anon wrote:
>
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/news/ny-licroh185731126jun18,0,2670524,print.story
>
> Newsday.com
> Researchers to test stem cells to treat Crohn's
> BY DELTHIA RICKS
>
> delthia.ricks@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> June 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.
>
> Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
>
>
>
>
>
I hope I live long enough to see this work. Some how I doubt it, but it
seems to be the most promising treatment ever.
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