When conventional treatments are not effective, biological drugs are useful for treating Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This was explained by Professor Silvio Danese, head of the Center for Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), who explained the functioning of these new drugs and that of monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, stressing the importance of setting up as soon as possible a proper therapy, appropriate to the age and condition of patients, in the treatment of this type of disease.

New treatments for Chron’s and ulcerative colitis with “intelligent medicines”

“If diseases such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis already occur during adolescence, a long-term strategy must be considered. If, on the other hand, the disease starts around the age of sixty, the choice of drugs must consider other diseases”, explained the specialist, stating that fortunately the arsenal of weapons available to clinicians in the fight against chronic intestinal disorders is growing at a glance, especially in the direction of biological drugs. These are “intelligent drugs” that block inflammation by acting at the root of the mechanisms that cause it and that can be prescribed to 30-40 percent of patients with Crohn’s disease and about 20 percent of cases of ulcerative colitis.

While they are quite expensive, these therapeutic tools have shown a decrease in costs due to other therapies, such as those that use surgery and those for hospitalizations.

“Essential drugs” for chronic intestinal diseases

“Biological drugs are now essential in cases refractory to conventional treatments – stresses Prof. Danese, president of the ECCO congress and head of the Center for Chronic Intestinal Inflammatory Diseases of the hospital -. There are many positive news: for example, a new monoclonal antibody against integrins, vedolizumab, or, again, the possibility of expanding the use of some drugs as in the case of ustekinumab, which is given for the Crohn but that the data show very effective even in ulcerative colitis, where not only eliminates symptoms but even leads to the healing of the mucous membranes. The disease does not heal completely, but the tissue of the intestine returns to normal, bringing back to normal the lives of patients suffering from moderate or severe ulcerative colitis, people who are struggling to organize their daily lives and for whom a slight movement can become problematic”.