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Antibiotic Induces Remission of Crohn's Disease in Phase 2 Trial

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Posted 4/22/2011 10:07 PM (GMT 0)
Antibiotics named Rifaximin was able to achieve clinical remission of Crohns sequelae in up to 62 % of patients out to 12 weeks

according to study investigator Herbert Lochs, MD, from the Medical University in Innsbruck, Austria.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/731851

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Post Edited By Moderator (Nanners) : 4/23/2011 9:06:57 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/23/2011 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
Very promising. Thanks for sharing!
Posted 4/23/2011 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
I wouldn't be surprised at all. I know Cipro and Flagyl help me tremendously. We have to realize with antibiotics however, that after a while bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics. Which could lead to more severe problems. Perhaps if they were used to just put someone into remission. Any kind of breakthrough would be lovely! Thanks for posting!
Posted 4/23/2011 1:45 AM (GMT 0)
I believe I read that Rifaximin has been used for 20 years with no resistance reported. I just hope they get the funding to complete this thing to the end, and find out how well it KEEPS the Crohn's in remission.
Posted 4/23/2011 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
Really? 20 years with no resistance? That's impressive.
Posted 4/23/2011 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ibd.20119/full
Mentioned in the commentary section:
"Rifaximin has been clinically available for nearly 2 decades, yet no emerging resistance to clinically relevant bacteria has been observed."

Bosnianboy, I'm glad to hear you've found some relief with your antibiotics. I was diagnosed at a young age (9 years old) like you. I am 41 now and have moderate Crohns symptoms. I was fortunate enough to enjoy 26 years in remission with no meds. It's so exciting to see these new treatment possibilities on the horizon!

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Post Edited By Moderator (Nanners) : 4/23/2011 9:08:05 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/23/2011 2:25 AM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry you've had to have this for the majority of your life, but I'm happy that you enjoyed 26 years med free! However, I do believe that they must research IBD more aggressively. There are treatments, but most have unpleasant side effects as you know. I'm going to be in the same boat, having it my whole life. Hopefully there will be some breakthroughs so you and I both can enjoy the rest of our lives in remission!
Posted 4/23/2011 8:15 AM (GMT 0)
The study claims it's simple,

and the data for antibiotics in CD are out there, and the science makes sense... The problem up to now has been that no company has wanted to fund a large enough trial with the appropriate antibiotic.

I find the choice of rifaximin in this study to be both prudent and just a bit ironic. There are case studies that show efficacy, and the fact that it's so gastrointestinal-specific, so targeted, is great, but rifaximin is not a cheap antibiotic. Still, the price is nowhere near that of a biologic, nor does it carry the same potential for serious adverse effects./Bee
Posted 4/23/2011 10:55 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much for posting this info BeeSting.

I was so interested I did some research of my own and found a recent article in a local medical publication which was of particular interest to me as I know one of the authors Richard Gearry lives in my city and works with my specialist. I am seeing my specialist shortly and was going to be asking him about LDN so looks like I may have another 'new' idea instead of the biologics ;)

http://www.springerlink.com/content/374234085483668n

I really like the idea of 'Rifaximin to induce remission and then maintained with probiotic therapy'. As I get such good remissions on cipro/flagyll/enotcort I feel I may be a good candidate for this type of therapy.

Thanks again and happy easter everyone who is having a holiday :)

Lesley In NZ

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Post Edited By Moderator (Nanners) : 4/23/2011 9:09:11 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/23/2011 11:36 AM (GMT 0)
I have been on Rifaximan (Xifaxan brand name) for about 5 years. I can't say that it has put me into remission, because I had very little active CD when I was started. I can say that it changed my quality of life. I went from 20+ bathroom runs a day down to about 6. Insurance doesn't always want to pay for it, since it isn't an approved drug. The makers of the drug basically buried my insurance company with their studies and I had approval in about 48 hours. I think that with the lack of side effects and the cost being pretty high, there would be a lot of patients who would be put on it and it would be financially beneficial to the manufacturer in the end to have funded these studies. There is a lot of money to be made. My script costs upward of $1500 a month. However, I don't see that it will be a replacement for the biologics. I see it as a great addition to our arsenal. Personally I don't ever want it taken away from me, it has worked so well for me. I can see that someday I may have to add/tweak other drugs into my mix, but I don't want Xifaxan taken away.
Posted 4/23/2011 4:55 PM (GMT 0)
Zanne, that's great, I am glad one of all members here have got a great experience with Rifaximin, I got inspired by reading your answer. As the trial says, 62 % gets a remission, and this has to be a quite high result for any Crohns medicine, hasn't it?

"Results showed that at 12 weeks, all active treatment groups achieved remission more often than placebo (P < .04), with the highest rate (62.2%) observed for the 800 mg regimen".

May be a combination with LDN will increase the result? I have to find out if I can get this medication,
was your doctor resistant letting you have it, Zanne?
Posted 4/23/2011 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
I used it in the past to help with bacterial overgrowth. Worked so good the first time, but when I tried it again it made me sick:( Boo!!

I will try it again in the future and see if it works again. Hugs!
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