Help for Crohn’s Sufferers
December 19th, 2007 Posted by: Dr. Cox
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ROCHESTER, Minn. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — No one knows for sure what causes Crohnâs disease and thereâs no cure. But that doesnât mean there isnât hope. The FDA is looking at a promising new drug that could make a big difference for more than half a million sufferers.
Doctors diagnosed Tara Robertsâ Crohnâs disease when she was 13-years-old. Since then, sheâs learned to live with stomach pain, fatigue, and worse.
“Thereâs no warning, no control. You live with diarrhea 24/7,” Roberts says.
Thatâs not easy when youâre raising three busy kids.
Dr. William Sandborn is a Crohnâs disease expert. He explains that patients make a lot of protein that causes inflammation. So heâs trying to find a drug that blocks the protein in the intestine. He thinks heâs found one. Itâs called certolizumab pegol, or
Cimzia.
“Itâs sort of a smart bomb drug targeted very specifically towards this bad protein,” says William Sandborn, M.D., a gastroenterologist at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
His study showed 65 percent of patients felt better after six months. This includes people who didnât respond to other drugs. He says itâs good to have options.
“It becomes very important to have two or three or four drugs in that class, because you can expect that any one of the drugs that the patient might take, that itâs going to wear off,” Dr. Sandborn says.
Roberts has tried several different medicines and settled on one called Remicade. She is technically in remission, but that could end tomorrow.
“If Remicade were to ever stop working, it’s nice to know that thereâs a backup there, something else that I would be able to try,” Roberts says.
Research has indicated Crohn’s has strong genetic links. Scientists now believe there are at least eight different genes linked to the development of the disease.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
The Mayo Clinic
http://www.mayoclinic.com