better understanding of IBD progression and could lead to more effective treatments.
“This new research strongly suggests that we are dealing [with] a number of different diseases hidden within Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, constituting a large spectrum of inflammatory bowel disease,” Dermot McGovern, MD, PhD, MRCP(UK), director of translational medicine in the F. Widjaja Foundation Inflammatory Bowel and Immunobiology Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai, said in a press release. Read more
3. Entyvio shows promise in pediatric patients with IBD
WASHINGTON – Two studies presented during DDW 2015 showed safety and efficacy of Entyvio (vedolizumab, Millennium Pharmaceuticals) used in pediatric patients with a range of inflammatory bowel diseases. Read more
4. UNITI-2 trial: Stelara effective for treating Crohn's disease
Brian Feagan
HONOLULU — In the UNITI-2 clinical trial, researchers found Stelara (ustekinumab, Janssen Biotech) to be a safe and effective therapy for Crohn’s disease, according to findings presented at ACG 2015.
“Both IV ustekinumab induction regimens were well-tolerated, without higher rates of key safety events observed over IV placebo,” Brian Feagan, MD, FACG, professor of medicine at the Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, said during his presentation. Read more
5. FMT induces remission in active UC
Paul Moayyedi
Results from a randomized controlled trial showed fecal microbiota transplantation safely induced remission in patients with active UC.
“This is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial, to evaluate the efficacy of FMT in active UC and suggests that this approach induces remission in a statistically significant proportion of cases,” Paul Moayyedi, MD, from McMaster University in Ontario, and colleagues wrote. Read more
6. Novel stem cell therapy provides long-term treatment for Crohn's fistula
Long-term follow-up of patients with fistulae related to Crohn’s disease demonstrated sustained complete closure after autologous adipose-derived stem cell therapy, according to research data.
“These results strongly suggest that autologous [adipose-derived stem cells] may be a novel treatment option for Crohn’s fistulae,” Chang Sik Yu, MD, PhD, from Asan Medical Center in Seoul, Korea, said in a press release. Read more
7. TOUCHSTONE trial: Ozanimod induces remission in UC
William Sandborn
WASHINGTON — A larger dose of 1 mg of ozanimod induced remission of UC by week 8 of a study presented at DDW 2015.
“Ozanimod 1 mg induced clinical remission at week 8 and all three secondary endpoints were met for ozanimod 1 mg at week 8,” William Sandborn, MD, professor of Medicine at the University California of San Diego, said during his presentation. Read more
8. Experts release consensus guidelines for management of nonhospitalized UC
Ashwin N. Ananthakrishnan
A Canadian consensus group released clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of ambulatory patients with mild-to-severe active UC, updated to incorporate recently developed therapeutic agents and strategies.
According to an accompanying editorial written by Ashwin N. Ananthakrishnan, MD, MBBS, MPH, from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Sunanda V. Kane, MD, from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, the Toronto guidelines diverge from those preceding it in two key areas. Read more
9. IBD-related cancer risks attributed to chronic inflammation, immunosuppressive drugs
Laurent Beaugerie
The risk for a variety of cancers in patients with inflammatory bowel disease can be linked to chronic intestinal inflammation or immunosuppressive therapies, according to findings in a review article.
“Among the chronic inflammatory diseases that often require the prolonged use of immunosuppressants, [IBD] is an intriguing model because immunosuppressants may reduce the incidence of inflammation-related cancers through their anti-inflammatory effects or promote immunosuppression-related cancers,” wrote Laurent Beaugerie, MD, PhD, from Hôpital Saint-Antoine in Paris, and Steven H. Itzkowitz, MD, from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Read more
10. Vitamin D supplementation shows promise for treating Crohn's disease
Vitamin D supplementation may have an effect on the intestinal barrier dysfunction related to Crohn’s disease, according to study data.
“This is an exciting development in the treatment of Crohn’s disease and we welcome anything new that could potentially help patients with this debilitating condition,” Charles Murray, MD, from the Royal Free Hospital in London, and United European Gastroenterology’s IBD expert, said in a press release. Read more