Patients with severe bowel disease can benefit from a new drug that eliminates their painful symptoms within three months.
A daily dose of etrasimodine binds to immune cells and treats ulcerative colitis by preventing them from accidentally attacking healthy tissues in the intestinal mucosa.
A recent study found that 27 percent of patients who did not respond to other treatments were in remission after 12 weeks, and 32 percent had no symptoms after one year.
Ulcerative colitis can lead to weakness, bloody diarrhea, severe fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss.
It can also cause symptoms such as abdominal pain and digestive discomfort – often similar to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
A daily dose of etrasimodine binds to immune cells and treats ulcerative colitis by preventing them from accidentally attacking healthy tissues in the intestinal mucosa.
Dr. Sami Hoke, a gastroenterologist with the Barts Health NHS Trust in London, described the results of the etrasimod test in Britain as “surprising”.
He added: “When I started treating ulcerative colitis, there were very few options and the work we did had serious side effects.
It is a significant adjunct to the treatment of intestinal diseases and, unlike other injectable therapies, it comes in tablet form once a day. This gives power to the patients, so they avoid having to go to the hospital regularly. ‘
Ulcerative colitis is a long-term disease in which the immune system is overwhelmed for completely unknown reasons and attacks the healthy body tissue in the mucous membrane of the colon or colon, causing inflammation and ulcers. It is one of the two main types of inflammatory bowel disease along with Crohn’s disease.
The condition affects about 146,000 people in the UK, but experts say many more may go undiagnosed and one in ten people over the age of 50 may have some form of the disease.
Patients may be asymptomatic for several months before the outbreak. During these episodes, some patients also experience redness in the joints, mouth sores and irritation. In the most severe cases, they may also experience shortness of breath, palpitations, and fever.
When doctors suspect colitis, they first take a stool sample to test for a protein called calprotectin, a sign of inflammation in the gut.
If the result is positive, the gastroenterologist will perform additional tests to look for physical signs of damage. This usually involves a colonoscopy, in which the camera is inserted into the back passage and the tissue is cut for examination.
First-line treatment includes tablets or suppositories containing anti-inflammatory drugs called aminosalicylates. These help fight mild flares, but their effects will fade over time.
Other options include powerful steroids that reduce inflammation, but there is a risk of side effects such as acne, mood swings, and diabetes. Medications that suppress the immune system can also be used, but they can make patients vulnerable to infections.
If these options fail, as with 15 percent, bowel removal may be the only option.
“Etrasimod can be used in conjunction with current treatments to strengthen the body’s defenses and eliminate the need for surgery,” said Dr. Hoke.
The drug has not yet been approved. However, experts hope that this process will begin later this year.
Romit Zutshi, 42, of Chigwelden, Essex, was diagnosed with intestinal disease in 2015 and treated with etrasimod as part of the Barts trial.
The father of a married boy first saw a doctor after seeing blood in his stool and had to go to the toilet eight times a day.
He said: “It was terrible not knowing what was happening to me. I started to lose weight, and I woke up in the middle of the night, exhausted from going to the bathroom. ”
As he did not respond to other medications, he enrolled in an etrasimode test in Bartz in 2020, noting that he had “significantly improved”.
He added: “I feel more confident, and I can live more or less like a normal person. In the past, when I left home, I was always anxious to be near the toilet, and I could not exercise properly because I would die quickly, but this is no longer a problem. ”
INTERESTING SCIENCE: A homemade medicine that causes fungus in a person’s veins
Hospital tests showed that psilocybe cubensis was growing in the blood and that the liver and kidneys were failing.
When fungi began to multiply in human blood, a life-threatening fungal infection developed.
The 30-year-old told U.S. doctors he was trying to find a way to treat his mental health.
After learning that the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin in magic mushrooms could help cancer patients with anxiety and depression, he boiled them in tea and injected them.
In the days that followed, she began to feel nauseous, dizzy, and vomiting blood.
Hospital tests showed that he had liver and kidney failure due to the growth of the psilocybe cubensis fungus in his blood.
According to The Academy Of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, the man was hospitalized for 22 days, eight of which were in intensive care, had a blood filter and two courses of antibiotics.
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