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August
7, 2002
Crohn’s
Disease Therapies Tested
CHICAGO
--- Researchers at The Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern
University are conducting clinical trials of several innovative
approaches to the treatment of Crohn’s disease, including experimental
drugs and a new swallowable video camera that produces high-quality
images of the small intestine.
In
addition to aiding diagnosis by affording a more complete view of
the small intestine without pain or discomfort to the patient, the
"camera-in-a-capsule" enables physicians to direct appropriate
treatment and determine the effect of new medications for Crohn’s
disease.
The
studies are headed by Alan Buchman, M.D., associate professor of
medicine at The Feinberg School and director of the Inflammatory
Bowel Disease Center at Northwestern.
Crohn’s
is a serious inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract
that causes diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever and rectal bleeding.
The cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown.
Among
the experimental medications for Crohn’s disease undergoing
investigation at Northwestern is a synthetic, oral form of interleukin-11,
a chemical produced by white blood cells in response to inflammation.
This study of interleukin-11 for Crohn’s disease is the first
to be conducted in humans.
Research
has shown that interleukin-11 is both an anti-inflammatory agent
and a potent growth factor that aids in the healing process. Other
drugs used to treat Crohn’s disease, such as prednisone, only
reduce inflammation.
In
a separate study, Northwestern also is assessing the use of interleukin-11
in ulcerative colitis.
Northwestern
will be studying two experimental drugs for Crohn’s disease
that prevent inflammation by blocking the process by which white
blood cells adhere to areas of inflammation in the bowel.
Another
investigational study for Crohn’s disease will focus on a drug
that blocks production of an inflammation-causing chemical known
as tumor necrosis factor.
For
information on these and other studies for the treatment of Crohn’s
disease and ulcerative colitis, contact the Northwestern Inflammatory
Bowel Disease Center at (312) 695-4IBD (or 4423).
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