28 Nov Crohn’s Disease: Thalidomide in Refractory Pediatric Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with
Marzia Lazzerini, PhD
Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo,”
Trieste, Italy
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: In children and adolescent with Crohn’s disease refractory to first and second line treatment, thalidomide was effective in inducing and maintaining clinical remission. About 60% of children achieved clinical remission, and clinical remission was maintained for a mean time of 180 weeks. The main reason to stop thalidomide was peripheral neuropathy.
MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected?
Answer: Thalidomide was effective in inducing remission also in children with previous failure to infliximab.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Answer: The take home message for clinicians is that thalidomide may be considered as a therapeutic option for cases of Crohn’s diseases resistant or intolerant to first and second line treatments.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Answer: More studies are needed to investigate safety of thalidomide in children.
Other interesting questions include: genetic factors involved in thalidomide effects ( both positive and negative effects); dose comparison studies to explore the ideal treatment scheme; the safety and effectiveness of thalidomide in comparison to other existing treatment; treatment in combination with other therapies, and others.
Citation:
Last Updated on November 28, 2013 by Marie Benz MD FAAD