discussion title:
New Drug May Help Patients Avoid Surgery
Treatment with the drug infliximab (Remicade) reduced the need for surgery in ulcerative colitis
patients by almost half, a new study found.
Ulcerative colitis causes chronic inflammation of the colon and often leads to surgical removal of the colon (colectomy).
This study included 728 patients who received either an inactive placebo or infliximab for 46 weeks. After one year of follow-up, the researchers found that "treatment with infliximab reduced the need for colectomy by 41 percent compared to patients treated with placebo," lead author and Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Dr. William Sandborn, said in a Mayo Clinic news release.
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