Crohn´s disease - Treatment
Treatment in Crohn’s disease aims at inducing remission, and maintaining obtained remission. Furthermore, supplementation with nutritional elements may be needed.
- Steroids: Have shown to be effective in the short-term perspective in inducing remission. Steroids are not used in maintenance therapy due to lack of effect in combination with high risk of side effects.
- Aminosalycylates: Are considered safe, but with rather poor efficacy in Crohn’s disease. Despite this profile, Aminosalycylates are considered to be a first-line drug, particularly in milder forms of the disease.
- Antibiotics: Specific antibiotics are often tried in Crohn’s disease as a second-line drug in mild cases, often in combination with other drugs.
- Immunosuppressant: Are considered to be effective, especially in maintenance therapy. Due to a more pronounced risk for severe side effects, immunomudulators are regarded as third-line drugs
- Adacolumn® apheresis: Is a new and unique, non-pharmacological approach in Crohn’s disease. Instead of administrating a drug, the Adacolumn® apheresis system reduces the ongoing inflammation by adsorbing over-activated white blood cells from the circulation, thereby reducing the inflammatory burden, without the risk of side effects attributed to drugs.
See Adacolumn - Surgical treatment: In approximately 50% of Crohn’s patients, surgical intervention is required at some time. It is believed that recent advances in the treatment of Crohn’s disease will reduce the number of patients in need of surgery. Furthermore, a more conservative surgical approach has evolved, recognising the value of saving as much of the gastrointestinal tract as possible.