eMJA: In other journals - 1 July 2002

The results of the multinational ACCENT randomised trial have just been published, with encouraging results for sufferers of Crohn’s disease. Current treatment of moderate or severe Crohn’s disease includes long-term steroids (with a host of adverse side effects), and purine metabolites and methotrexate (which have a slow onset of action). Infliximab, a monoclonal antibody with a rapid onset of benefit, has now been shown, in responders, to give sustained relief with repeated doses. It was effective in some patients who had failed other treatments, and allowed patients taking steroids to either reduce their dose or stop taking steroids altogether.