Patients with inflammatory bowel disease and GI cancers were more likely to get vaccinations such as flu shots after a consultation with a health care provider, according to a study published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. IBD and GI cancer patients have a high risk of contracting flu or pneumococcus, but the vaccination rate is
According to a study in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, patients with inflammatory bowel disease often struggle with body image and sexuality and this could lead to sexual dysfunction. Men with IBD who were younger than 50 and women younger than 40 had a significantly increased risk, the study said. “Inflammatory bowel disease could have a major
An estimated 30-50%, and possible 60%, of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) turn to complementary and alternative medicines (CAM’s) to ease symptoms and exert more control over their treatment. Very few studies have evaluated CAM’s, and many of the studies were small, poorly designed, and uncontrolled. Predictors of CAM use include dissatisfaction with conventional therapies,
Almost 1 in 5 patients with symptomatic inflammatory bowel disease also had non-Clostridium difficile enteric infection, according to a study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology. Although the infections had an effect on treatment, there was no long-term effect. See the article on MedPage Today here.
An analysis of data from the TREAT Registry found that babies born to women who continued to treat their Crohn’s disease with infliximab during pregnancy had outcomes similar to those who did not take the drug. “The majority of both maternal pregnancies and partner outcomes resulted in live births of healthy infants across exposure groups”
Dr. Jonathan Kay of the University of Massachusetts Medical School told the 2018 Interdisciplinary Autoimmune Summit that biosimilar competition in Europe has reduced drug costs, made biosimilars more available and increased market share for some bio-originators. The European Union has approved 41 biosimilar drugs while the FDA has approved nine. Biosimilars in Europe lead to
Research published in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics found ulcerative colitis patients with higher BMIs had a greater likelihood of biologic treatment failure. Increases in BMI also were associated with a higher risk of surgery or hospitalization. The reasons might be related to endogenous steroid production, misuse of medical steroids, or underdosing of conventional
A study published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics showed bariatric surgery increased the odds of developing inflammatory bowel disease for some patients. Researchers said the risk was small and did not outweigh the benefits of weight-loss surgery. A longer length of time from surgery correlated with increased risk. Patients whose surgery had been done more
Vedolizumab is an anti-α4β7 monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). A recent study finds that pretreatment α4β7 expression and α4β7 receptor saturation during maintenance therapy were identified as candidate biomarkers for vedolizumab response. This assay leads to promise that we will be able to identify good candidates for biologic therapies
Reduced mortality was seen in Crohn’s patients with comorbidities who have been treated with anti-TNF’s, but primarily compared to those treated with prolonged steroids. There was a trend to positive outcomes for UC patients, but it did not meet statistical significance. Among 1,879 Crohn’s patients initiating anti-TNF therapy, there was a significantly lower risk of
