METHODS: Data on 1249 patients from the Swiss IBD Cohort Study (SIBDCS) were analyzed. All EIMs were diagnosed by relevant specialists. Response was classified into improvement, stable disease, and clinical worsening based on the physician's interpretation.
RESULTS: Of the 366 patients with at least 1 EIM, 213 (58.2%) were ever treated with an anti-TNF. A total of 299 treatments were started for 355 EIMs. Patients with EIM were significantly more often treated with anti-TNF compared with those without EIM (58.2% versus 21.0%, P < 0.001). Infliximab was the most frequently used drug (63.2%). In more than 71.8%, a clinical response of the underlying EIM to anti-TNF therapy was observed. In 92 patients (43.2%), anti-TNF treatments were started for the purpose of treating EIM rather than IBD. Response rates to anti-TNF were generally good and best for psoriasis, aphthous stomatitis, uveitis, and peripheral arthritis. In 11 patients, 14 EIM occurred under anti-TNF treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: Anti-TNF was frequently used among patients with EIM. In more than 40%, anti-TNF treatments are started to treat EIM rather than IBD. Given the good response rates, anti-TNF seems to be a valuable option in the treatment of EIM, whereas appearance of EIM under anti-TNF does not seem to be a source of considerable concern.
METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed of published studies from 1950 to 2010 using keyword searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, EBM Reviews, and BIOSIS Previews.
RESULTS: In all, 477 abstracts were identified and data extracted from 93 studies, comprising 17,976 IBD patients and 27,350 age- and sex-matched controls. Major nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)-2 variants in Western Crohn's disease (CD) patients were not associated with CD in Han Chinese, Japanese, South Korean, Indian, and Malaysian populations. New NOD2 mutations were, however, associated with CD in Malaysians (JW1), Han Chinese, and Indians (P268S). Autophagy-related protein 16-linked 1 (ATG16L1) was not associated with CD in East Asians (odds ratio [OR] 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84-1.13). Interleukin (IL)-23R was associated with CD in South Koreans (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.16-2.82) and a single nucleotide polymorphism in IL-23R (Gly149Arg) was protective of CD in Han Chinese (OR 0.3; 95% CI 0.15-0.60). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily gene-15 (SF15) polymorphisms were associated with CD (OR 2.68; 95% CI 1.86-3.86), while TNF-308 polymorphisms (OR 1.82; 95% CI 1.15-2.9), cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)-4 (OR 2.75; 95% CI 1.22-6.22) and MICA allele (OR 2.41; 95% CI 1.89-3.07) were associated with ulcerative colitis in Asians.
CONCLUSIONS: Genetic mutations of IBD in Asians differ from Caucasians. New mutations and susceptibility genes identified in Asian IBD patients provide an opportunity to explore new disease-associated mechanisms in this population of rising incidence.
METHODS: Within the prospective EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer) study, we set up a nested matched case-control study among 366,351 participants with inflammatory bowel disease data, including 256 incident cases of UC and 117 of CD, and 4 matched controls per case. Dietary intake was recorded at baseline from validated food frequency questionnaires. Incidence rate ratios of developing UC and CD were calculated for quintiles of the Mediterranean diet score and a posteriori dietary patterns produced by factor analysis.
RESULTS: No dietary pattern was associated with either UC or CD risks. However, when excluding cases occurring within the first 2 years after dietary assessment, there was a positive association between a "high sugar and soft drinks" pattern and UC risk (incidence rate ratios for the fifth versus first quintile, 1.68 [1.00-2.82]; Ptrend = 0.02). When considering the foods most associated with the pattern, high consumers of sugar and soft drinks were at higher UC risk only if they had low vegetables intakes.
CONCLUSIONS: A diet imbalance with high consumption of sugar and soft drinks and low consumption of vegetables was associated with UC risk. Further studies are needed to investigate whether microbiota alterations or other mechanisms mediate this association.
METHODS: We determined the frequency of opportunistic infections and tuberculosis in patients receiving vedolizumab in phase 3 clinical trials and post-marketing settings. We also evaluated adverse events reported in the post-marketing setting in patients with a history of or concurrent hepatitis B/C virus infection.
RESULTS: The incidence of opportunistic infections in patients receiving vedolizumab was 0.7 (GEMINI 1 and 2 clinical trials) and 1.0 (long-term safety study) per 100 patient-years, with 217 events reported in approximately 114,071 patient-years of exposure (post-marketing setting). Most opportunistic infections were nonserious and the majority of patients continued treatment with vedolizumab. Clostridium difficile was the most commonly reported infection, with an incidence rate of 0.5 per 100 patient-years (clinical trials). Tuberculosis was reported at 0.1 per 100 patient-years (clinical trials), with 7 events in the post-marketing setting. No tuberculosis-related deaths were reported in either setting. No cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy were reported. In 29 patients with a history of or concurrent hepatitis B/C infection in the post-marketing setting, no viral reactivation was observed.
CONCLUSIONS: Clinical trials and post-marketing data showed that the rate of serious opportunistic infections in patients receiving vedolizumab was low and most patients could continue vedolizumab treatment. The frequency of tuberculosis infection was also low and no hepatitis B/C viral reactivation was reported.