A clinical trial has tried to measure the speed and effectiveness of a new drug called Adalimumab for the management of Crohn’s disease.
Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that can cause severe symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss. It can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract. Luminal Crohn's disease is a type of Crohn's that affects the small intestine and/or colon.
Currently, there is no cure for Crohn’s disease. However, researchers have been studying different treatments that can help manage the symptoms and improve patient's quality of life.
One such treatment is adalimumab, a drug that is used to treat various autoimmune diseases, including Crohn's disease. It is a type of drug known as biological therapy. This means that it is made from proteins or other substances produced by the body. It reduces swelling (inflammation) by acting on the immune system.
A clinical trial called the RAPIDA study has investigated the rapidity of clinical response to adalimumab and the improvement of quality of life in patients with Crohn's disease.
The research involved 86 patients with luminal Crohn's disease unresponsive to conventional treatments. The patients were treated with adalimumab for 12 weeks, and their symptoms and quality of life were monitored throughout the study.
The results of the clinical trial showed that adalimumab was effective in improving the symptoms of luminal Crohn's disease as early as 4th day after initiation of treatment.
Clinical response was achieved by 61.6% on day 4 and 75.6% 1 week after starting treatment. Clinical remission was found in 62.8% of the patients at a 4-week interval.
What's more, the clinical trial also found that the quality of life was improved in all the patients taking adalimumab.