Kids Fighting Crohn's

TREATING CROHN'S DISEASE: Unfortunately, there is no cure for Crohn's disease in either children or adults. It is a chronic condition, meaning sufferers live with the condition indefinitely. Sometimes, patients may enter remission, but it has not been shown to be permanent. Lifestyle and dietary changes can help, but oftentimes, patients turn to medications to treat the symptoms -- not the disease itself. A number of medications are currently available for adults, but not all of them have been clinically tested in children and, therefore, aren't available for young Crohn's sufferers.

Dr. Baron and fellow researchers tested a drug currently available for adults -- adalimumab (Humira) -- for use in children. "It hopefully stops the inflammatory cascade from creating those signals that cause white blood cells to migrate to the lining of tissues, which starts the inflammation," Dr. Baron said. They are hoping to get the drug FDA approved for use in children as young as five.

"The thing that this medication does that's different from its predecessor is that it allows for a form of the medication that is an injectable form that people can do at home -- almost like an insulin shot to themselves, but even easier than that," Dr. Baron explained. "The predecessor drug mandated an intravenous infusion more than two hours in an infusion center with resuscitation equipment and so forth."

Other drugs available to treat Crohn's disease in children include aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, Immunomodulators and some antibiotics.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ashlee Seymour
Director of Media Relations
Sunrise Children's Hospital
ashlee.seymour@hcahealthcare.com
(702) 731-8288

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