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Data presented today at the United European Gastroenterology Week Congress (UEGW) show that a significantly greater proportion of patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease experienced steroid-free remission and mucosal healing when receiving Remicade(R) (infliximab), either in combination with azathioprine or as monotherapy, compared to patients receiving azathioprine alone.

New data showed that Abbott’s HUMIRA® (adalimumab) provided long-term treatment of fistulas, with more than half of patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease experiencing fistula healing at three years, according to clinical research presented today at the United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW) congress in Vienna.

To help those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) be better informed and involved in managing their disease, the European Foundation of Crohn’s & Ulcerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA) has launched a new series of guides titled “Life and IBD”. For over one million people across Europe who have it, IBD can be an overwhelming experience with new physicians, medications and terminology.

Data from two studies presented this week by UCB at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Meeting demonstrate that CIMZIA(R) (certolizumab pegol) - the only PEGylated anti-TNF alpha (Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha) - provides sustained improvement in symptoms with stable dosing for adult patients suffering from moderate to severe Crohn’s disease (CD).

A study led by Mayo Clinic has found that infliximab (Remicade®) administered alone (monotherapy) or in combination with azathioprine is a more effective treatment for patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease than azathioprine alone. These findings were presented at the 2008 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Meeting.

Data presented for the first time from the Phase 3b Study of Patients with Crohn’s Disease Naive to Immunomodulators and Biologic Therapy (SONIC) may provide new insights into the approach to care of patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease.

UCB presented data from a large, prospective study investigating endoscopic improvement in Crohn’s disease (CD) with a biologic compound.

Scientists report online in Nature that they have linked the health of specialized gut immune cells to a gene associated with Crohn’s disease, an often debilitating and increasingly prevalent inflammatory bowel disorder. The link to immune cells intrigued researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St.

Neuroendocrine tumors, such as carcinoid tumors, overexpress somatostatin receptors in their membranes. Octreotide is an analogue whose molecule is a shortened version of somatostatin’s with a high affinity for these receptors.

A study of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis in children has identified a gene that influences whether children get these diseases early in life, and points to a potential new target for treatment. The findings of the international team that performed the study were published online this week by the journal Nature Genetics.