Pachydermoperiostosis (PDP), also known as Touraine-Solente-Golé syndrome or primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, is a rare syndrome that can be inherited as autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or sporadically. This progressive disease primarily affects males, who tend to have more severe features than females. PDP usually occurs during adolescence, often starting around puberty.1 The main clinical features are…
Case Report: Sweet Syndrome as an Initial Presentation of Crohn’s Disease
Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, or Sweet syndrome, is an inflammatory disease that classically presents with fever, leukocytosis and tender, erythematous plaques characterized by neutrophilic infiltrates on biopsy. Sweet syndrome has been reported in association with several autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, systemic lupus erythematous, rheumatoid arthritis and sarcoidosis.1 Here, we discuss a case of…
Case Report: Is It Reactive or IBD-Associated Arthritis?
Reactive arthritis is classically associated with an infectious etiology, such as Salmonella, Yersinia, Campylobacter, Chlamydia or gonorrhea. Clostridium difficile is a rare, and recently recognized, causative agent for this condition.1 Case Presentation The patient is a 21-year-old man with a past medical history significant for hereditary spherocytosis and Crohn’s disease, complicated by an anorectal fistula,…
Study Supports Safety of Infliximab in Pregnancy
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—New registry data should help reassure women with Crohn’s disease (CD) who need to continue infliximab during pregnancy that it won’t harm their baby. “The clinical condition of infants born to women with gestational infliximab exposure was similar to those without exposure,” the study team reports online July 19 in the American…
Biosimilar Infliximab Appears Safe, Effective in Pediatric IBD
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A biosimilar version of infliximab appears as effective as the original for treating pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD), and less costly, new research shows. “These baseline data have now enabled us to confidently switch patients from originator to biosimilar, adopting the same prospective methodology to monitor effectiveness, safety and cost,” Dr. Lisa…
Volatility of the Gut Microbiome Tied to IBD
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Fluctuations in the gut microbiome over time could underlie inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, researchers suggest. “Both the state and the dynamics of the human gut microbiome in healthy individuals are highly personalized. Although cross-sectional studies have revealed dysbiosis of the gut microbiome in IBD, little is known…
E. Coli Linked to Crohn’s Disease-Associated Spondyloarthritis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—An adherent-invasive E. coli pathotype present in the bowel may contribute to the development of Crohn’s disease-associated spondyloarthritis, researchers say. “Clinical symptoms, including extra-intestinal manifestations, in Crohn’s disease offer a portal into the microbial, immune, and genetic mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis,” Dr. Randy S. Longman from Weill Cornell Medical College in New…
Gene Expression Identifies Two Crohn’s Disease Subtypes
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Gene expression and chromatin accessibility can be used to identify two Crohn’s disease (CD) molecular subclasses that match distinct disease phenotypes, researchers report. “The hope one day is to be able to test Crohn’s patients for the subtype of the disease they have, and thus determine which treatment should work best,” Dr….
Anti-TNFs in Early Puberty May Improve Growth in Pediatric IBD
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Anti-TNF drugs are more likely to improve growth in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) if they’re given in the earlier stages of puberty, new findings show.¹ Children who achieve remission are also more likely to have satisfactory growth, the research team reported online on Sept. 21 in the Journal of Pediatric…
FDA Approves Ustekinumab for Crohn’s Disease
(Reuters)—Johnson & Johnson says on Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s psoriasis drug, ustekinumab (Stelara), for use in adults with Crohn’s disease. The drug is approved in the U.S. to treat plaque psoriasis and a type of arthritis associated with psoriasis. Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory condition in the gastrointestinal…