Chrons Disease: Better to get it in 2007 than 1987

Chrons disease, a chronic inflammation of the bowel and intestines afflicts nearly 1 million people worldwide. People with Chrons disease suffer from diarrhea and abdominal pain. Around 80 percent of Chrons disease patients will also eventually will face surgery to remove damaged portions of bowel. Having said that there is some good news, with the science finally catching up with the disease, and modern treatments like anti-inflammatory medications called TNF blockers have had very good results for many patients.

There are also two new chrons disease drugs are about to hit the market, so things could and should soon improve further for Crohn's disease patients.

The Food and Drug Administration advisory committee in the USA recommended approval of the drug Tysabri as a medication for Chrons disease. Tysabri is already used as a treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis. This recommendation will allow the FDA to move toward approval of Tysabri for Chrons.

The other drug, Cimzia, was effective at treating about one-third of 1,330 patients with moderate to severe Chrons disease in recent studies. In addition, 62 percent of patients who responded to Cimzia continued to benefit from the treatment after six months. The Belgian company is planning to receive approval from the FDA soon.

So possibly some good news on the horizon for Chrons Disease patients.