Discussion Topic
Ulcerative Colitis Treatment Reduces Surgery
Posted on 10/01/09, 11:41 pm
Web address:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releas...
091001081215.htm
Ulcerative Colitis Treatment Reduces Need For Surgery By Almost Half, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2009) — A new study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has found that ulcerative colitis patients had a 41 percent reduction in colectomy after a year when treated with infliximab, according to a study published in the October 2009 issue of Gastroenterology.
Ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes chronic inflammation of the colon, is characterized by abdominal pain and diarrhea. Like Crohn's disease, another common IBD, ulcerative colitis can be debilitating and often lead to colectomy or surgical removal of the colon.
"Our purpose in this study was to see if the use of infliximab for ulcerative colitis would reduce the need for surgery," says William Sandborn, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and lead author of the study. "We found that treatment with infliximab reduced the need for colectomy by 41 percent compared to patients treated with placebo."
In this multi-center, international study, 728 patients received placebo or infliximab (5 or 10 mg/kg) for 46 weeks and were monitored for hospitalization or surgical outcomes. Eighty-seven percent (630 of 728) had complete follow-up for the endpoint of whether or not they had colectomy, while the remaining 13 percent (98 of 728) of patients had follow-up for less then a year, with a median follow-up of 6.2 months in these patients. The research showed that treatment with infliximab at 0, 2 and 6 and then every 8 weeks reduced the incidence of colectomy through 54 weeks by 41 percent in outpatients with moderately-to-severe active ulcerative colitis.
The cumulative incidence of colectomy through 54 weeks was 10% for infliximab and 17% for placebo (p=0.02). Compared with placebo, fewer ulcerative colitis-related hospitalizations and surgeries/procedures occurred with infliximab therapy.
"One of the most feared outcomes for ulcerative colitis patients is surgical removal of the colon," says Dr. Sandborn. "Our research hopes to provide other treatment solutions for patients beyond surgery."
Previous research has shown that infliximab therapy induced clinical remission and bowel healing for colitis patients. This new research provides more information and options for patients struggling with this difficult disease, explains Dr. Sandborn.
Infliximab is an artificial antibody that works by blocking tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha). TNF alpha is a chemical messenger and a key part of the immune reaction. Infliximab blocks the action of TNF alpha by preventing it from binding to its receptor in the cell.
Ulcerative colitis usually affects only the inner lining of the large intestine (colon) and rectum. It usually occurs in a continuous stretch of the colon, unlike Crohn's disease, which occurs in patches anywhere in the digestive tract and often spreads into the deeper layers of affected tissues.
Dr. Sandborn provided consulting services for Centocor during the course of this research and received no personal compensation. Mayo Clinic received reimbursement for the services provided by Dr. Sandborn.
Adapted from materials provided by Mayo Clinic.
Email or share this story:
| More
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:
APA
MLA
Mayo Clinic (2009, October 1). Ulcerative Colitis Treatment Reduces Need For Surgery By Almost Half, Study Suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/10/091001081215.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releas...
091001081215.htm
Ulcerative Colitis Treatment Reduces Need For Surgery By Almost Half, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2009) — A new study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has found that ulcerative colitis patients had a 41 percent reduction in colectomy after a year when treated with infliximab, according to a study published in the October 2009 issue of Gastroenterology.
Ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes chronic inflammation of the colon, is characterized by abdominal pain and diarrhea. Like Crohn's disease, another common IBD, ulcerative colitis can be debilitating and often lead to colectomy or surgical removal of the colon.
"Our purpose in this study was to see if the use of infliximab for ulcerative colitis would reduce the need for surgery," says William Sandborn, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and lead author of the study. "We found that treatment with infliximab reduced the need for colectomy by 41 percent compared to patients treated with placebo."
In this multi-center, international study, 728 patients received placebo or infliximab (5 or 10 mg/kg) for 46 weeks and were monitored for hospitalization or surgical outcomes. Eighty-seven percent (630 of 728) had complete follow-up for the endpoint of whether or not they had colectomy, while the remaining 13 percent (98 of 728) of patients had follow-up for less then a year, with a median follow-up of 6.2 months in these patients. The research showed that treatment with infliximab at 0, 2 and 6 and then every 8 weeks reduced the incidence of colectomy through 54 weeks by 41 percent in outpatients with moderately-to-severe active ulcerative colitis.
The cumulative incidence of colectomy through 54 weeks was 10% for infliximab and 17% for placebo (p=0.02). Compared with placebo, fewer ulcerative colitis-related hospitalizations and surgeries/procedures occurred with infliximab therapy.
"One of the most feared outcomes for ulcerative colitis patients is surgical removal of the colon," says Dr. Sandborn. "Our research hopes to provide other treatment solutions for patients beyond surgery."
Previous research has shown that infliximab therapy induced clinical remission and bowel healing for colitis patients. This new research provides more information and options for patients struggling with this difficult disease, explains Dr. Sandborn.
Infliximab is an artificial antibody that works by blocking tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha). TNF alpha is a chemical messenger and a key part of the immune reaction. Infliximab blocks the action of TNF alpha by preventing it from binding to its receptor in the cell.
Ulcerative colitis usually affects only the inner lining of the large intestine (colon) and rectum. It usually occurs in a continuous stretch of the colon, unlike Crohn's disease, which occurs in patches anywhere in the digestive tract and often spreads into the deeper layers of affected tissues.
Dr. Sandborn provided consulting services for Centocor during the course of this research and received no personal compensation. Mayo Clinic received reimbursement for the services provided by Dr. Sandborn.
Adapted from materials provided by Mayo Clinic.
Email or share this story:
| More
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:
APA
MLA
Mayo Clinic (2009, October 1). Ulcerative Colitis Treatment Reduces Need For Surgery By Almost Half, Study Suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/10/091001081215.htm
-
Reply #1 10/12/09 8:09pm
Unfortunately people with MS should not use TNF inhibitors and they make a first MS event more likely and worsen existing MS. -
Reply #2 10/13/09 6:11pm
Okay this is the one exception to my rule about looking at sites that sell products. Some of there products have been wrote up in nature/NIH for putting things like UC in remission. There are no man made medicines that do this now. Many of there products are propritary so no one else makes them.
http://www.jacksongi.com/diseases....
Below are write ups on the probiotic that ONLY the above website makes and sells.
The one I use for my UC (VSL#3-blend of 8 different bacteria) and have been doing well when used with the natural anti-inflammatory products.
http://www.nature.com/ajg/journal/...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed...
If you have MS and UC VSL#3 + natural anti inflammatories would be something to discuss with your GI doc. I am not against man made antiinflammation products like asacol. my issue is that if I take 12 pills a day like my docs wants that in the long term (as there is no cure) my liver and or kidneys are going to have problems. So I would like to only use the medication when what I am doing is not working. Basically, judicious use of the medication in an effort to maintain my overall health. Instead of robbing Peter to paid Paul and in the end Peter (my liver and kidneys) will pay the price leading to a shorter life because of another reason other than UC. -
Reply #3 10/13/09 6:33pm
BTW many with UC have been found to be not only deficient in certain good gut bacteria but also vitamin D. So some thing you may want to checkout. Especially since those with UC are at a higher risk of colorectal cancer and vitamin D at a high enough level can reduce your risk of this cancer by 50%.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed... -
Reply #4 10/13/09 6:34pm
See my information on my website www.RAMSwebsite.Net for more research links. -
Reply #5 10/16/09 2:03am
Some people diagnosed with MS and Crohns/Colitis might actually have Behcets.
Welcome
