Month: July 2007

WASHINGTON: A new study has found that the use of biologic agents for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may benefit patients.

However, researchers warn that doctors need to consider the potential associated side effects in determining treatment course.

IBD includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, both frequently disabling diseases.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Stephen B. Hanauer, at the University of Chicago, and Paul Rutgeerts at University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Belgium.

As part of the study, researchers examined the literature on monoclonal antibodies or antibody fragments currently approved by the FDA or likely to be approved in the near future to study the side effects of biologic agents.

Researchers found that that for patients in whom traditional therapies do not work, through traditional ‘step up’ or sequential treatment approach biologics might be appropriate as a first line treatment. However, IBD is a heterogeneous disease and some patients may not respond to biologics, so the appropriate role of these agents in the treatment paradigm is the subject of much discussion.

The study noted that in determining the appropriate course of treatment, gastroenterologists needed to balance the potential complications of drug treatment (including increased risk for infections and cancer) against the consequences of potential under-treatment of their patients’ disease (including poor quality-of-life, complications of disease, and the costs associated with active disease and the treatment of complications).

“Biologic therapies provide new options and hope for many patients, however they may be accompanied by serious side effects, both when used alone or in combination with other treatments. Gastroenterologists need to review and consider the side effects and significant costs when determining the best treatment course for their patients,” Hanauer said.

The findings of the study were published in the July issue of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute

Source: The Times Of India

WASHINGTON: Spending time in out in the sun in childhood is really a good thing, for a new study has found that it can lower the risk of developing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in later life.

The study was conducted by Talat Islam, MBBS, PhD, and Thomas Mack, MD, MPH, with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

The researchers analysed 79 pairs of identical twins with the same genetic risk for MS in which only one twin had MS as a part of their study.

They asked the twins to specify whether they or their twin spent more time outdoors during hot days, cold days, and summer, and which one spent more time sun tanning, going to the beach and playing team sports as a child.

They found that the twin who spent more time out in the sun as a kid had had a 25 to 57 percent reduced risk of developing MS depending on the amount of time spent outdoors.

The researchers now state that sun exposure has a positive effect on MS.

“Sun exposure appears to have a protective effect against MS. Exposure to ultra violet rays may induce protection against MS by alternative mechanisms, either directly by altering the cellular immune response or indirectly by producing immunoactive vitamin D,” they state.

“Our findings note the importance of sun exposure among people with identical genetic risk for MS. High priority should be given to research into how sun exposure reduces MS risk if we are to unravel the mystery of what causes MS,” Dr Mack added.

The study is published in the July 24, 2007, issue of Neurology , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.