New remedy for those suffering from Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is an often debilitating, lifelong gastrointestinal illness that usually shows up when people are in their 20s or 30s. The disease leaves one too fatigued even to perform daily activities or it causes severe abdominal pain. However, treatments available currently do not help all patients suffering from the disease. Now, Dr. Brian Dieckgraefe, M.D., Ph.D, a gastroenterologist at Washington University in St. Louis, is offering a new cure to Crohn's patients, which he claims is the polar opposite of what currently available drugs are offering. The drug called GM-CSF, which stands for granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor and also known as Leukine, stimulates the immune system instead of suppressing it. Dr. Dieckgraefe claims that 80 per cent of people showed relief from symptoms while 53 per cent treated went into remission. GM-CSF is given by self-injection once a day.

The drug is going through a larger second phase of study and so is not available commercially as yet. The drug, though not approved for treatment of Crohn's has FDAs approval for other uses.