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Latest Crohn's, ulcerative colitis research from AIBD 2015
According to the CDC, the estimated prevalence of Crohn's disease is 201 per 100,000 adults and the estimated prevalence of ulcerative colitis is 238 per 100,000 adults.
Researchers presented data and clinical progress on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis at the 2015 Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Clinical and Research Conference.
Live coverage from Orlando included news from the conference, onsite video interviews with leading experts and research implications on patient care and practice.
Probiotics not superior for maintaining ulcerative colitis remission
A systematic review showed no significant difference in efficacy between probiotics and placebo or mesalazine for maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis, according to a poster presentation.
“Five years ago, a Cochrane review found only four studies and no evidence regarding the efficacy of probiotics [for preventing UC relapse], but much work has been published in recent years,” Morris Gordon, PhD, from University of Central Lancashire and Blackpool Victoria Hospital in the United Kingdom, and colleagues wrote. They therefore performed an updated Cochrane systematic review of data published up to January 2015 to evaluate the safety and efficacy of probiotics for the maintenance of remission in UC. Read more.
VIDEO: Post-op Crohn's management differs based on risk for recurrence
Miguel Regueiro , MD, AGAF, FACG, professor of medicine at University of Pittsburgh, discusses his AIBD presentation on how to manage Crohn’s patients after surgery to prevent recurrence.
“This past year there were two large pivotal studies — one was the POCER study and one was the PREVENT study — that I and some of the other investigators here were involved with,” the results of which both address the question of, “Should we wait for recurrence of Crohn’s after surgery to then start treatment, or should we start treatment immediately after surgery to prevent recurrence?” Regueiro said. Watch here.
UC increases infection risk in patients undergoing stem cell transplant
Patients with ulcerative colitis who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplant had increased risk for developing opportunistic infection vs. those without ulcerative colitis, according to a poster presentation.
“In this study, we sought to investigate whether the higher mortality in UC patients is linked to increased risk of opportunistic infections,” the researchers wrote. Read more.
High-dose vitamin D3 improves levels when Crohn's in remission
In a pilot study, high doses of vitamin D improved 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and reduced rate of relapse in patients with Crohn’s disease in remission more often than low doses, according to a poster presentation.
“In patients with Crohn’s Disease in remission, we hypothesized higher doses of vitamin D would more effectively improve 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and would be tolerated well without side effects of hypercalcemia,” Archna Narula, MD, CCFP, of the department of medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues wrote. Read more.
Simponi effectively treats pediatric moderate-to-severe UC
Simponi (golimumab, Janssen) safely and effectively treated moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in pediatric patients, according to a poster presentation.
“Overall, efficacy outcomes in the golimumab pediatric UC population were consistent with, or numerically greater compared with those observed in the golimumab adult UC population at week 6,” the researchers wrote. Read more.
UNITI-1: Stelara induces response, remission in Crohn's refractory to anti-TNF
Stelara (ustekinumab, Janssen) was well tolerated and effective for inducing clinical response and remission in moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease patients who failed one or more anti-tumor necrosis factor therapies, according to results from a phase 3 multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Ustekinumab “is a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that targets the p40 subunit that is shared by interleukin-12 and interleukin-23,” William J. Sandborn, MD, from University of California, San Diego, said during his presentation. “Ustekinumab is currently approved for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and has been in development for Crohn’s disease for some time. Induction therapy in the phase 3 program was presented in patients who were naive to anti-TNF therapy but failing conventional therapy in the UNITI-2 study.” Read more.