Chrons Disease: Living With

Can worm eggs cure Chrons?

2011-11-09T23:41:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know that it sounds terrible, but a new study will see patients swallowing worm eggs and letting them hatch inside them, with the aim of curing/treating Crohn's disease and colitis, known collectively as inflammatory bowel disease.

They're called "pigwhip worms" to be precise and the participants of the trial will swallow the eggs of these little guys and let them hatch inside says Dr. Ira Shafran who is one of three physicians in the U.S. who will be taking part in this study.

Dr. Shafran went on to say that "The little larvae come out and they make a contact with your intestinal lining that actually turns on an immune response," It is then believed that the worms will actually lessen that immune response and could greatly reduce gastrointestinal issues associated with the disease.

Whilst they are considered parasites to pigs, Dr. Shafran says these worms are harmless to humans and have not shown any side effects in other studies.

In fact, some scientists believe the eradication of worms from human stomachs over the past 50 years may be behind the rise in these conditions. As the number of infections by parasites, such as roundworms and human whipworms, has fallen, the number of people being diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease has increased.

"This is not an invasive worm," he says. "It's not toxic to the GI tract and it doesn't cause human disease."

"If we can extract something from earth or nature and harness that naturally occurring species at a lower cost to patients without any safety issues and without altering the immune system, that's a huge development," says Dr. Shafran.

The tests are due to start sometime in November, with the findings due to be announced at a conference in the United States in May.

Chrons Disease & Genetics

2010-04-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

Whilst in the past, the search for a cure to Chrons Disease and other irritable-bowel conditions, the medical profession has mostly focused on diet. But recent studies have repeatedly failed to show that foods are to blame.

Researchers are now looking at genetic mutations linked to Crohn's Disease as well as other irritable bowel conditions like ulcerative colitis. They hope to develop a therapy that fixes those mutations in order to actually cure diseases like chrons and ulcerative colitis, rather than just treat the symptoms.

Warren Strober of the the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda has been studying these diseases for over fifteen years and he and other scientists have shown that dozens of genes are linked to Chrons and ulcerative colitis.

His current work centers on developing a stem-cell-based therapy to correct one particular gene mutation for Chrons. Because of the wide variety of mutations it means that there could eventually be a number of different treatments that target patients based on their genetic profiles, this is known as "personalized medicine."

People with Crohn's can suffer from chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, fatigue and sometimes rectal bleeding. They may also have problems absorbing an adequate amount of nutrients from food, particularly if too much of the intestine is removed. The disease can stunt the growth of children.

With irritable-bowel diseases, the immune system attacks harmless bacteria normally found in the gut. This response leads to inflammation of different parts of the digestive tract, which in turn can cause, fissures, abscesses, obstruction and pain.

In Chrons disease the walls of the digestive tract become inflamed, and any part from the mouth through to the large intestine can be affected. Ulcerative colitis is slightly different in that only the lining of the bowel is damaged.

Treatments have improved in recent years and now include powerful, injectable biologic medicines that reduce inflammation, such as Remicade and Humira.

But these are not cures, and not everyone responds to them. In severe cases, patients must undergo surgery sometimes multiple surgeries to remove parts of the bowel or colon that are blocked. For Chrons patients this is necessary more often because it can develop in any part of the gut, inflammation can recur even after surgery in a different segment of the digestive tract. Within 10 years after surgery between 80% and 90% of Chrons patients will have a relapse, according to researchers.

Dr. Strober says he and his colleagues, are moving ahead on research in mice that aims to fix a genetic mutation called NOD2 associated with Crohn's Disease. The idea would be to have the body repair itself by growing the corrected gene using so-called induced pluripotent stem cells.

Stem cells are those that can develop into different types of specialized cells, like heart or muscle cells, and are mostly found in embryos. Induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, are made by taking adult specialized cells and turning back the clock, engineering them to an earlier stage where they can reproduce again.

With his research they have already worked out how to take cells from the intestine and convert them into iPS cells. The team are now are working on fixing the genetic defect in the iPS cells before testing the therapy in animals.

The biggest challenge with this type of approach that combines genetic information, physical symptoms and biology is actually narrowing down which genetic combinations are critical to which patients.

Other researchers are examining how genetic mutations affect the type of bacteria that are found in the digestive tract. Greater presence of certain types of bacteria may be more likely to trigger an immune response.

Another area of research is looking at understanding how a persons genetic makeup can make them susceptible to certain other Chrons disease triggers like smoking or stress and the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers.

Vitamin D could help prevent Chrons Disease

2010-02-04T03:33:00.000-08:00

Some recent research carried out by some Canadians at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center seems to show that Vitamin D easily obtainable in supplements or cod liver oil may be able to combat chrons, or even prevent the symptoms that are related to Crohn’s disease.

At first the study was aimed at investigating Vitamin D's potential in treating cancer cells, but the researchers accidentally found that vitamin D had a beneficial effect on two genes that are associated with inflammatory bowel diseases like Chrons.

It was discovered that a supplement of vitamin D like what is already found in cod liver oil forced a reaction in the beta defensin 2 and NOD2 genes, which alert cells to the presence of invading microbes. Both Beta-defensin and NOD2 have been linked to Crohn's disease and if NOD2 is deficient or defective, the gene cannot combat microbial attacks in the intestinal tract.

What is really interesting is that this study shows how something as simple as an an over the counter supplement such as Vitamin D could help people defend themselves against Crohn's disease and with it they have potentially found a new treatment for people with Chrons disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases.

The next step for the team is to conduct clinical trials with human participants suffering from the intestinal disorder.

Because Vitamin D supplements and cod liver oil are readily available, "Siblings of patients with Crohn's disease that haven't yet developed the disease might be well advised to make sure they're vitamin D sufficient. It's something that's easy to do, because they can simply go to a pharmacy and buy Vitamin D supplements. The vast majority of people would be candidates for Vitamin D treatment." says Dr. White, an endocrinologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre and leader of the team who made this exciting discovery.

Separate studies have also suggested that vitamin D can help prevent heart disease and certain forms of cancer.

More Information
You can read more information on the study at The McGill University Health Centre Website

Where To Get Vitamin D
I have not thought of this before, but because they are available over the counter, Amazon stock a HUGE range of Vitamin D supplements:

Vitamin D Suppliments on Amazon.com

Or if you prefer, Cod liver Oil:
Cod Liver Oil on Amazon.com

Womans Weight Loss & Chrons Disease

2009-07-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

A woman form from Pontypool in Wales with Chrons Disease (Crohn's Disease), the debilitating and incurable inflammatory bowel condition lost a quarter of her body weight and took nine months to get properly diagnosed has decided to help spread the word about it and the other related condition of colitis.

It is said that there are 80,000 people in the UK who have the disease and yet so few people are even ware of the conditions' existence, there is much general ignorance to overcome.

Samara Kemp (24) who now has her Chrons symptoms mostly under control said that before she was diagnosed "Doctors put it down to other things, problems with food, food poisoning. I'd been eight-and-a-half stone and went down to six-and-a-half stone." Along with the weight loss she had symptoms of extreme tiredness.

Eventually the correct diagnosis and similar to what happened to me, came from a private doctor. Chrons Disease often affects the small intestine, causing inflammation, deep ulcers and scarring and typical symptoms include pain, urgent diarrhoea, severe tiredness and loss of weight.

After the diagnosis, she again like I was put on a 6 month course of steroids, daily medication, supplements such as iron and calcium, and a low fibre diet.

"I was close to nine months without a diagnosis and it was a relief at last to know what was wrong," she said.

The severity of symptoms mean Chrons and colitis patients can take over your life with the lack of awareness among most people makes it even more difficult. "There needs to be quicker diagnosis and more awareness. I have trouble getting keys for disabled toilets because people don't believe I am ill," said Ms Kemp, because of this and many other day to day situations that arise because of the disease, it has taken Samara time for her to rebuild her confidence before venturing out regularly.

Samara is now working as a substance misuse and mental health officer, she added: "South Wales Police have been great too, but it's not like that everywhere, and many people suffer in silence."

Currently there is no surgical or medical treatment that can guarantee a complete cure from the condition, however there are treatments available that can effectively treat the symptoms and bring prolonged of relief from a Chrons inflammation.

Chrons Disease and Remicade

2009-04-30T01:12:00.000-07:00

So what it Remicade?

First off it is important to note that Remicade is the brand name of the generic medication called infliximab.
Infliximab (Remicade) is an antibody that attaches to a protein called tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). TNF-alpha is one of the proteins produced by immune cells during activation of the immune system. TNF-alpha, in turn, stimulates other cells of the immune system to produce and release other proteins that promote inflammation.
Remicade is used to treat Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, as well as other conditions that cause inflammation.

How Does Remicade help people with Chrons Disease?

In Chrons disease, there is continued production of TNF-alpha as part of the immune activation. Remicade (Infliximab) attaches to TNF-alpha and blocks its activity and in so doing decreases the inflammation.
So Remicade helps put Crohn's into remission by neutralizing TNF-alpha. Remicade is therefore called a TNF "antagonist" that works with your body's immune system to block TNF-alpha, reducing inflammation
It is now generally agreed that people with chrons who respond well to an initial dose of Remicade will typically continue to improve with more treatments. If a patient does not respond to an initial dosage of Remicade, he or she is unlikely to respond with further treatment.
The people who respond well to Remicade, the improvements in symptoms can excellent, with rapid healing of the ulcers and the inflammation in the intestines after just one infusion.
Remicade has also been shown to be effective for treating anal fistulas.

How is Remicade (Infliximab) Made?

Infliximab is produced by the immune system of mice. The process involves injecting mice with with human TNF-alpha, the mouse antibody then is modified to make it look more like a human antibody, this is done to decrease the chances of an allergic reactions when it is given to humans. This modified antibody is infliximab.

What are the Side effects of Remicade (Infliximab)?

Remicade suppresses the immune system, generally the medication is well tollerated by the body, but it can have serious side effects and patients must be carefully monitored throughout the treatment.

Because infliximab is partly a mouse protein, it may induce an immune reaction when given to people with Chrons Diseas, especially with repeated infusions.
There is also the possibility of a delayed allergic reaction that occurs a week to ten days after receiving the infliximab.
There have been a few cases of side effects during the infusions, including chest pain, shortness of breath, and nausea.
Rare cases of nerve inflammation such as inflammation of the nerve of the eye (optic neuritis )

So whilst Remicade represents an exciting new development in the fight against Chrons disease, the long-term safety and effectiveness of infliximab is not yet known.

Chrons Disease and Pregnancy

2009-04-14T23:54:00.001-07:00

It was not long ago that women with chrons disease were encouraged against pregnancy, but advances in the knowledge of Chrons disease and it's treatments mean that it is now safer than ever for women with chrons to get pregnant.

Studies have shown that the severity of the Chrons symptoms that are present in the mother at the time conception often continue throughout pregnancy. So if you have Chrons disease and are planning on having a baby the advice is to get the Chron's disease under control and in remission before getting pregnant. This can also give you time to get your body ready for pregnancy as most women even without chrons should do: by increasing the intake of folic acid, quitting smoking, getting more exercise and eating healthier.

Chrons Disease Drugs and Pregnancy
Naturally there are some chrons medications that are best avoided during the pregnancy, but now through research and a history of use, others are considered safe.

What drugs are not safe to take during pregncncy?
Two immunosuppressive drugs that are often used by chrons patients: Methotrexate and thalidomide should not be used during pregnancy. Thalidomide is well known for causing limb defects as well as other major organ complications in an unborn child, whilst the use of Methotrexate should be discontinued at least three months before conception as it has been known to cause abortion and skeletal abnormalities.

What drugs have been deemed safe for use during pregnancy?
So far the research has shown drugs commonly used in the treatment of chrons appear to be safe to take during pregnancy, these include: infliximab (Remicade), azathioprine (Imuran, Azasan), adalimumab (Humira) and certolizumab (Cimzia)

A few other drugs that are often used in Chrons disease flare-ups are also safe for pregnant women to use, these include: sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), forms of mesalamine (Asacol, Pentasa, Rowasa) and corticosteroids (Prednisone).

The best advice is to work very closely with your doctor that you are seeing for Crohn's disease as well as your obstetrician and your baby's pediatrician and don't be afraid to ask questions. As it is important point to remember that the biggest factor influencing a healthy pregnancy is the state of the chrons disease activity, so a well planned pregnancy when your chrons is in remission has the greatest chance for the best outcome.

Inflammatory bowel disease should be controlled prior to pregnancy: ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease. (Women's Health).: An article from: Family Practice News

Children with Chrons Disease & Folic Acid Link

2009-02-21T22:49:00.001-08:00

It has been found that Children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), that includes children with chrons and ulcerative colitis have low levels of Folic Acid in their blood, this ads to the theory that people with chrons and ulcerative colitis are lacking in Folate (Folic Acid)

What is Folic Acid?
Folic acid which is also called Folate, Vitamin B9 or Folacin are the types of the water-soluble Vitamin B9. The names of Folate and Folic acid come from the Latin word folium which means leaf.

Why is Folic Acid important?
Vitamin B9 that is essential to numerous bodily functions. It is vitally important during periods of rapid cell division and growth, this includes childhood and when a person is pregnant. Both children and adults require folic acid to produce healthy red blood cells and prevent anemia.

Researchers from the University of California in San Francisco believe that IBD in children may be different from the IBD that affects adults. This discovery was made when they measured blood folate levels in 78 children, nearly half of whom had recently been diagnosed with IBD while the remainder were healthy controls. Folate levels were nearly 20 per cent higher in the IBD group, the researchers found, even though the controls were ingesting around 18 per cent more folate from their diet.

Folic Acid in Foods
Folate is found in leafy vegetables, so things like spinach, turnip greens, lettuces, dried beans and peas, fortified cereal products, sunflower seeds and certain other fruits and vegetables are rich sources of folate. Liver and liver products also contain high amounts of folate, as does baker's yeast. Some breakfast cereals (ready-to-eat and others) are fortified with 25% to 100% of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for folic acid.

Folic acid is added to grain products in many countries, and in these countries fortified products make up a significant source of folate.

Sources: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2009; 89: 545-50 & Wikipedia.

Can Digestive Advantage help Chrons & Colitis?

2009-01-04T10:27:00.000-08:00

Today I read about an over the counter drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that is supposed to help people with conditions including Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Chrons disease and colitis.

The drug known as Digestive Advantage™ Crohn's & Colitis Therapy mostly contains a patented probiotic called GanedenBC30 that is said to help the functioning of the digestive system. The specially isolated cultures are protected by a hardened layer of organic material that enables them to go through your acidic stomach environment and successfully arrive to your intestines, which is where they can have the most benefit.

I wonder how well these are going to help people with chrons disease, what I do know is that it won't be a miracle cure as the do say in the small print that "Digestive Advantage™ Crohn’s & Colitis Therapy is a Medical Food product that is intended for use by Crohn’s & colitis sufferers who are under the supervision of a physician. It is not a cure for Chrons or ulcerative colitis nor is it intended to replace any medications that were prescribed by a physician"

What ever the case, at the moment I think that it is only available in the US at a cost of about 55c per day, it could be worth speaking to your doctor about.

If anyone has tried them or knows any thing more I would love to get your feedback.

You can find more information on their website: Digestive Advantage™ Crohn’s & Colitis

Children with Chrons Disease Helped with Growth Hormone

2008-12-15T23:08:00.000-08:00

Kids with Chrons disease can experience stunted growth, which at this very important period of their lives can have huge implications. Now according to a US report, it may be possible that some shots with a growth hormone may help children with Chrons disease with a growth spurt as well as improve bone mineralisation and body composition.

Encouraging Results
For the duration of 1 year at the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Melvin B. Heyman and his and colleagues treated 10 Children with Chrons Disease all aged between 4 and 19 years old with daily shots of the growth hormone. In this small study, there were shown to be healthy gains in bone mineralization at the lumbar spine as well as the average percent of body fat decrease in the children, this would indicate an increase in lean body mass.

With the growth hormone, the average height of the children increased from 3.00cm per year at the outset to 8.32cm per year after the 1 year of treatment, which is a real significant increase.

More Research Needed
Before these results, previous trials using growth hormone treatment on children with Crohn's disease showed mixed results, with many of them conflicting, so whilst these latest results are very promising, there is still much work and research to be done before the growth hormone can be used to treat pediatric patients with Chrons disease who also have stunted growth.

SOURCE: The Journal of Pediatrics, November 2008.

USA: Chrons Disease Books

UK: Chrons Disease Books

Advances in Chrons Disease Surgeries

2008-11-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

This week, leading Chrons Disease experts at the York-Presbyterian Hospital, in the US have said that today people who suffer from chrons disease, the chronic inflammatory bowel condition are living longer healthier lives and this is mainly down to innovative new surgery.

There are an estimated half a million people in the USA alone who suffer from Chrons disease, which starts off inflammation along the gastrointestinal tract and is most often found in the lower bowel. Today there are certain drugs can help ease symptoms of chrons disease, but to date there is no cure for crohn's. There are often complications related to Crohn's disease and these often include fistulas which are abnormal, obstructive connections between tissues in the body, strictures which is basically the narrowing of the bowel, abscesses, perforations, haemorrhage and even cancers. Because of these complications chrons disease sufferers will often require some sort of surgery.

Dr Fabrizio Michelassi who is an author as well as a professor and chairman in the Department of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College he is also the surgeon in chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center said that out of five patients with chrons disease, four of them will need some kind of surgery during some point of their lives. The new,advanced and minimally invasive techniques however are sparing the patients precious bowel tissue and at the same time improving quality of life.

Dr. Sharon Stein who is the assistant professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and colorectal surgeon at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Centre said that "In the past, this was limited to complex, invasive surgeries that required the removal of whole sections of the affected bowel. But over the past two decades, advances in surgery have changed that paradigm,"

Innovations in Chrons Disease Surgery

Fistula Plugs:

For anyone who has had a fistula, and I will know they are often painful as well as being dangerous as they can cause the contents of your intestines to diverge from the anal canal. This can often progress to anal incontinence, abscesses and in the most serious cases systemic infection. There are now certain surgical procedures that can drain the fistula tract but for more difficult lesions there is a new new surgical anal plug which is made from grafted porcine tissue and is then placed over the fistula. This fistula plug then is the catalyst for the growth of fibrotic tissue in the area that will then close off the fistula passage. According to Dr Stein, recent studies have shown this method to be successful in up to half of Chrons patients.

Laparoscopic surgery:

Another new innovation in surgery for people with Chrons disease is known as Laparoscopic surgery which are minimally invasive techniques requiring only a small incision and leaves very little external scarring. Laparoscopic surgery can take longer to perform than conventional surgery techniques, but lead to shorter stays in hospital, which not only saves money, but because chrons disease patients often spend long periods in hospitals can be very important to them.

Strictureplasty:

The technique of Strictureplasty has completely changed bowel surgery as the technique alows the surgeon to leave the disease affected length of bowel in place but widen it, it is "much like letting out the seams on a pant-leg," explains Dr Michelassi, who is a world renowned pioneer in the technique of Strictureplasty. This saves bowel tissue while "restructuring" it, so that intestinal contents can safely pass through. before Strictureplasty, surgeons would have to cut out whole sections of bowel affected with Chrons disease, shortening the organ which leads to the limiting of the gastrointestinal tract.

(Source: New advances in surgical treatment of Crohn's disease. Practical Gastroenterology: November 2008)

USA:
Books on Crohn's Disease from Amazon.com

UK:
Books on Crohn's Disease from Amazon.co.uk

Perianal Fistulas and Chrons Disease

2008-09-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Many people who suffer from chrons, then often go on to get fistulas of some sort, including Perianal fistulas. So what exactly is a Fistula?

The medical definition is that a fistula is an abnormal tunnel that connect two body cavities like the rectum to the vagina or it can connect a body cavity to the skin, so the rectum to the skin.Ok, so we now know what a fistula is, so then what is a Perianal Fistula? Quite simply a Perianal fistula is a fistula that connects the perianal skin with the anus or the rectum.

How are fistulas formed?
When a abscess in your body does not heal, this the eventually breaks through the skin or into another body cavity as described before.

It has been found that fistulas are far more common in people with chrons disease than those with ulcerative colitis and it has been found that about a quarter of people with Crohn's disease go on to develop a fistula.Perianal fistulas with people who have chrons can cause scarring, faecal incontinence, and in about 10 to 18% of people even proctectomy (which is a surgical resection of the rectum. Also called rectectomy.)

The diagnostic and therapeutic options to those with perianal fistulas available were limited, but this has started to change recently over the last ten years or so and the options for the diagnosis and treatment of fistulizing Crohn's disease have changed allot and are still continuing to change and improve even though the exact way to treat them is still controversial.

Research may help painful Symptoms of Chrons Disease

2008-09-17T23:58:00.000-07:00

In the USA today, there are more than half a million people with Chrons disease and if you break it down, more than 100 thousand of these are children. As we know so far there is no cure, so until we find a cure for chrons disease, the main angle of attack is to reduce the symptoms. (Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes the intestinal lining to become inflamed, and this causing severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and bleeding.)

The good news is that it now seems that some researchers may just have found a way to help reduce the painful symptoms of chrons disease.

The video below tels of Taralyn Allen, who is 15 years old who has had chrons disease for the last four years. Apparently there are still people out there who do not know that chrons can affect children, this is according to Howard Baron, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist at Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas. "The parents will assume it's the flu and it goes on and on and on."

Taralyn said that she felt sick all day every day and when she was correctly diagnosed with chrons, she was treated like many of us with steroids, this helped to relieve a little of the pain, but caused her to put on a lot of weight, going from 70 pounds to 130 pounds in just a few months.

She now no longer takes steroids and is the first child in the world to take part in a study of a new drug marketed at Humira (adalimumab). This drug has already shown to work with adults with chrons disease.

Humira (adalimumab) is an antibody that fights against a chemical that starts the inflammatory cascade in your body. It prevents white blood cells from migrating to the lining of tissues, which causes the inflammation and the pain.

Humira (adalimumab)does have side effects: It decreases the immune system and children with Chrons disease could be at a slightly higher risk for lymphoma.

Happily for Taralyn the Humira has worked and now for her Chrons disease does not exist anymore

Humira is still undergoing research and children as young as five can enroll in the clinical trial. The youngest patient enrolled so far is 10-years-old.

Video of Taralyn and her fight against Chrons Disease

The Crohn's Diet, Colitis Diet and Superfoods

2008-09-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

Can Superfoods help cure Chrons disease?
Because Chrons disease affects the digestive system and certain types of food play a role in triggering the genes that cause this inflammatory bowel disease, a team of scientists in New Zealand are focusing their research on crones disease whilst looking to see if certain foods are linked to disease prevention in general. So for example they are looking for food that is linked to disease prevention, such as broccoli and colon cancer.

The research project consists of around 700 IBD and Chrons patients, who have all begun by listing the foods that their body cannot tolerate, or that cause them to have a flare up. They then compare the genetic differences in people who have chrons disease with their tolerances and in-tolerances of foods in their diet. The researches are also collecting details on the patients lifestyle as well as their symptoms.

Initial findings have shown that foods like Bananas, starchy vegetables, ginger and couscous have been pointed out as good foods for the Crohn's and Colitis diet, where as carbonated drinks, energy drinks, alcohol, coffee, food like hot curries, salami, grapefruit, cream, fruits that have small seeds and corn have generally shown to be bad foods for the Chrons diet.

Cabbage and the Colitis Diet: Their research has shown that certain chrons disease patients who have a certain gene find that cabbage causes a flare up where as other patients who do not contain the gene not only can eat cabbage in their diet, but have found that it actually is beneficial!

Generally The Good Chrons Diet contains things like:
Bananas
Couscous
Ginger
Starchy Vegetables

Generally The Bad Crohn's Diet contains things like:
Coffee
Alcohol
Energy Drinks
Carbonated Drinks
Hot Curries
Salami
Grapefruit
Cream
Fruit with small seeds

The New Zealand scientists are basically looking for two things in the Crohn's and Colitis diet: the gene "switch" that makes people prone to inflammation and a nutrient (or food) that turns it off the inflammation.
Ultimately it is hoped that this research will go on to other inflammatory illnesses like colitis and that they will be able to find other nutrients that turn off these harmful gene "switches". They are the fist to say that there is a long way to go, but it has already been shown that in Singapore, there has been an increase in western diseases as their diet changes and becomes more westernised. (In Singapore all babies are genotyped)

It is thought that, in the developed world, Chrons disease affects one in every 10,000 people, In New Zealand research has shown that they have an even higher proportion, with one in 600 people in the Canterbury area alone. Professor Lynn Ferguson of the University’s Nutrigenomics group says that "Chrons disease is on the rise, and it is important that we learn as much as possible about how diet affects symptoms and whether this is genetically linked."

Chrons Disease and Pregnancy

2008-08-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

I found the information on pregnancy and Chrons disease that was originally written by Rhonda Mann who is from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and hope that it may help anyone out there who has Chrons disease and is thinking of having children or who may already be pregnant with Chrons disease and looking for some advice.

A Healthy Mom
The first thing that is important to point out that with any pregnancy it is beast for the woman to be in good health so if you do have Chrons disease you are already at a disadvantage. But if you have Chrons disease and want children you can help by eating right and exercising but you must also bring your Chrons Disease under control.

Chronss Disease as well as Ulcerative Colitis effect the digestive tract and are known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There are about 1 million people in America alone who have IBD, which can cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. Both men and women are equally susceptible to IBD and the symptoms usually begin between the ages of 20 and 40, which can be particularly problematic for women who wish to have children and who have Chrons.

Because Chrons disease often affects women in their childbearing years, it is important for women to know when it is safe for them to get pregnant. This is according to Dr. Jacqueline Wolf who is a national (American) expert on IBD and pregnancy and who is also a physician in the Division of Gastroenterology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

According to the research on Crohn's disease and Pregnancy, if you have your Chrons disease under control at the moment of conception you are are less likely to have any complications during your pregnancy.

It was only about Twenty years ago, women with Chrons disease were being told not to have children now the view is different and most women with Chrons disease can have a safe pregnancy and delivery, but that is if you go into the pregnancy without the disease being active.

To achieve this, it requires using certain medications to keep IBD inactive before and during the pregnancy. Obviously you know as well as I do that this is not simple as some of the medications frequently used to treat IBD and Chrons disease are not approved for use during pregnancy and some may lead to birth defects. Unfortunately there is still a lot to learn about the safety of Chrons disease drugs during pregnancy ans especially breastfeeding but on the bright side, whilst there are still some unknowns with a few of the Chrons drug treatments, it has been found that most of the medications are safe in pregnancy.

As you probably know and I have found in the past that by coming off my medication results in me having a flare up and so it will probably not be possible to come off your Chrons disease medication during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Sometimes woman with Chrons need to make their own informed decision about what is best for themselves and their baby, but probably the best advice is if you are on any form of Chrons disease treatment, to remain on treatment - with the exception of methotrexate, which should never be used in pregnancy.

Most woman fears are whilst taking medication is what it would mean for their baby, when faced with the decision about continuing their Chrons disease treatment during pregnancy.

If you are planning to have a baby and you have Chrons disease, the best advice is to speak with your doctor and let them know of your plans and they will best be able to advise you based on your personal circumstances. But I feel that it is important to know that it is possible to have a baby if you have Chrons disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease should be controlled prior to pregnancy: ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease. (Women's Health).: An article from: Family Practice News

Chrons Disease Symptoms

2008-06-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

In many cases it is initially quite difficult to diagnose Chrons Disease as the symptoms can be quite varied and sometimes the symptoms of Chrons Disease can be confused with Ulcerative Colitis as is what happened in my case.

Chrons disease lasts a long time, sometimes for the rest of the affected person's life and is therefore refered to as a chronic condition. The term chronic refers to time, not to how serious a condition is.

One of the main pointers of Chrons disease is the flare ups of symptoms and then returning to periods of no symptoms at all, which is called remission. In most cases there is no real obvious reason what causes the Chrons disease symptoms to come back (which is called a relapse).

When you have Chrons disease symptoms, the disease is said to be active.

The main symptoms of crohn's disease include the ones listed below but please note are not the only ones:

Diarrhea which sometimes may contain blood, pus or mucus

No appetite

Loss of weight

A Fever

Painful and swollen stomach

Bleeding from the anus

Tears, ulcers or abscesses (pus-filled areas) around your anus

When the disease is active many people often experience other lesser chrons disease symptoms which include:

Ulcers in the mouth

Inflammation of the eyes

Rashes

Pain in your joints

Skin ulcers

Whilst not really a Chrons disease symptom, it is important to note that many people experience fertility problems and women have an increased risk of a miscarriage.

Chrons Disease and Breastfeeding Children

2008-05-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

I often read articles about breastfeeding babies and the benefits that it brings to both the child and the mother, but I found a post the other day that pointed out that breastfeeding your baby might mean that it has less chance of developing chrons disease in the future.

Ever since the begining of time, mothers have been feeding their newborn babies with breast milk, it is about as natural as it gets, so I always wondered why some people would not feed their babies with breast milk, I am not a mother so guess I cannot really judge, but to me it is obviouse that breastfeeding must have some sort of benefit to your child.

Not only does it provide a special bond between you and your child, but there are many medical benefits as well. Now it seems that if you breastfeed your child, it has less chance of developing chrons disease in the future.

Here are some interesting points that I have found on the web about the benefits of breastfeeding:

Breastfeeding protects mothers from breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis and obesity.

Babies who are breastfed one year often have higher IQ rates and are less likely to be victims of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

There are lower cases of respiratory illnesses such as asthma, ear infections, childhood cancers, gastrointestinal infections and diseases in breastfed babies.

Breastfed babies are less likely than formula fed babies of contracting colitis, meningitis, Chrons disease, necrotizing enterocolitis, eczema, certain types of heart disease and allergies amongst others

Breastfeeding promotes development of a babies jaw and facial muscles.

There is a reduced chance of childhood obesity in breastfed infants.

So if these facts are to be believed, breastfeeding is truly a beneficial choice for you and your baby.

Just a point, I have not found any study to either back up or rubbish this claim that breastfeeding lowers the chances of chrons disease, I just read it in an artice about breastfeeding and would love to hear from anyone who has any more information on the subject.

No Chrons disease benefits with Omega-3s

2008-04-12T03:31:00.000-07:00

There have been studies in the past that seemed to support the anti inflammatory potential of omega-3 fatty acids, but the most recent study seems to suggest that the oils are not effective for managing Chrons disease.

The Authors of the research said in the Journal of the American Medical Association that "Our results are important because the use of alternative medicines in general, and omega-3 free fatty acid formulations in particular, is widespread among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)"

People started to use omega-3 after the positive findings of some research conducted by Italian researchers in 1996 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Because of the most recent findings, the researchers said that "we do not endorse this practice (of using omega-3), since patients with Chrons disease who are at risk for relapse would be better served by taking medications of known efficacy".

Dr. Brian Feagan at The University of Western Ontario in London, Canada led the new international study on omega-3 and Chrons Disease that included two massive tests involving seven hundred and thirty eight Chrons patients in the US, Europe, Israel, and Canada.

The importance of this large scale test cannot be over estimated as smaller trials often overestimate the true effects, that why it is important to conduct large-scale, randomised, multi-location tests in order to confirm preliminary results.

Chrons disease, current affects about one in 400 people in the west, Crohn's disease is currently incurable so patients are mostly looking to control the inflammation, (known as flare ups), relieve symptoms and prolong the time spent when the disease is in remission. And because of the anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3 fatty acids, the researchers wanted to test their effects on for Chrons disease patients.

Main results and Details of the Omega-3 Study and Chrons

The research was undertaken as mentioned before in two large trials involving 363 and 375 patients using high doses of omega-3 free fatty acids in Chrons disease patients who were in remission. The people with chrons were randomly given either a placebo or a daily omega-3 supplement that lasted for a total of 58 weeks.

The omega-3 supplement provided a dose of four grams of omega-3 per day, which consisted of 50% to 60% eicosapentanonic acid (EPA) and 15% to 25% docosahexanoic acid (DHA). These doses were placed in a delayed release soft gelatin capsules.

The researchers found no significant differences in relapse rates between people in the omega-3 and placebo groups in either trial. In one of the trials, 31.6% of patients in the omega-3 group experienced a relapse within the 360 days, compared to 35.7% of people with chrons who were in the placebo group. The other trial shoed 47.8% of patients in the omega-3 group experienced a relapse within 360 days, compared to 48.8% of chrons patients who were in the in the placebo group.
So basically high doses of omega-3 free fatty acids did not reduce the rate of relapse in people with Chrons disease.

On the plus side there is a lot of research that supports the role of omega-3 fatty acids for health in hearts this was first discovered in the 1970s by a group of Danish researchers and this recent report seemed to back up those findings.

Book on Chrons Disease
Living with Crohn's Disease from Amazon (USA)

Living with Crohn's Disease from Amazon (UK)

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association
Volume 299, Number 14, Pages 1690-1697
"Omega-3 Free Fatty Acids for theMaintenance of Remission in Crohn Disease: The EPIC Randomized Controlled Trials"
Authors: B.G. Feagan, W.J. Sandborn, U. Mittmann, S. Bar-Meir, G. D'Haens, M. Bradette, A. Cohen, C. Dallaire, T.P. Ponich, J.W.D. McDonald, X. Hebuterne, P. Pare, P. Klvana, Y. Niv, S. Ardizzone, O. Alexeeva, A. Rostom, G. Kiudelis, J. Spleiss, D. Gilgen, M.K. Vandervoort, C.J. Wong, G.Y. Zou, A. Donner, P. Rutgeerts

Chrons Disease With Fistulas Breakthrough

2008-03-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

There is real hope for people who have fistulas because of their Chrons Disease as it was recently announced in France at the European Chrons and Colitis Organization (ECCO) annual meeting that HUMIRA (Adalimumab) is successful for the treatment of fistulas in people who have Crohn's disease.

So what is Chrons disease?

Chrons Disease is basically a gastrointestinal disorder where there is chronic inflammation of the walls of some part of the digestive tract. People affected with the disease suffer periods of flare-ups and then periods where they are in remission, this can continue through the whole life of the person.

Is Chrons Disease the same as ulcerative colitis?
The short answer is No, Chrons is considered medically as an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and it is similar to ulcerative colitis.

Fistulas and Chrons
In a recent study, it was suggested that almost half (43%) of Chrons disease patients will develop fistulas, which can be both painful and embarrassing.

What Are Fistulas?
Fistulas are basically tunnels that connect the chrons affected organs to surrounding tissues. These can include the bladder, vagina, or even the skin. Fistulas are very difficult to treat and can cause fecal discharge from abnormal locations, leading to not only embarrassment but also incontinence, infections, and other complications that will usually mean that the patient has to undergo surgery.

So how can HUMIRA (Adalimumab) help?
HUMIRA, or Adalimumab works by binding Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF-α), which is an important part of the immune response pathway

Because of this, Adalimumab is related to infliximab and other similar TNF-α blockers. The good news is that it has already been given the green light in a few countries for treatment of many diseases that are autoimmune related including Chrons Disease, psoriasis and some types of arthritis.

The study that took place showed some very posetive results and did point to the fact that the healing of fistulas was a lot better in people who had been given HUMIRA:

60% of chrons patients showed fistula healing after 1 year of treatment
76% of patients who showed the improvement and healing after 1 year continued the healing up to 2 years
71% of patients showed a significant 50% reduction in the number of draining fistulas after 2 years of treatmen with HUMIRA.

During thsese 2 years that people with chrons with fistulas had a higher quality of life because the disease was in remission.

All sounds like excellent news, I would love to hear from anyone who has any first hand exprience, if you have please leave a comment.

Chrons Disease and Aggressive Therapy

2008-02-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

A recent study has shown that if you treat chrons disease more aggressively, it resulted in a better outcome for patients. This study was performed by an international team of researchers.

The researcher's found that shortly after a person had been diagnosed with chrons disease, using more than 1 immunosuppressive drug was more effective in inducing remission than starting patients on corticosteroids.

One of the researcher's, Dr. Brian Feagan said that more studies needed to be conducted, but if you treat chrons patients earlier with more aggressive therapy it may be more effective than the traditional method. Doctors are always looking for ways to treat people who suffer from chrons disease without the use of steroids, so this could mean en exciting development.
Nobody really knows the true cause of chrons disease but basically what happens is there is an inflammation of the gut that often affects the small intestine, the swelling leads to pain and diarrhea. The current theory is that someone with crohn's disease has lost tolerance to normal bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. "The immune system is in a controlled inflammatory state. In Crohns disease, it is thought that the immune system is becoming unhappy with normal flora. White blood cells migrate into the tissue and release nasty things and cause damage." said Feagan, director of Robarts Clinical Trials at Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.

The current usual treatment for someone with crohns begins with corticosteroids. If the patient shows really bad side effects to the steroid treatment or if some sort of resistance to the drug begins to show the treatment usually moves on to a range of immunosuppressive drugs like Rheumatrex (methotrexate). If this treatment does not help, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-blockers are often then used.

Remicade (infliximab) with Imuran (azathioprine)
In the research 133 people with chrons disease in Belgium, Germany and Holland had either combined immunosuppression or the traditional method. 67 had the joint immunosuppression with three infusions of Remicade (infliximab) with Imuran (azathioprine) at the start and then again a few weeks later and then again 4 weeks after that. The other 66 patients were given steroids ad then given Imuran and Remicade.

Study Results
Some initial findings show that after 6 months sixty percent of the patients on the combined immunosuppression had their chrons disease in remission with no need for steroids or any form of surgery. From the second group only 35.9% were in remission.

Later on, after one year the figures were:
61.5% of the combined immunosuppression group were in remission compared to ony 42.2 % of patients following the more traditional method of chrons disease treatments.

More research is to follow, but if they come to the same conclusion, the conventional treatment for Chrons could change.

Down sides to Remicade (infliximab)
Remicade is administered intravenously so the person has to go to a medical center to receive treatment.

About Chrons Disease

2008-02-16T01:04:00.000-08:00

I found this excellent video about chrons disease which explains all the main details including:

Chrons Disease Definition
Chrons Disease Diagnosis
Chrons Disease Treatment

So if you get tired my writing, take a look at the video, it may answer a few of your questions:

Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and Chrons Disease

2008-02-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

I had not realised until recently that the Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready suffers from Chrons Disease. I only found out because I found this great video on YouTube of a guy who tells of his experience of the disease with a Perl Jam backing track, which he uses because of the fact Mike McCready has chrons Disease.

Anyway here is the video:

Apparently the Perl Jam guitarist announced that he had chrons in 2003 and the main reason he decided to go public was because of the strength of a teenager who had suffered through 6 surgeries and still had a long way to go to get to grips with chrons.

During his speech which he made on stage, Mike spoke of a particularly embarrassing incident to demonstrate how Chrons can come at any time. He said that whilst playing onstage at a gig, he would always make sure he was aware of where the bathrooms were "When Crohn's hits, I have to run, or it won't be pretty. It happened when we opened up for the Rolling Stones in 1997 in Oakland. It was our first show with them, Five minutes before we went on, I went up to Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder and I said, 'Look man, can we play 'Sometimes'? — which is a slower song that I'm not really on. I was in pain. I went running offstage looking for a bathroom, and there wasn't one. Then, all of a sudden, there was one. It was a honey bucket. I heard my band play that song from inside a portable toilet!"

I am sure may people who have chrons disease can relate to this story!

Chrons Disease Drug Tysabri has been approved

2008-02-13T00:18:00.000-08:00

There is some great news for people who suffer from Chrons Disease in the US as the Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of a drug called Tysabri (natalizumab).

Tysabri which is produced by Ireland based company Elan and Biogen Idec in the USA is to be used on chrons patients who have not responded to other forms of treatment, it was given the green light in 2006 to treat people who have elapsing multiple sclerosis and will now be given the all clear to be used with people suffering from Chrons Disese.

Possible side effects of the drug include the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy which is a viral infection that affects the brain. This viral infection could cause severe disability or even death. Another possible side effect are anaphylactic reactions and possible liver injury.

Because of these possible serious side effects people with chrons disease who are prescribed the drug Tysabri will also be added to a restricted distribution program called Crohn's Disease-Tysabri Outreach Unified Commitment to Health (CD-TOUCH).

This program will allow doctors to check the chrons disease patients that are using Tysabri after three months and will be asked to stop using the drug if there if there are no signs of improvement in that time.

Drug Details
Drug Name: TYSABRI (Brand Name Drug)
FDA Application No. (BLA) 125104
Active Ingredient: NATALIZUMAB
Company: BIOGEN IDEC
Original Approval or Tentative Approval Date: November 23, 2004
There are no Therapeutic Equivalents

Chrons Disease is an incurable disease that affects the bowel. Symptoms often include diarrhea, fever, rectal bleeding, malnutrition, narrowing of the intestines, cramping, and abdominal pain. Chrons disease affects more than one million people around the world and can also lead to abnormal connections that are called fistulas from the intestines to the skin or internal organs.

Chrons Disease basics

2008-01-28T23:36:00.000-08:00

Some Basic Chrons Disease facts: What it is and some of the main Chrons Disease Symptoms

Often when you are trying to research a medical condition like Crohn's Disease, you get bombarded with long words and medical terminology. In this article I will try and explain what chrons disease is in really basic terms. Hope it helps

So What is Chrons Disease?
Basicall Chrons disease is a medical condition that causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract which is sometimes known as the gut.

So what is the gut then?
When medical people talk of the gut, they mean your oesophagus (where your food first goes down after swallowing it!), your stomach, and your small and large intestines.

People cant be affected by Chrons disease in any part of the gut, but it seems to occur more often in the lower part of your small intestine, this part of your intestine is known as the ileum.

How do I know if I have Chrons Disease and what are the basic Chrons Disease symptoms?
The most common symptoms of chrons disease include, pain, which is often in your lower abdomen or stomach, ulcers and diarrhoea.

What can be done to help with the Chrons Disease Symptoms?
If you are diagnosed with Crohn's disease, you may be given medication that you will take daily that can help relieve your symptoms. Sometimes the medication will not work and you may have to have surgery to remove part of your gut, that has been affected with chrons disease.

So how common is Chrons Disease?
Chrons Disease is probably more common than you may have thought, about 1 person in 1,500 people have Chrons disease.

Chrons Disease can start at any age, but most often first shows up between the ages of 15 and 40. The disease also seems to affect slightly more women than men.

What is the Prognosis of Chrons Disease?
If you have Chrons disease, what is your outlook? This can be difficult to answer as it will depend largely what part of your gut has the disease and how bad a case of chrons disease you have. But if we work on an average case of Chrons, most people will experience some symptoms from time to time - this is called a flare up.

Most people who have chrons disease (about 80 %) will eventually have surgery at some time, probably to remove the diseased part of your gut.

Only in very rare cases where there is a complication, will Chrons Disease be life-threatening.

Chrons Disease Prognosis

2007-12-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

So you have been diagnosed with chrons disease, after the initial shock, many people want to know what the outlook is, or the prognosis of chrons disease?

Again as with many questions involving Chrons Disease, there is no straight answer and the outlook tends to be quite variable. It all depends on which part or parts of your gut have been affected with chrons, how frequent and how severe your flare-ups are.

The Stats on a Chrons Disease Prognosis
Around Eight out of every Ten people who have Chrons disease will eventually require some sort of surgery at some stage in their life. About 50% of people with Chrons disease surgery is required within the first 10 years from the emergence of the disease.

Why do most people with chrons disease need surgery?
Is seems that the most common reason is to relieve an abnormal contraction that has formed in your gut.

Some people with chrons disease require more than one operation in their lifetime and if your chrons disease developed as a young adult, the average is to have between 2 and 4 operations in your lifetime. The good news in all this glum is that you CAN expect to have a good quality of life for most of the time, and it is important not to forget that!

Stats on Chrons Disease Flare-ups
Around 15% of people who have crohns disease have frequent and / or severe flare-ups. Again this is not a fixed number as a few people with Chrons disease have just one or two flare-ups in their whole life and spend most of their lives with no symptoms of the disease. The most likely prognosis is that you fall somewhere in between and have flare-ups from now and again and can have long periods of time without any symptoms of Chrons Disease.

It is important to keep in mind that a severe flare-up is and can be life threatening and there are some people who die as a result of a serious complication like a perforated gut, so you should always seek professional medical advice if you suspect that you are having a Chrons disease flare up .

Three Quick Chrons Disease Facts

2007-12-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

As I don't have a lot of time today I am just going to pass on thre interesting facts on Chrons Disease that I have managed to dig up in my research:

First of the correct spelling is actually Crohn's Disease. The Cisease is named after Dr Crohn, who in the 1930's identified the disease.

You can get crohns disease at any age and it is still not fully understood why you get it although they do know that chrons disease is hereditary.

For every one thousand people living in the UK, about one person has Crohns disease

What are the Complications associated with Chrons Disease?

2007-12-04T22:36:00.000-08:00

Most complications associated with Chrons Disease end up with abdominal pain to different degrees. The obstruction of the bowl, narrowing and perforation, or ulcers, scarring, abscesses and inflammation, can all result in abdominal pain and sometimes nausea and vomiting.

Because of this, it sometimes means that the intestines cannot absorb enough nutrition from the food that you are eating and this can lead to deficiencies, diarrhea can lead to dehydration and rectal bleeding to anemia.

The narrowing of your intestines with Chrons Disease can be because of swelling and scar tissue which result in blockages. Ulcers can eat into the walls of the intestines and can affect the surrounding tissue of organs like the bladder, vagina or the abdominal cavity. This burrowing causes a tube-like tunnel which is called a fistula, if the fistula becomes infected it causes abscess and recurrent infections.

Sometimes Chrons Disease is also associated with inflammation of the joints, arthritis, skin problems and inflammation of the eyes or mouth.

What causes Chrons disease?

2007-11-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

Cause of Chrons Disease
Even though there is loads of research that is ongoing, the exact cause of Chrons disease is still unknown.

There are some researchers that suspect that infection by certain bacteria, probably strains of mycobacterium, may be the cause of Chrons disease. Unfortunately up to now, there has been no hard evidence that the disease is caused by infection.

The good news is that Chrons disease is not contagious, it cannot be passed on by blood or in the air. Even though your diet may affect the symptoms of your Chrons disease it is probably not anything to do with diet that caused you to get the disease.

ChronsDisease and the Immune System
In Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) the activation of the immune system in the intestines seems to have some significance. Your immune system is made up of immune cells and the proteins that these immune cells make. The function of these cells and their proteins is to protect the body against harmful viruses, bacteria, fungi and other foreign bodies. When they are activated it causes inflammation inside the tissues where this activation occurs. This is natural and this is important as part of the defense used by your immune system.

In people who have IBD, the immune system is seems to be activated even though there is no known invader and it is this continued activation which causes the chronic inflammation and ulceration. It seems that this condition and your chances of getting Chrons disease is passed on genetically from your parents. So if your parents have IBD, you are are more likely to develop Crohn's Disease.

Recent research has discovered that a gene called NOD2 has something to do with Chrons disease and it has been found that it is important in determining how the body reacts to some bacterias. The research also showed that people who have mutations of NOD2 are more likely to developing Chrons disease.

New help to distinguish between Chrons Disease and Ulcerative Colitis in Children

2007-11-05T22:40:00.000-08:00

Anti-glycan antibodies can help distinguish between Chrons disease and ulcerative colitis in children. This news was released at the United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW) where researchers looked at the diagnostic relevance of serological anti-glycan antibodies in 110 young people less than 18 years old who had inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and 630 people older than 18 years.

There has always been a problem in diagnosing people who either have chrons disease or ulcerative colitis as they are very similar and have many overlapping features, but the correct diagnosis is important for the correct form of treatment. Traditionally paediatric patients often have to endure invasive examination of combined upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, and terminal ileoscopy with biopsies and atthe end of this the exact disease (crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis) in up to 30% of patients is still unknown and they are defined as "indeterminate colitis" or unclassified inflammatory bowel disease.

In adult patients, anti-glycan antibodies IBDX has been found to help distinguish between Chrons disease and ulcerative colitis, so it is highly likely that IBDX markers may also help in the diagnosis of paediatric IBD patients. The hope is that this will reduce the use of invasive examination in young children.

During the tests, the diagnosis of IBD for each person was based upon standard endoscopic, histologic, and radiographic criteria and serological analysis of antibodies against mannan epitope of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (gASCA), laminaribioside (ALCA), chitobioside (ACCA), and mannobioside (AMCA) were performed using IBDX ELISA panel.

The Results
In the results of the tests, children with IBD, who tested positive for at least one of the markers could be identified as Chrons disease patients with a sensitivity of 65% and specificity of 84%; the positive and negative predictive values were 91% and 50%, respectively. Children who tested positive for 2 or more markers could be identified as Chrons disease with higher specificity (94%) but lower sensitivity (22%).

There were also no significant differences in the results between children and adults with IBD.

The Conclusion
So in conclusion these tests show for the first time that similar to adults, anti-glycan antibodies can distinguish between chrons disease and ulcerative colitis in children with IBD.

Children with Chrons disease often picky eaters

2007-11-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

In a new study that was looking into food and the eating patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which is a condition that includes Chrons disease and ulcerative colitis, it was found that children with IBD and crohn's disease are more likely than other children to show signs of picky eating.

All the children in the study had either Chrons disease or ulcerative colitis and "Picky" eating was defined as not eating during meal time, trying to negotiate with their parents what they will or won't eat and completely refusing to eat certain foods.

Dr. Laura Mackner the author of the study from the Columbus Children's Research Institute and Ohio State University told said the results found that children with chrons disease or ulcerative colitis have a significantly more eating behavioral problems and these also occur more often than in healthy children. She also said that children with IBD often feel pains in their abdomen, which may make them not want to eat food. "If your stomach's hurting, you may not feel like eating," she said.

Chrons Disease and a Childs Diet
Often children who have a form of IBD, weather it be Chrons disease or ulcerative colitis are often smaller than other children their own age this often makes their parents try to force them to eat more, often creating tension and a power struggle over eating. Dr. Laura Mackner said that as a parent who has a child who's eating habits start to interfere with their health you should consider taking your child to a psychologist who has experience in eating behaviors.

Nutrition education and behavior management has helped children overcome eating problems in other diseases, and similar programs might also work for children with chrons disease or ulcerative colitis.

The study looked into the eating behaviors of 82 children all between the ages of 11 and 17. 50 of the children had inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the rest were healthy.

They also found that girls with chrons disease or ulcerative colitis and who were unhappy with their bodies showed a higher risk of eating problems. How much they weighed was not important. But with boys who had crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis weight was important, and those who weighed less than their peers were more likely to develop eating problems than normal weight boys with IBD.

These results of this study were presented during the recent meeting of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition in Montreal.

Books on Children and Chrons Disease

Books for sale in the USA:

Amazon.com Widgets

Books for sale in the UK:

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

New diet to help with Chrons Disease and ulcerative colitis.

2007-10-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

Dr Richard Gearry who is a senior lecturer at Otago Universitys Christchurch School of Medicine in New Zealand, has been working on a new low carbohydrate diet that could help people who suffer with Chrons disease and those with ulcerative colitis, both of which are forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The low carbohydrate diet meant cutting back on wheat, onions, milk, ice cream, apples, honey and stone fruits. Legumes were also found to cause abdominal pain and diarrhoea. This study was carried out using 100 people from the at Box Hill Hospital in Victoria in Australia, who had a form of IBD (either crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis)

What happens sometimes is that some of the sugars and carbohydrates are not absorbed into the bowl as they pass though and the get into the colon where they can ferment and produce gas and thus pain. In the study the patients were put onto the diet for six to eight weeks. An important factor with this diet is that the taste is not too bad and it is easy to follow and so many people are able able to go through with it.

The findings from this study were presented to the Australian Gastroenterology Week conference in Perth and it is hope that it will help people who suffer with chrons disease and ulcerative colitis but other factors like exercise and stress may also be important.

Chrons Disease expert to talk to patients in the UK

2007-10-19T02:24:00.000-07:00

One of the top experts in chrons disease is to hold an open meeting in London's East End.

National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease will hold the chrons disease meeting, which is scheduled for October 20 and is aimed at people who have crohn's disease and their families and the speaker, Dr Nilukshi Wijesurlya from the Royal London Hospital will talk about what happens to your biopsies and operation specimens

The meeting starts at 2pm at the Wingate Institute in Ashfield Street, Whitechapel, behind the hospital, very close to the Whitechapel Underground station.

There are about 150,000 people with Colitis and Chrons disease in the UK.

Chrons Disease Books and DVD's

2007-10-16T02:54:00.000-07:00

Apart from loads of research on the internet, and talking to people who also have chrons disease, one of the best ways I have found in gathering information on Chrons Disease is through books.

The Chrons disease DVD's for sale (see below) are interesting and I must confess I haven't seen them yet, although I have ordered them. I would love to have any comments back from anyone who has watched them.

If you have read any really good books that have helped you with your chrons disease symptoms, please leave a comment and I will add it to the slide show below and hopefully others can benefit from your experience.

These books and DVD's on Chrons Disease are available from Amazon.com in the US

Amazon.com Widgets

Chrons Disease Weight Gain with Infliximab

2007-10-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

In a study at the University of North Carolina people treated with infliximab who have chrons disease experience weight gain which so far can not be explained.

Some chrons disease patients put on as much as 75 pounds. This is far more than any weight gain that had been witnessed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and treated with infliximab.

Cristal Brown, a clinical research fellow at the University said that chrons disease patients were often malnourished and that this could help if the fight against crohn's disease, the difficult question to ask is that what if they were to push chrons disease sufferers into obesity and all the associated problems that come with that?

Chrons disease patients gained almost five times as much weight as patients with arthritis (4.97 kg versus 1.1 kg) and some Crohn's patients gained as much as 20 to 30 kg. There was no difference in weight gain between patients with luminal versus fistulous disease or by steroid use, baseline body mass index, smoking status, or chrons disease activity. These findings were based on the records on 92 people with Chrons disease and 51 rheumatoid arthritis patients. All of whom were at least 18 years old and who had received three or more infusions of infliximab.

Many Chrons disease patients would probably benefit from a small weight gain as the disease often led to some degree of undernourishment, but there is a need for a larger study to determine the cause of this weight gain and the role of leptin in the weight gain.

Stress and Chrons Disease

2007-10-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

Many people often ask if stress can make the symptoms of Chrons disease worse?

To start off with, there is no hard evidence that stress can cause chrons disease in the fist place. It is true to say though that people who suffer with chrons disease do often experience the increased stress in their lives, mainly due to having to cope with a chronic illness.

There are also reports that people with Crohn’s disease have flare ups more often when they are going through a particularly stressful situation in their lives. The best advice if you feel that you feel that is a connection between your stress level and a worsening of your chrons disease symptoms, is to use relaxation techniques like slow breathing and possibly even meditation. Also as always, make sure you eat well, and correctly and get enough sleep.

Some books on chrons disease that I have found useful:

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

Chrons Disease and Smoking

2007-10-10T02:17:00.000-07:00

A study that was published in May 2007 in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, has shown a link between smoking and Chrons Disease.

The research seems to show that smoking may determine which part of your intestinal tract is affected in people who have Chrons disease. This is very important as where the chrons disease is situated often determines if the patient will need surgical treatment or not.

The research showed that people with chrons disease and who smoke, the crohn's disease seems to appear more often in the small intestine and not the colon. Chrons disease located in the small intestine is often more penetrating causing more damage and thus has to be treated by surgery more often. This research does ask a few important questions like why does smoking effect the different parts of your intestine in different ways.

There is a theory that the physical differences in small and large bowel may explain the differences in location of chrons disease in smokers. Whatever the case this seems to suggest that more research needs to be done on the effects of smoking and Chrons Disease.

Immune deficiency the likely cause of Ulcerative Colitis

2007-10-10T01:29:00.000-07:00

Experiments being carried out on mice in the US at the Harvard School of Public Health have identified an immune deficiency as the most likely cause of ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis is a severe inflammatory disease of the colon and is similar to Chrons Disease. For the differences between Chrons Disease and Ulcerative colitis, take a look at my post on Is Chrons disease different to ulcerative colitis?

The research also showed that once mice had the disease, it could then be passed from mother to their offspring and even between adult animals. They also linked ulcerative colitis in mice to a deficiency of a molecule in the immune system, which would normally prevent harmful bacteria in the large intestine from breaking the bowel's protective lining and thus allow the damaging inflammation. A shortage of a protein called T-bet which usually regulates the harmful bacteria. This then allows the bacterial attack on the intestinal wall. This then causes the inflammation we know as ulcerative colitis that's identified by the open sores throughout the colon.

The details of this study is posted online in the journal Cell. www.cell.com

It is hoped that better understanding of Ulcerative Colitis will also lead to a better understanding of Chrons Disease and one day a possible cure.

Chrons disease treated with cancer drugs

2007-10-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

US researches have said that treatment with new cancer drugs could help regulate body's immune system and thus help fight Chrons disease. The new cancer drugs, known as histone deacetylases inhibitors, or HDACs might work very well at blocking overactive immune systems in people with chrons disease and other autoimmune diseases.

The Chrons disease treatment would improve the immune system’s ability to regulate itself, according to Wayne Hancock of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In one study that has already been conducted on mice, the drug helped reverse and even prevent inflammatory bowel disease. This drug also prevented the rejection of heart transplants in other mice.

So far, the drug has mostly been used in studying cancer, but that could change and more tests could soon be done for diseases like Chrons disease.

Perianal Fistulas in Chrons Disease

2007-10-04T03:03:00.000-07:00

What is a Fistulas?
Fistulas are pretty common is people who have Chrons disease, so what are they? Well basically they are abnormal connections or passageways between organs or vessels that should not normally connect to each other.

What Are Perianal Fistulas?
A perianal fistula is an abnormal connections (fistula) between the anus and rectum with another organ or vessel such as the skin or the vagina. This can be a very debilitating condition, and can lead to a big drop in the quality of life for anyone who has Perianal fistuals and Chrons disease as they can cause anal incontinence and / or infections.

According to research about 12 percent of people with chrons disease have Perianal fistulas, this is a huge amount as there are said to be at least half a million people with Crohn's disease in the US alone.

How are Fistulas treated?
Current treatments rely mainly upon surgery, which unfortunatly has a pretty poor success rate and is obviously very invasive. Anti TNF-alpha, is also used which only has a sucess rate (complete absence of fistulae) of only 36%.
So there is a huge need for another more effective and less invasive treatment for people who have chrons disease and fistulas.

Help with Fistulas on the way?
Possibly! A product with the catchy tilte of Cx401, is in development and is to be used for the treatment of perianal fistulas common in people with Chrons disease.

What is Cx401?

Cx401 uses stem-cells not derived from embryo's to treat perianal fistulas in Chrons and also non Chrons Disease patients. There has already been a Phase 2 clinical trial which has shown the effectiveness and the safety of Cx401. The Patent application has been submitted, and fingers crossed for all people with Chrons Disease who have perianal fistulas, if it is granted it could provide protection until the year 2025!

Chrons Disease and Pregnancy

2007-10-02T01:36:00.000-07:00

A few people have asked me to do a little research on the effects of having Chrons disease whilst pregnant, crohn's disease often affects women of childbearing age so it is a common problem. Here are my findings:

Risk of Preterm Birth
Recent studies have shown that having active chrons disease during your pregnancy raises the risk of having a preterm birth. I guess by "active" they mean that you are having a flare up? This risk was shown to be three times higher in women with active chrons disease.

This research was carried out at the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark by Dr. Bente Norgard and colleagues. They examined the impact of chrons disease in 71 women with low to moderately high active chrons disease during their pregnancy and another 86 women with inactive Chrons disease during pregnancy (I guess this means remission?).

Good news
The good news is that the women with the active chrons disease during their pregnancy, were shown the risks of giving birth to a child of low birth weight and congenital abnormalities were not increased, compared to the women with inactive chrons disease.

SOURCE: American Journal of Gastroenterology, September 2007.

Chrons Disease Flare Up's

2007-10-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

So what is a Flare-up in Chrons Disease?
Chrons disease is both a chronic and relapsing condition. The Chronic part means that it is ongoing and Relapsing means that occasionally your symptoms will flare-up (relapse). During the time that you have no or only a few symptoms, chrons disease is said to be in remission. The frequency of flare-ups and the amount of time chrons is in remission, varies from person to person. Often the first flare up is the worst, so atleast ther is some good news!

Tips on getting through a flare up
Flare ups can make you generally very ill especially in severe cases and should not be taken lightly and I would highly recommend that you go to a hospital or at least see your doctor.

If you can't get to either for some reason (If like someone I know was working in a remote location). The first thing you need to do stop what you are doing and get into a bed. In order to recover, your body needs rest, and by that it must be total rest. Dont do the washing, clean the kitchen or anything else. Obviously to do this you will need the total help of your friends or family.

You also need to go onto a clear liquid diet again you have to be strict with this one. Your stomach needs the rest in order to recover from the flare-up and go back into remission.

So what is a clear liquid diet?
Non-carbonated drinks. Carbonated drinks agrivate the intestines. It is VERY important to keep your body hydrated at all times so drink plenty of water, ideally you should sip water all through the day. At least once and preferably twice a day you should drink an energy drinklike Gatorade or Propel as these will help your body replenish electrolytes. Soup Broth, Jelly (Jell-O) and Popsicles (lollies). Dont eat pudding or ice cream.

After you are in bed, resting and fully hydrated you need to get someone to get you help from a doctor as you will need antibiotics and other medication. Chrons disease can be difficult to live with and manage and because you have an autoimmune disease, your life does sometimes have to revolve around the disease but you can help to try and maintain a healthy body and stomach by eating correctly, keep a positive mental attitude and keep chrons disease in remission.

Chrons disease in children

2007-09-28T04:44:00.000-07:00

In recent times, it has become clear that Chrons disease affects large numbers of children, this is also true for cases of ulcerative colitis. Most diagnosed cases of Crohn's disease are in children and it is not uncommon to see examples of chrons in children as young a 7. It is also thought that about 20% of all cases of Chrons disease affects children under the age of 15.

Nutritional deficiency can be a serious problem for children with Chrons disease and can lead to stunted growth and the childs doctor may recommend nutritional supplements, this is especially true for children whose growth has already been stunted or slowed.

Chrons disease shows no bias towards boys orgirls are equally affected. Children who are born into a family with a history of Chrons disease are far more likely to develop chrons and possibly at an early age.

Apart from the physical difficulties faced by children with chrons disease, tt is also important to remember that children with chrons disease will have to face self image issues at an important time in their development. Chrons will change their routines and may separate them from normal child activities. Therefore, these children need a strong support base from family, friends, and doctors to help them with their social, as well as their physical, growth.

UK: Get Managing Your Child's Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis from Amazon.co.uk

USA, Australia and Canada: Get Managing Your Child's Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis from
abebooks.com

Is Chrons disease different to ulcerative colitis?

2007-09-27T02:18:00.000-07:00

In one word, yes. Chrons disease is different to ulcerative colitis although they are quite similar and a incorrect diagnosis can often be given.

In what ways is Chrons Disease different to ulcerative colitis?

Crohn's disease usually causes inflammation in your rectum, colon, small intestine and sometines even in your stomach, mouth and esophagus.

Ulcerative colitis causes an inflammation only in the colon (which is called the colitis) and or the rectum.

The inflammation in Chrons disease is also different from ulcerative colitis because except in the very worst examples, the inflammation of ulcerative colitis only seems to affect the superficial layers of the inner lining of the bowel.

The inflammation of Chrons disease tends to be concentrated in some areas more than others and affects layers of the bowel that are deeper than the superficial inner layers. Therefore, the affected areas of the bowel in Chrons disease often has deeper ulcers with normal lining between these ulcers.

Find books on Chrons Disease in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada on Abebooks.com

Chrons Disease sufferers relief as new drug could help

2007-09-25T01:32:00.000-07:00

A drug called Naltrexone that has been used to treat people who abuse drugs and alcohol could also be helping people with Chrons Disease, research has shown.

In a small study, conducted by Doctors in the USA found that some peoples symptoms of Chrons Disease (crohn,s disease) went into remission when they took the drug (Naltrexone).

Naltrexone is an opioid or narcotic antagonist and what it does is it blocks narcotics. The drug has approval from the FDA to ease drug and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, but could also be used to help people with Chrons disease.

Dr. Smith who was working on the study said "We don't understand the mechanism of how it works in Chrons disease, but there are opioid proteins on inflammatory cells, so by using Naltrexone it does reverse the inflammation and it also causes healing of the ulcers in the intestine"

As mentioned before the study was only a small one, with the patients taking one low-dose pill at bedtime and showed minimal side effects. There was about About 89 percent of patients showed some sort of improvement with Naltrexone and 67 percent had total remission of their symptoms. With these positive findings, there are now larger studies taking place, good news for people suffering with Chrons Disease.

Find books on Chrons Disease in the USA, Australia and Canada on Abebooks.com

Chrons Disease - What to expect

2007-09-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

When you are first diagnosed with Chrons disease the prospect can be very frightening, especially as there are so many unknowns. Even the doctors cannot be totally sure! So what can you expect? Well here are a few of the facts:

People with Chrons disease often go through periods of improvement which are then followed by deterioration and increased symptoms again sometimes these periods of remission can go on for years. If you have chrons, you have an increased risk of small bowel or colorectal carcinoma.

Complications associated with Chrons Disease

* You can get fistulas in the following areas:
o Bladder
o Vagina
o Skin
* Bowel obstructions
* Abscess
* Nutritional deficiencies (commonly vitamin B12 deficiency)
* Complications of corticosteroid therapy
* Erythema nodosum
* Pyoderma gangrenosum
* Inflammation of the joints
* Lesions in the eye
* Impaired growth and sexual development in children

Obviously when you reading this list can be very frightening and I don't think anyone has had ALL these complications with Chrons. I feel that it is important to know the facts about Chrons, but it is also important to know that there is also a whole life to live EVEN if you have Chrons Disease.

Find books on Chrons Disease on Abebooks.com

Chrons Disease Treatments

2007-09-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

If you have Chrons disease you may be prescribed medications like 5-aminosalicylate to control the inflammatory process.

If this treatment is not effective or if the case is very severe, you may require corticosteroids and immunomodulators such as azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine.

If you have any fistulas or abscesses you may be given antibiotics to fight against it. Infliximab which is an antibody to an immune chemical called TNF-alpha, which promotes inflammation. This treatment can work for people with fistulous disease.

If medical treatment does not work, you may need surgery where your segment of your bowel which has Chrons disease will be removed. Unfortunately though, unlike ulcerative colitis the removal of a diseased portion of the intestine does not cure Chrons disease.

There has been no concrete evidence that a specific diet has been shown to improve or worsen Crohn's disease. But as with everyone and probably more so with people suffering with Chrons disease, an adequate intake of calories, vitamins, and protein is important. The foods that make your diarrhoea worse should be avoided and specific food problems may vary from person to person.

Find books on Chrons Disease in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada on Abebooks.com

Chrons Disease Symptoms

2007-09-21T02:10:00.000-07:00

Diagnosing Chrons Disease is often very difficult, as the disease canoccur at any age, it does seem though that are the times of the highest risk are adolescence and early adulthood. As there is thought to be a genetic link to Chrons disease, the only known risks seem to be a family history of Chrons disease, people who have Jewish ancestry, and smoking also seems to increase the risk of Chrons.

Chrons disease is fairly common with about 7 people in every 100,000 developing the disease.

These are some of the Symptoms of Chrons Disease?

* Tenesmus (pain with passing stool)
* Fever
* Diarrhea
* Loss of appetite
* Unintentional weight loss
* Abdominal mass
* Abdominal sounds (gurgling or splashing sound heard over the intestine)
* Fatigue and tiredness
* Gastrointestinal bleeding
* Stools that are Foul-smelling
* Pain in your Abdomen

There are also some other symptoms that have shown to be associated with Chrons disease:

* Blood in your stools
* Pain in your joints
* Anal Incontinence
* Swollen gums
* Constipation
* Abdominal fullness and gas

Find books on Chrons Disease in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada on Abebooks.com

Facts and Causes of Chrons Disease

2007-09-21T01:22:00.000-07:00

Today I am going to go over more of the facts, causes and symptoms of Chrons Disease.

So what is Chrons Disease?
Chrons disease is a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract but most commonly occurs in the ileum, this is the area where the large and small intestines meet.

What other names are there for Chrons Disease?
Firstly the correct spelling is Crohn's Disease, I use Chrons every time im not really thinking aboput it, and so do many other people. Other names for chrons are: Inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, Regional enteritis, Ileitis and Granulomatous ileocolitis. It is similat to ulcerative colitis but definitly not the same.

How about the causes of Chrons disease?
Fistly Chrons is an autoimmune disease, what does this mean? This is when the immune system attacks your body's own cells. In the Autoimmune disorder in Chrons disease, these 'bad' immune cells attack the gastrointestinal system (your stomach). Unfortunatly the actual cause of this is still not known, but there seems to be a link to genetics.

In Chrons disease this often happens where the end of the small intestine joins the large intestine, the ileum. But it can also affect any other part of your digestive system. Because of this attack by your immune system, the wall in your intestines thickens and deep ulcers often occur. In addition to your digestive system chrons can also affect other organs in your body and may cause, Skin rash, Fistulas which are abnormal connections between bowel and adjacent organs or skin, Liver inflammation, arthritis, your eyes can become inflamed, kidney stones and deep vein thrombosis.

About Chrons Disease

2007-09-20T06:09:00.001-07:00

I have had a few queries from people asking what is Chrons Disease? (correctly spelt Crohn's disease)

Chrons disease is a chronic and debilitating inflammatory disease of the
gastrointestinal tract. The onset of Chrons disease often occurs between the ages of 18-25, but can begin much later in life aswell.

As Chrons disease is a chronic ailment, people go through unpredictable periods in which the disease flares and causes symptoms. These episodes are followed by times
of remission in these periods the symptoms disappear or decrease and good health
returns.

Canada has one of the highest incidence and prevalence of Chrons disease in the world and chrons disease is much more common in developed nations.

The cause of Chrons disease is not really known but it is believed to be an autoimmune disease that has links to genetics. The condition occurs when the immune system contributes to damage of the gastrointestinal tract by causing inflammation.

There is no known medical or surgical cure for Chrons disease, unlike the other major type of IBD, ulcerative colitis.

Many people live with Chrons disease for many years and don't realise it. The usual onset of chrons disease is between 15 and 30 years of age, with no difference in numbers or chances of getting the disease between men and women.

Chrons disease, can cause a variety of systemic symptoms. Growth failure is common in children with Chrons disease and many children are first diagnosed with Chrons disease based on inability to maintain growth. Fever may also be present

Older people who have Chrons disease may manifest as weight loss. This is usually related to decreased food intake, since individuals with intestinal symptoms from Chrons disease often feel better when they do not eat and might lose their appetite.

Find books on Chrons Disease in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada on Abebooks.com

Chrons Disease - Books About

2007-09-18T22:58:00.000-07:00

I found that books about Chron's Disease a great help to me when I was first diagnosed, some really helped and some left me with more questions than answers! That is why I thought it's would be a good Idea to create a post about some of the books that are available and then possibly in the future write a sort of Chrons Disease Book review :-)

Ok, just so I dont have to type it 100 times all the links in this post will open a new window!

Also just to let you know I will try and find links to the books for both UK and US book sites, if any of you are from any other country and know where you can find them online please let me know and I will add them. I have also where possible linked to sites that offer 2nd hand books as this is greener (save the trees!!) and cheaper too :-)

The Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Fact Book
Taken from the back cover: "Crohn's disease nearly took my life and dream of running in the Olympics. This book is helping me control my disease and stay in training." --Rene Felton, Track and Field National Record Holder"

"This text gave me a better insight into my illness. I have found that knowing what to expect makes coping with the disease easier." --Rolf Benirschke, Placekicker, San Diego Chargers

Where you can buy The Chron's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Fact Book:
UK: Amazon.co.uk New £10.99
UK: AbeBooks.co.uk Used: £1.00

USA: AbeBooks.com Used: $1.00!!

Australia: AbeBooks New A$27.73

Canada: AbeBooks Used C$10.67

France and Germany: The Chron's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Fact Book is also available from any of the AbeBooks links above.

Chrons disease patients in Australia get help

2007-09-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all, just a short post on some good news for those people in Australia with Chrons disease, an inflammatory bowel condition (IBD):

You will soon be able to access government subsidised treatments \o/

From October 2007 the medication Remicade (infliximab) will be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

The Australian Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott said Chrons disease has a profound impact on the professional, family and social life of sufferers.

Symptoms include fever, anorexia, fatigue and joint pain. (I wonder if they mean symptoms of the drug? Because I had very different symptons to this when I was first diagnosed with chrons disease!?)

"Those with active Chrons disease experience chronic abdominal pain, diarrhoea and bowel movements containing blood," Mr Abbott said in a statement. (ok, I now see! thats more like it!)

An estimates 2,000 people are expected to commence Remicade for the treatment of Crohn's disease in the first year of its listing.

The inclusion of Remicade to chrons disease sufferers to the PBS is estimated to cost $53.9 million over four years. (That is Australian Dollars)

Find books about living with Chrons disease: (in no particular order!)

USA: Abebooks.com - New and second hand books in the USA
Canada: AbeBooks - Canadian sellers of books on Chrons Disease
Ireland: AbeBooks - Chrons Books for sale in Ireland
Australia: AbeBooks - yip, chrons books in Aus!
UK: AbeBooks.co.uk - Books on Chrons disease in the UK

Chrons disease: living life to the full

2007-09-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

It sometimes helps when you feel that everything is stacked up against you to realise that there are many people who have chrons disease and not only that they are participating in very physical activities.

An example that I only recently found out was David Garrard, a quarter back for the Jacksonville Jaguars, has Chrons disease.

There are days when I don't feel that I can even get out of bed, and recently I was invited on a camping weekend with friends. I was worried that it would be a problem but when you realise that some people are doing things that even people without chrons disease would find difficult, it can give you that little extra push that you need. I'd like to report that I did go on that camping trip and had an excellent time!

You can live your life to the full with Chrons Disease!

Chrons Disease: Better to get it in 2007 than 1987

2007-09-14T03:32:00.001-07:00

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.

Biblical diet helps beat Chrons Disease

2007-09-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

A man says by following ancient scriptures it helped him cure serious Chrons Disease.

Jordan Rubin believes that of the thousands of diet books published every year, the oldest is the best. The author who lives in Florida says that by eating "whole, living and nutrient-rich foods" described in the Bible, he beat Chrons disease.

The question must be asked, has Rubin rediscovered a secret overlooked by modern Western medicine? Or is he just using conventional wisdom by staying away from pork, red meat and eating natural foods

About 10 years ago, Rubin was told by doctors that his chrons disease was incurable. But he said that he successfully battled his disease after studying the Bible's "4,000-year-old health plan." He has used those ideas to found Garden of Life Inc., a health compan.

On Sept. 13, he will be giving a lecture titled titled "God Wants You to Be Healthy," at Harbor Light Church, 4760 Thornton Ave., Fremont. For more information, call 510-713-1140 and you can buy tickets online, visit http://www.KFAX.com.

You can also buy his book "The Maker's Diet" online:

USA
Abebooks.com - The Makers Diet

UK
Amazon.co.uk - The makers Diet

This is all the information I could find but it will be interesting to see how this news pans out in the future and if it does indeed help Chrons disease sufferers

Chrons Disease problems caused by Additives?

2007-09-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

Some researchers in Melbourne have found that infant milk formula containing added fruit sugars could be causing gut disorders like Chrons disease, irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis in children.

Some of the new milk formula's for children, including Nutricia and Aptamil contain prebiotics such as fructose which are supposed to improve the digestion could be doing more harm that good, especially for children who already have a tendency towards diseases like Chrons disease.

Prof Peter Gibson who is a Gastroenterology expert is concerned about the trend towards adding rebiotics to infant formula. "Excessive intake of sugars that escape digestion and absorption in the small intestine contribute to susceptibility and symptom generation inChrons disease, irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis," he said.

The excessive intake of these sugars is common in the Western diet (This could be one of the reasons why Chrons disease is so uncommon in places like Africa?)

What is more is that the people with Chrons disease or IBS who take these foods out of their diet seem to get allot better.
His team has measured the prebiotic contents of food in the Australian diet in order to generate a nutritional database.

The study found more than half of the 52 patients with Chrons disease who took out prebiotics from their food improved their symptoms. So it seems that prebiotics which provide good bacteria to maintain good digestive health but are likely to make Chrons disease and IBS symptoms worse.

Chrons Disease link to Farm Animals?

2007-09-09T02:57:00.000-07:00

My First post today and I just want to start off stating that I know Chrons Disease Should be spelt Crohns Disease! I also know that many people like me spelt it wrong when first diagnosed and so are probably not finding all the information on Chrons disease / Crohn's Disease! So please forgive me :-)

Right on to the first Chron's Disease news post:

Early exposure to farm animals lowers IBD (Chrons Disease or ulcerative colitis) risk

A study has been done that seems to suggest that if you are regularly exposed to farm animals as a child or infant you are less likely than others to develop Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis in childhood. This is according to the findings of a German study published in the journal Pediatrics.

There are about 12,000 children and adolescents in Germany who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to Dr. Katja Radon and colleagues at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich. With the recent increase in Crohn's disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) especially in industrialized countries like the UK, Germany and the USA, its pronounced geographical variation, suggests that environmental factors contribute this condition.

The researchers examined the association between contact with farm animals in infancy and the development of Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis in childhood. Data were analyzed for 748 IBD cases (444 with Crohn's disease and 304 with ulcerative colitis) and 1,481 healthy "control" children.

The children with IBD were more likely than the control children to live in urban areas. Regular contact with farm animals during the first year of life was inversely associated with IBD, the investigators report.

Specifically, the children with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis were about 50 percent less likely to have regular contact with farm animals in infancy compared with the healthy children.

"The results of this study indicate that farm animal contact during infancy, one of the major factors protecting individuals against childhood allergies, might also decrease the risk of juvenile IBD, (Chrons Disease or ulcerative colitis)" Radon's team concludes. The findings also support the hypothesis that allergic diseases and IBD might have similar paths of development.

Chrons Disease news source: Pediatrics, August 2007.

Tip: Some great Chron's disease self help books can be found on the internet: Abebooks.com has a large selection (link opens a new window)

For people with Chrons Disease from the UK
Just as a last note, If you are into cooking (and eating!) this book I got on Amazon really helped me and I really think it is excellent:
How to Cook for Chrons / Crohn's and Colitis (Amazon.co.uk)

Chrons Disease: It's a mystery but controlled

2007-09-07T04:10:00.001-07:00

Jessica Leach who is now 19 was only 12 when she started having frequent attacks of painful abdominal cramps and was only later to find out that it was Chrons disease.

At first, she didn't tell anyone about the pain and diarrhea, and would often respond to her parents questions by implying that it was somethiong in the food that didnt agree with her. But soon she began to loose alot of weight and that was when her parents realised that there must be something really worng and so decided to take her to the doctors.

The doctor first thought that she might have anorexia, which frustrated mother and daughter alike. After blood work and a visit to a gastroenterologist, the family finally got the right diagnosis: Chrons disease.

Jessica's chrons is in remission for the second time, the first time lasted for three years

She is adiment that Chrons disease is not going to get her down and want to live her life to the full. She has been working two jobs this summer and she is looking forward to college.

Chrons Disease Wont beat me: Alan

2007-09-07T03:40:00.000-07:00

For thirty years Alan Cresswell, a barber in Tewkesbury (UK) has been raising money for the research into Chrons Disease after his son aged just three was diagnosed with it and now it turns out that he has Chrons disease aswell.

When he is not at work in his barber shop, Alan works with 13 other people, all nicknamed the Chronies, organising fundraising events and all in the aid of Chrons Research. This all began way back in 1976 when his son Mark, who still suffers from the painful condition, was diagnosed with Chrons disease. Now he too must face this illness as he has now also been diagnosed with Chrons and said that he was awaiting results from a local hospital to determine whether he would need an operation or not.

Alan has been officialy recognised for his fundraising efforts with town council awarded him the Tewkesbury Town Community Service Award for his services to Chrons disease research where he has raised over £200,000 specifically for Chrons disease in children, because they have their whole lives ahead of them."

Three are about one in 1,500 people have Chrons Disease, which affects slightly more women than men and usually strikes between the ages of 15 and 40.

Chrons Disease: Gene variant raises risk of Chrons disease

2007-09-07T03:01:00.000-07:00

Pediatric researchers in a children's hospital in Philadelphia have identified a gene variant that raises the risk of Chrons disease in Children.

This research backs up some other results from some German researchers who also found the same gene variant in the adult form of Chrons disease.

"Because Chrons disease is complex, with multiple genes interacting with each other and with environmental factors, it's important to sort out specific genes and to replicate previous findings," said the study's first author, Robert N. Baldassano, M.D., director of the Center for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Children's Hospital. "There are different types of Chrons disease, so classifying types by genetic profiles may help us select the most appropriate treatments for each patient."

This study was pretty comprehensive as they compared the genomes of 143 children with Chrons disease to genomes of 282 children who did not have the disease. In the results, they discovered that 64 percent of children with Chrons disease had a specific variant form of the gene ATG16L1, compared with 52 percent of the healthy children. The odds ratio for children with the gene variant was 1.62 compared to control children, all this means that children who have the variant are 62 percent more likely to have Chrons disease than children with the more common form.

I guess the more studies done like this will all lead to more understanding of Chrons disease and hopefully lead to better treatments and possibly a cure one day.

Chrons Disease: Bike Trek to raise funds for Chrons Disease

2007-09-07T02:03:00.000-07:00

Allan and Neil Farimond, a father and son team who aim to tackle the Pyrenees on a gruelling 13-day bike trek and all in aid of the National Association for Colitis and Chrons Disease. This is a charity that is close to their hearts as Neil's son Matthew has Chrons disease as well as many other member sof their extended family.

Allan who is 68 years young has completed the challenge before and is the more experienced of the two. They hope to raise at least £1000 (about US$1900) for the National Association for Colitis and Chrons Disease. (When I looked at their site today they were on £804) Allan goes on to say that "Evidently the more money we can raise, the more worthwhile the venture. A number of our family members are affected by Crohn's and it is a very distressing condition which can go into remission but then suddenly flare up and be very uncomfortable."

Chrons Disease is not that uncommon, yet receives far less publicity than say cancer or heart disease.

For more information and to see how they are getting on with raising funds for Chrons Disease go to their website: www.justgiving.com/allanfarrimond.