Crohn's disease remission prolonged and mainted with budesonide capsules

Main Category: Crohn's / IBD
Article Date: 14 Sep 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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In a study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, researchers found that budesonide capsules are an effective treatment to prolong and maintain the period of remission of Crohn's Disease. Previous studies have demonstrated that budesonide is effective for inducing remission of Crohn's disease.

Four double-blind, placebo-controlled trials were conducted with identical protocols in which patients with Crohn's Disease, and medically induced remission, received a treatment of oral budesonide for 12 months. Results showed that budesonide taken at 6 mg/day is effective for prolonging time to relapse and for significantly reducing rates of relapse.

"Long-term treatment with budesonide is well-tolerated and the frequency and types of adverse events are similar to placebo," states lead researcher,William J. Sandborn, MD. "Safety of a long-term medication is obviously important, but how well a patient tolerates their medication is also important and can affect patient adherence to therapy."

Crohn's disease is a long-term disease that results from inflammation of the digestive tract. It is a debilitating sickness, even for patients who are classified as having mild to moderate disease. Currently, there are no treatment options available that prevents recurrence of symptoms.

"As stated, this disease is recurring in nature, so extending the time a patient can be symptom-free or with diminished symptoms is an important feature of treatment. Budesonide capsules are a treatment option for Crohn's disease that has been shown in studies not only to be very effective in relieving symptoms, but also in extending the time before patients experience a recurrence."

Dr. William J. Sandborn is a board certified gastroenterologist with specific expertise in inflammatory bowel disease. He has published extensively in this field, both nationally and internationally.

About The American Journal of Gastroenterology

The American Journal of Gastroenterology, the official publication of the American College of Gastroenterology, is THE clinical journal for all practicing gastroenterologists, hepatologists and GI endoscopists. With an impact factor of 4.716, it is the authoritative clinical source in the field of gastroenterology. With a broad-based, rigorous, interdisciplinary approach, the journal presents the latest important information in the field of gastroenterology including original manuscripts, meta-analyses and reviews, health economic papers, debates and consensus statements of clinical relevance in gastroenterology. The reports will highlight new observations and original research, results with innovative treatments and all other topics relevant to clinical gastroenterology. Case reports highlighting disease mechanisms or particularly important clinical observations and letters on articles published in the Journal are included.

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