A new strategy for medical therapy of Crohn's disease: the top-down approach / 肠外与肠内营养

ABSTRACT

Altering the natural history of disease has been the goal of medical therapy for Crohn's Disease (CD) in recent years. The conventional approach has been thestep-up therapy. With the introduction of biological agents (such as infliximab) , there is growing evidence that the top-down approach is justified in a subgroup of high-risk patients. The new algorithms is not only associated with superior clinical remission rates, but also may have the potential to alter the natural history of the disease, including inducing mucosal healing, reducing the rate of complications, surgeries and mortality. Further study will have to determine which subgroup of patients will benefit most from this early aggressive biological therapy approach.