What Researchers Did
Researchers reviewed the existing medical treatments for active Crohn's disease and explored new therapeutic options available at the time.
What They Found
The review found no major breakthrough in medical treatment for active Crohn's disease by 1998. While new salicylates showed some effect at higher doses and newer steroids had better side-effect profiles than older ones, their therapeutic efficacy was similar. Emerging immune modulating therapies were encouraging but required further large-scale studies for full evaluation.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadian patients with active Crohn's disease, this 1998 review highlights the ongoing challenges in finding highly effective medical treatments. It suggests that while some newer drug options offered improvements in side effects, a definitive cure or breakthrough therapy was still elusive at that time.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
As a review from 1998, the information on "new" therapies is now outdated, and the abstract itself noted the need for more large-scale studies for emerging treatments.