Cure for IBD in 2011?

Do you think the healthcare community will find a cure for IBD shortly?
It seems that they are making strides in determining which genes spell out how severe one's CD will be, or how the disease will manifest. 

I am thinking my son is 5.... maybe they will find a cure so he can live a disease free adulthood?

I hope it's not wishful thinking.. just a thought,

Maria

I'm wondering about Stem Cells and how they are being used to fight the disease.

Haven't heard much but know that it is being done.

 

Last week when my daughter was having blood work, the lab tech said she believes there would be a cure in my daughters lifetime. I know it was just an opinion but the thought of that was beyond AMAZING!!!!

I was in the Phase II trial for tasocitinib 2 years ago. It definitely helped with my CD after taking for just 4 weeks. Wish I could have taken longer but that's all the study allowed. Glad to see it's progressing. It's not a cure but new treatments are needed, especially oral ones.

I'm currently in a stem cell trial for Crohn's. Not the plan z one but a less drastic treatment (look up Prochymal). I've had 4 infusions but don't know if I got the cells or placebo. Assuming placebo since I had no response. In 3 weeks I enter the next trial where I'm definitely receiving stem cells so fingers crossed. I think stem cells hold the key for a cure but still many years off.

I believe the "cure" will be either stem cell therapy or a better understanding of IBD having an infectious cause and treating it more effectively as such. As far as stem cells are concerned, the team under Dr Richard Burt at Northwestern have had incredible results with end of the line CD patients and I believe this will be an accepted alternative (as opposed to last stage) treatment in the next few years. Dr Burt's story and research is incredible and I believe he should be up for a Nobel in medicine in the new year. I believe we'd be very close if it weren't for the policy of the Bush government towards stem cells - we might have a very effective treatment by now or even something looking like are "Cure".

I did a quick search and found this:

12 Deadly Diseases Cured in the 20th Century
www.symbianize.com/showthread.php?t=31936

Yep, I was just pointing out how many devastating diseases have been cured. Diseases like cancer and Crohns seem to defy a silver bullet. But it's amazing how much progress has been made just in the past 10-20 years. As Lance Armstrong said, "If I'd gotten this cancer 10 years earlier, I'd be a dead man."

I doubt Crohn's will be cured for quite a while - they will need to understand exactly what causes it first, in my opinion. It's an extremely complex disease. I hope that they will find a cure, but I honestly don't see it happening during my lifetime (I'm 22). I am sure that things will continue to improve treatment-wise, but I think that's the best I can hope for, realistically.

I was diagnosed with Crohns in 1970.

In those days all there was was Azulfidine and other drugs that did not help with Crohns. The colonoscopies felt "like being done in the back of the woodshed" with extreme pain every time the hose turned a corner.

In the last 10 years I have seen remarkable advances in Crohns:

Remicade came into the scene, and now it is being optimized with less time consuming Humira and Cymzia.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been treated for CD and UC. The medical community have made great strides in understanding what does not work, what the dangers of the drugs are, and the ones that are most recommended. This passage of time with the thousands of treatment are forming into a treasure of wisdom that is applied to this disease.

Finally there is the vast availability of CD information on the internet (as such as this board) that helps guide us into (mostly) good advice. There has been an explosion of chronies being able to share information. I still remember in the 1970's when I will shyly ask at the waiting room: do you have CD, how bad is it, what are you taking ? We were isolated, confused and kept in the dark in those days.

The first 30 years of my CD where a colossal waste of time for me, the last 10 has been very encouraging.

And yes, the drug companies are making a lot of money on these expensive drugs. Part of the problems are the millions they have to spend in making sure that the drugs are not harmful. In one study I was on, they drew blood at least 40 times, kept a binder 6 inches thick on all my results, it must have costed them tens of thousands to gather and analyse this information. However, just like the case in allergies, there is a push to undercut the top expensive medications, making the delivery systems more efficient.

I am very hopeful about all this, although I cannot put a timeframe around it.

NCOT, I know exactly how you feel.

Where are all the CDers in remission? Do they even exist?
My relative is in remission and never goes to forums, prefers not even talking about it.

The reality is, once a CDer gets into remission, there is likely a fear of getting sick again, which is probably why we don't hear from CDers in remission very often. I wish they would come around more often, but I understand why they don't.

Do most ppl with CD really go into remission, though? Cause I have never been in remission, but I'm hoping that will change next month after resection #2.

@Roni - I'm glad somebody does, because I do tend to feel I'm pretty alone with many of my views.

I swear the new drugs haven't made that much difference to the progress of CD. The rate of surgeries don't seem to be going down, nor do the rates of remissions seem to be sky-rocketing. Sure, some people respond to drugs. But that's not exactly the whole picture. Meds fail after a while. Or the toxic side-effects make the meds almost as bad as the disease itself. I find it all a bit of a scam tbh. We're promised that there's so much which can be done for Crohn's. Uh no. Not really. There's 3 classes of drugs and if those 3 classes fail, there's nothing left after that. I've tried 2 classes, which have utterly failed, and as a UKer, the 3rd class (biologics) are effectively locked out to me on cost grounds. But I don't know if I would want to go on them long-term anyway. Would rather keep my immune system free to fight infections.

That out of my system (as it were), I do have some respect for those with CD who control their CD with diet. I wouldn't have the patience or motivation myself, but I respect their ability to take control. It even makes me think there might be something in it. Not for everybody but for some, diet does seem to be a key.

Well I am another who has had this disease for over 35 years. I have enjoyed remission, quite often during my years with this disease. I am currently in remission again. But is life any easier, a little maybe, but not totally. Most of problems come from as Zanne mentioned, mulitple resections. When first diagnosed I used the typical Azulphadine and Prednisone. Enjoyed a nearly 20 year remission, which ended with emergency surgery. When I had my first flare after my long remission, I did learn there were more meds, but they were meds in the 5asa area. Then I started hearing about the stronger meds, for the ones with more severe Crohns.

Do I think there will be a cure? Not sure really. I think there are so many variables with this disease, that it may be able to cure some, but not all. Just too many tyoes of Crohns. JMHO

I don't agree with the view that crohn's couldn't be cured in short term, although I've not too much expectations about.

They need only to find the root cause of (most of the) crohn's, which now they don't.

It's obviously not simple nor predictable, and I am quite sure that big pharma is focusing their researches to symptoms and how suppressing them, so we need to confide to researchers who are not binding to big pharma.

But definitely, I don't think we must wait for studies and new drugs for the cure; they can help (hoping that won't cause long-term harm) to delay and suppress or get remission, but the "cure" is a separate binary.

The cure is beyond the CAUSE, and the cause is not behind what pharmaceutical firms are trying and studying to help us.