New Molecular Drug Treatments for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
For the 3 million people who have irritable bowel disease, relief means just managing the painful symptoms. Breakthrough research could change that.
An estimated one in 100 Americans suffer from the lifelong pain of inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD. If you’re lucky, you might be among those who respond to an advanced molecular treatment designed to block the messengers that cause painful inflammation.
The molecular drug, which interferes with communication from signal-transmitting enzymes in your body, is among emerging developments in groundbreaking IBD care.
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Such advancements can potentially produce more targeted cures for some IBD patients. This blog will explain more about the disease, its symptoms, and your medical options.
Why IBD Occurs in Some People, and How You Can Detect It
Outside of occasional gas or heartburn, what we eat passes through our gastrointestinal tract with little notice. A network of organs, microorganisms, and proteins that break foods down and move them along.
But in some people, the body’s natural immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the gastrointestinal lining, triggering persistent inflammation that digestion can aggravate. Why the immune system does this in certain people is not always clear, but researchers have identified patterns that involve genetics and environmental factors such as being raised in a sterile environment.
IBD most commonly develops in two forms:
Ulcerative colitis – This form of inflammation occurs in the large intestine (colon), and can produce open sores, or ulcers.
Crohn’s disease – Here, the immune system attacks deeper into the intestines, commonly causing burning and swelling in the small intestine as well as the colon.
In both forms of IBD, patients might experience flareups followed by periods of remission. When IBD is active, common symptoms include:
- A more frequent and urgent need to go to the bathroom.
- Diarrhea or loose, bloody stools.
- Stomach cramping and pain.
- Failing appetite and weight loss.
- Fever.
- Joint pain and swelling.
- Skin rashes.
If you experience these symptoms, do not simply tolerate them. Untreated, IBD-related inflammation can damage intestinal tissue, cause malnourishment and, in serious cases, develop into colorectal cancer.
What to Expect from Your IBD Care Team: New Developments
Traditional diagnostic approaches for detecting IBD and its triggers include blood and stool sample analyses along with internal imaging. Typically, this might involve a flexible, camera-equipped tube threaded through your esophagus (the food pipe) or rectum to convey images.
In cases where IBD is suspected in the small intestine, the doctor might track the patient’s GI tract using a small capsule containing a camera, which the patient swallows and then passes in the stool.
If diagnosed with IBD, patient treatment often begins with anti-inflammatory medications to reduce the painful swelling or immunomodulators that suppress the immune system from attacking the bowel. Immunomodulators may be given through intravenous (IV) infusions, injections or orally. These approaches manage the symptoms.
But promising developments in IBD treatment provide another option to this standard approach.
New small molecule drug treatment
In recent years, researchers have been testing advanced therapies in small molecule medications for treating IBD. In 2023, the Federal Drug Administration approved one of these small molecule drugs, Rinvoq (upadacitinib), to relieve moderate to severe IBD (Crohn’s disease) symptoms.
Rinvoq and other such drugs work by blocking signals from an enzyme called Janus kinase (JAK), which sends information into the cell nucleus that triggers certain acts, including inflammation. Other such drugs include Xeljanz (tofacitinib), Zeposia (ozanimod), and Velsipity (etrasimod).
What to expect – The promises of these drugs include their quick action (to the point of being called “steroid-sparing”); their low risk of triggering the patient’s immune response; their overall safety profile; and the fact that they are oral, eliminating the need for regular infusions or injections.
Ideal candidates – Patients diagnosed with IBD can talk to their doctors about taking a JAK inhibitor to ease IBD-related inflammation. As for future drug developments, you can search for potential clinical trials into IBD small-molecule treatments on ClinicalTrials.gov.
IBD Relief Is Not Rare, and It’s Improving. Seek Treatment
Patients suffering from IBD should be encouraged by this ongoing research into treating the disease. If you experience the symptoms of IBD described in this blog and have not spoken to your physician about it, now is an opportune time to start.
To view our short video about IBD, click here for our Inflammatory Bowel Disease web page. This page also provides a disease overview, symptoms, links to various diagnostic tests, and helpful resources. You can request an appointment by filling out this form.
