Research lines about Inflamatory Bowel Disease

Although the vast majority of patients with inflammatory bowel disease can be managed adequately with current medicines, there is still a significant portion whose symptoms cannot be controlled effectively with medical treatment.

Recently, having demonstrated its efficacy in clinical trials for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, a new medication (vedolizumab) has been approved as a therapy for inflammatory bowel disease. Vedolizumab is a molecule belonging to the therapeutic drug group known as biologics and provides, as a main advantage over other available medicines, a more specific action in the colon, which means a better safety profile.

There are currently several clinical trials being carried out on new drugs which have different therapeutic targets to those already available with favorable preliminary results.

Another possibility in the future, for severe cases of Crohn’s disease that neither respond to medical treatment nor are they prone to surgery, are autologous haematopoietic progenitor transplants (autotransplants).

This procedure has also demonstrated its efficacy in very specific cases of severe Crohn’s disease. However, as it is associated with a high risk of complications (primarily potentially lethal infections), it can only be performed in specialised and experienced centres where there is close collaboration between the haematological and gastroenterological teams.

Eight years ago, the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona carried out the first autologous transplant within the context of a multicentre European clinical trial and now boasts extensive experience in this type of cellular therapy. The hospital has already treated almost 40 patients and with good results.