Newsday.com
Researchers to test stem cells to treat Crohn's
BY DELTHIA RICKS
delthia.ricks@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
18, 2008
Stem cells may force Crohn's disease into retreat, say Long Island
medical
investigators who are embarking on a pioneering analysis that targets
patients who've failed other therapies.
Cases of Crohn's disease have skyrocketed since World War II, jumping
tenfold in the United States and raising questions about the disease's
genetics and demography. It is one of two disorders - the other is
ulcerative colitis - that are known as inflammatory bowel diseases. Before
the 20th century there was no recorded evidence of either.
Dr. Robert Richards, director of clinical research in the gastroenterology
division at Stony Brook University Medical Center, is embarking on a
clinical study involving the infusion of adult stem cells, which he and
other researchers theorize may force the condition into retreat. His
analysis is part of a multicenter trial nationwide, focusing on patients
with moderate to severe forms of the disease.
Patients had "basically tried all of the medications that are out there
for
Crohn's and have not done well or have become intolerant to [standard]
treatment," Richards said.
The stem cells are drawn from the bone marrow of adult donors and
processed
into an infusible preparation. Because stem cells are essentially blank
slates capable of morphing into any kind of cell, researchers believe that
when infused into the intestinal tract, they will help remodel cells there
and relieve symptoms.
Inflammation caused by Crohn's disease can occur anywhere along the tract
from the mouth to the anus. Symptoms may wax and wane but the inflammation
can lead to scarring, which dramatically disrupts intestinal function.
Some
people are racked with painful diarrhea tinged with blood.
Current therapies include anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics.
Additional treatments include those that quell the activity of certain
parts
of the immune system. Among the theories explaining the cause of Crohn's
is
that it is triggered by turncoat cells, so that the body is at war with
itself.
Two weeks ago the Food and Drug Administration announced an investigation
into three drugs that tamp down the immune system, following 30 re****ts of
children and young adults who developed cancer.
Edda Ramsdell, executive director of Long Island's division of the Crohn's
and Colitis Foundation of America, said the stem cell research could
provide
a new avenue. "This is exciting but there probably isn't a single answer.
People react differently to treatments," she said.
Dr. R. Balfour Sartor of the University of North Carolina, scientific
adviser to the foundation, said it's always im****tant to explore new
therapies, including stem cells. "I am frustrated by the lack of current
medical and even surgical cures of this disease," said Sartor, who will
speak next month on Long Island about his new dietary theory.
Richards' stem cell study will run for a year. Patients will range between
18 and 70.
CROHN'S DISEASE EXPLAINED
Crohn's tends to run in families, and susceptibility genes have been
identified. People of Ashkenazi Jewish descent have a higher incidence
compared with other ethnic groups. The disorder is not especially
prevalent
among Sephardic Jews.
First described in 1930 by Dr. Burrill Crohn of Mt. Sinai Hospital in
Manhattan. Before the 20th century there was no recorded evidence of
Crohn's
or ulcerative colitis, both inflammatory bowel diseases. Generally,
colitis
is viewed as serious, but not as devastating as Crohn's.
Crohn's is diagnosed more often in industrialized countries where sugar
consumption is very high, and less so in underdeveloped countries, though
scientists note an increase worldwide. Some scientists think excessive
sugar
consumption may affect the genetically susceptible to Crohn's by altering
the balance of bacteria that inhabit the intestinal tract.
Long Island is dispro****tionately affected by people with Crohn's disease,
based on genetics and demographics. The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of
America estimates 30,000 Long Islanders have Crohn's disease, or
ulcerative
colitis. Nationwide, more than 1 million people have an inflammatory bowel
disease.
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