Special to DG News
QUEBEC CITY, QC -- March 13, 2000 -- Inflammation in the recto-sigmoid region, and its absence in the ascending colon before therapy, are predictors of good response to enteral nutrition as a treatment for pediatric Crohn's disease, according to a study presented here.
"There was a graphic decrease in inflammation with the intervention," said Dr. Robert Issenman, a professor of pediatrics at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Conversely, researchers determined that inflammation in the ascending colon was a predictor of poorer response.
Dr. Issenman explained that the study measured inflammation with a four-point scale. He presented his findings at a poster session during Canadian Digestive Diseases Week, the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, being held in Quebec City, QC, Canada from March 12-15, 2000.
A total of 12 patients, aged eight to 17, with active Crohn's disease were recruited prospectively for the study. Their mean age was 13.7 and nine patients were male. Half of the patients had symptoms for more than one year and mean months since onset of disease was 24.
Patients began 28 days of enteral nutrition therapy, formulated for ileal and colonic Crohn's disease. At baseline, their Crohn's disease activity index (mean score) was 294.6. That score fell to 125.1 after enteral nutrition therapy. Factors such as age, sex, and small bowel involvement did not have a significant impact in terms of response to enteral nutrition.
The overall incidence of pediatric Crohn's is three in 10,000, noted Dr. Issenman. He added that the incidence varies in populations, depending on factors such as ethnicity.
"Interestingly, increased incidence is also associated with rising social status," said Dr. Issenman.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L.
P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites,
newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet*
located at http://www.docguide.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to News Story Page
This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com
Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs.
All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc.
All rights reserved.