Crohn S Disease

A $1-million gift to establish a research center for the study of Crohn's disease has been awarded to the UCLA School of Medicine by the Blinder Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to discovering, through research, the causes and cures of the disease.

Little League Baseball has come to an end, and I'm not sure who's sadder about that, my baseball-crazed 10-year-old son, Nathaniel, or me, who just a few months ago thought "around the horn" referred to a trip along the northeast edge of Africa. Actually, I'm pretty sure it's me. Nathaniel had himself a good cry after his team, the Red Sox, was bumped off in June by the Indians, 17-10, in what had been a close game until the last inning.

Nine years ago, Barbara Perkins thought she had stomach cancer. She developed intestinal bleeding and diarrhea and lost 90 pounds from her 5-foot, 10-inch frame in six weeks. "I was unable to get out of bed and could barely walk," said the 48-year-old homemaker from El Paso. "I was very, very sick." Eventually, she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, an intractable, debilitating condition that afflicts half a million Americans.

Crohn's disease: An Aug. 13 Health section article on new treatments for Crohn's disease said the experimental drug Cimzia needed to be taken only every other month. It is taken every four weeks.

Crohn's disease: An Aug. 13 Health section article on new treatments for Crohn's disease said the experimental drug Cimzia needed to be taken only every other month. It is taken every four weeks.

The Food and Drug Administration and manufacturer Centocor are warning doctors that patients receiving the drug Remicade to treat rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease have suffered sometimes fatal blood and central nervous system disorders. The Malvern, Pa.-based company has revised the drug's label.

Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its experimental drug alicaforsen failed as a treatment for Crohn's disease in two late-stage trials. The Carlsbad, Calif.-based biotechnology company said it would focus on getting alicaforsen approved as an enema for patients with ulcerative colitis, a use shown to be effective in phase-two studies. Isis shares rose $1.09 to $6.01 on Nasdaq.

French scientists have narrowed the search for the location of the gene that causes Crohn's disease, a major form of inflammatory bowel disease that affects as many as one in every 2,000 people. A team from Institut Curie in Paris reports in the Feb. 29 issue of Nature that the gene lies in a small region on chromosome 14, one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes that make up the human genetic blueprint.

Thirteen-year-old Holly Martin has missed a lot of school because of her disease. She is also small for her age because the disease stunted her growth. Holly has also been teased by her classmates because when she takes a certain medication to control the disease, her face swells. The Fountain Valley seventh-grade student can't eat certain foods such as pizza or spaghetti, and she has endured a lot of pain since she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease three years ago.

Minnesota researchers have mapped the genome of the livestock disease Johne's, an advance that could lead to a greater understanding of a similar illness in humans, the U.S. Agriculture Department said this week. Scientists have debated whether the bovine intestinal disease is related to the human Crohn's disease because infected animals and humans suffer similar symptoms -- diarrhea, weight loss and inflamed digestive tracts.

Daniel GRAY'S stomach tells a story. The gnarled lines across his abdomen are the mementos of three major surgeries on his digestive system. The slashes along each side are reminders of the time the stitches broke and the doctors put him into a drug-induced coma for seven weeks, keeping his abdomen open for repeated washes. The doctors made the slits so that they would have enough skin to stretch over the opening when they finally sewed him together.

An international scientific team has pinpointed a gene mutation that appears to protect some people from Crohn's disease. The finding could pave the way for diagnostic tools and drugs to treat Crohn's, a chronic inflammation primarily of the small intestine, which afflicts more than 500,000 people in the U.S. Typically diagnosed before age 30, it causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, bleeding and weight loss. "Once you get it, you pretty much have it for life," said Dr. Steven R.

Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its experimental drug alicaforsen failed as a treatment for Crohn's disease in two late-stage trials. The Carlsbad, Calif.-based biotechnology company said it would focus on getting alicaforsen approved as an enema for patients with ulcerative colitis, a use shown to be effective in phase-two studies. Isis shares rose $1.09 to $6.01 on Nasdaq.

An experimental drug that selectively tamps down part of the immune system can offer dramatic relief to many victims of the painful bowel disorder Crohn's disease, and might also work against illnesses such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis, researchers have found. Other drugs are already available against Crohn's, but their effectiveness is spotty. This is the first study to show that a certain immune system protein could be key to the poorly understood disease.

The Food and Drug Administration and manufacturer Centocor are warning doctors that patients receiving the drug Remicade to treat rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease have suffered sometimes fatal blood and central nervous system disorders. The Malvern, Pa.-based company has revised the drug's label.

An experimental drug shows promise as an effective new approach for treating multiple sclerosis and the intestinal ailment Crohn's disease. In preliminary tests, the new drug Antegren dramatically reduced the number of new brain lesions in patients with MS and cut the number of relapses in half. In Crohn's patients, it increased the rate of remission and improved the patients' quality of life. There were few serious side effects.

An experimental drug that selectively tamps down part of the immune system can offer dramatic relief to many victims of the painful bowel disorder Crohn's disease, and might also work against illnesses such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis, researchers have found. Other drugs are already available against Crohn's, but their effectiveness is spotty. This is the first study to show that a certain immune system protein could be key to the poorly understood disease.

Sufferers of Crohn's disease won a new treatment that promises to decrease the intestinal inflammation that causes much of the disorder's misery. The Food and Drug Administration approved Entocort EC, saying the capsule promises fewer side effects than other steroids, such as prednisone, that are used to treat Crohn's. Entocort EC capsules release the medication, known chemically as budesonide, once they reach the intestine.

Minnesota researchers have mapped the genome of the livestock disease Johne's, an advance that could lead to a greater understanding of a similar illness in humans, the U.S. Agriculture Department said this week. Scientists have debated whether the bovine intestinal disease is related to the human Crohn's disease because infected animals and humans suffer similar symptoms -- diarrhea, weight loss and inflamed digestive tracts.

When Crohn's disease is hard to treat, patients are more likely to achieve long-term remission if they get regular infusions of the drug Remicade, new research confirms. Doctors usually give people with moderate or severe forms of the bowel ailment a single infusion of the anti-swelling drug to treat acute attacks, but the effect wears off after a while.