IBD news to know from 2017: Prevention, blood tests, mycobiome

Inflammatory bowel disease remained a hot topic on Healio.com throughout 2017. This year, numerous developments in biologic therapies, emerging therapeutics and diagnostics, and new society guideline recommendations ranked among the most widely read articles in our IBD news feed and our Ulcerative Colitis Resource Center.

To recap the year’s top news in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the editors of Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease compiled 10 of our most popular IBD-related news articles from 2017.

1. ACG issues new guidelines for preventive care in IBD patients

A new clinical guideline released in January by the American College of Gastroenterology highlighted the importance of preventive care in patients with IBD, and recommended co-management of health maintenance issues by gastroenterologists, primary care providers and other specialists. Read more

2. Novel blood test accurately assesses mucosal healing across Crohn’s subtypes

A novel multi-biomarker serum test accurately evaluated mucosal healing across different subtypes of Crohn’s disease based on disease location, according to new research presented in October at the World Congress of Gastroenterology at ACG 2017. Read more

3. Crohn’s MAP antibiotic trial results expected early

In October, RedHill Biopharma announced it reduced the number of participants it will enroll in its phase 3 trial of RHB-104, an oral antibiotic for Crohn’s disease, and now expects results a year early. They expect initial results by mid-2018, according to a press release. Read more

4. Probiotics linked to remission, recurrence prevention in ulcerative colitis

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the summer suggested probiotics may provide some benefits to patients with ulcerative colitis, but not Crohn’s disease. Read more

5. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy benefits hospitalized UC patients

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was effective, safe and well tolerated in hospitalized patients with ulcerative colitis experiencing moderate-to-severe disease flares, according to data from a randomized, double blind, sham-controlled trial presented in February at the 12th Congress of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization. Read more

6. VIDEO: Top take-aways in IBD therapies presented at DDW

In an exclusive video from Digestive Disease Week in May, William J. Sandborn, MD, professor of medicine, chief of the division of gastroenterology and director of the University of California San Diego Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, recapped the most significant advances in biologic therapies for IBD presented at the meeting in Chicago. Watch now

7. Stelara maintains clinical response, remission through 2 years in Crohn's disease

Patients with moderate-to-severe active Crohn’s disease maintained clinical response and remission with Stelara for up to 2 years, according to data from the ongoing IM-UNITI long-term extension study presented in February at the 12th Congress of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization. Read more

8. Concerns, Controversies in Pediatric IBD Persist in Era of Biologics

In the cover story for the July issue of Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, experts discussed the unique challenges of treating children with IBD, and provided recommendations for delivering optimal treatment to pediatric patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Read more

9. ‘Mycobiome’ research suggests antifungals, probiotics could treat Crohn’s disease

While recent efforts have improved the understanding of the gut microbiome’s role in IBD, most research has focused on gut bacteria while overlooking the fungal communities in the GI tract, or the “mycobiome,” according to a review published in Digestive and Liver Disease in October.

“These investigations are very preliminary and will require much more extensive research to clarify the different players and how they interact,” Stephen B. Hanauer, MD, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, commented. Read more

10. Ulcerative colitis patients often have different treatment goals than their physicians

Patients with ulcerative colitis often report different perceptions of quality of life impact, treatment goals, and attitudes to therapies than their physicians, according to David T. Rubin, MD, of the department of medicine and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at University of Chicago Medicine, and colleagues. Read more