Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Early biologic treatment is associated with improved outcomes in patients with Crohn’s disease, according to study results.

A panel of serum antibodies and proteins helped identify patients who later received a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease within 5 years, according to research published in Gastroenterology.

For some patients with inflammatory bowel disease, treatments can be ineffective, and in patients where they do work, they do not always last.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a debilitating condition that takes a lifetime of treatment to control. Over the years, medical therapies for the disease have evolved greatly, but the approval of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha therapy for the treatment of Crohn’s disease in 1998 was a turning point in IBD treatment management.

Patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease in childhood attain a lower adult height than their peers without IBD, according to study results.

A review of 75 adalimumab clinical trials in adult and pediatric patients demonstrated low rates of inflammatory bowel disease adverse events, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

In this guest commentary, Anita Afzali, MD, medical director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, discusses the highlights from the recent IBD Horizons conference held Feb. 29, in Columbus, Ohio.

The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation issued guidelines for patients with IBD to protect themselves from COVID-19 such as talk with their gastroenterologist about medications, their health status and any precautions they should take related to COVID-19.

Patients who adhere to health lifestyle choices, including those related to diet, exercise and smoking habits, had reduced mortality, according to study results.

As the concern about COVID-19 continues to spread, the entire medical community is on alert. Associations are cancelling or altering plans for scientific conferences, and institutions are implementing travel bans for faculty.