Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis do perceive a benefit from thiopurine treatment. A report in the open access journal BMC Gastroenterology has demonstrated improved health-related quality of life in 92 IBD patients. Guillermo Bastida worked with a team of researchers from La Fe Hospital, Valencia, Spain, to investigate the controversial thiopurine treatment. He said, “The efficacy of thiopurines in the scenarios in which they are prescribed, either to induce or to maintain remission in IBD, is well proven…

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis do perceive a benefit from thiopurine treatment. A report in the open access journal BMC Gastroenterology has demonstrated improved health-related quality of life in 92 IBD patients. Guillermo Bastida worked with a team of researchers from La Fe Hospital, Valencia, Spain, to investigate the controversial thiopurine treatment. He said, “The efficacy of thiopurines in the scenarios in which they are prescribed, either to induce or to maintain remission in IBD, is well proven…

Certain patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease of the colon, have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer compared to individuals without IBD. A number of factors contribute to the increase in risk, which necessitates an individualized and sensible approach to surveillance in patients, according to a new medical position statement and technical review published by the American Gastroenterological Association in its official journal, Gastroenterology…

Although inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) [comprising mainly Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)] is thought to affect about 150 000 people in the United Kingdom, the prevalence of severe IBD is not known. Mortality following hospitalization for IBD is significant but little has been reported on long-term follow-up. A research article published on January 28, 2010 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this problem…

Medical Marijuana Inc (PINKSHEETS: MJNA) applauds the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate for having approved “The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act” on Monday, January 11, 2010. A804/S119 removes state-wide penalties for possession of up to two ounces of marijuana when a New Jersey licensed Physician recommends it for one of the qualified medical conditions including Aids, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn’s disease among others…

Researchers led by Dr. Terrence A. Barrett of Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. Illinois have discovered that activation of NK-κB, an inflammatory mediator, results in diarrhea in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

New research by the University of Adelaide could help explain why some people are more prone to Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and other autoimmune diseases. A critical imbalance of the regulatory cells required to control the immune system has been revealed among people suffering inflammatory bowel disease. In a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Immunology this month, Pathology researcher Dr Nicola Eastaff-Leung reveals that people suffering Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis have fewer numbers of regulatory cells and more “attack” cells that cause inflammation…

Researchers have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that prevents cancer. They have found that the SOCS1 molecule prevents the cancer-causing activity of cytokines, hormones that are culprits in cancer-prone chronic inflammation diseases such as Crohn’s, in smokers and people exposed to asbestos.

ChemoCentryx, Inc., announced that Phase II/III clinical data from the Company’s PROTECT-1 (the Prospective Randomized Oral Therapy Evaluation in Crohn’s disease Trial) of Traficet-EN(TM) (CCX282-B) in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease demonstrated clinical efficacy with a favorable safety and tolerability profile.

Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) and Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) announced data showing that treatment with TYSABRI® (natalizumab) significantly reduced the rate of hospitalization compared with placebo in patients with moderate - to - severe Crohn’s disease during both induction and maintenance treatment.