[Inflammatory bowel diseases: conservative therapy]

Recent advances in the medical treatment of the inflammatory bowel diseases are reviewed with emphasizes on controlled clinical trials. The newly developed mesalazine contains the active moiety of sulfasalazine, the 5-aminosalicylic acid. In ulcerative colitis mesalazine appears to be as efficacious as the time-honored sulfasalazine; it has however less adverse effects. Corticosteroids remain the most effective drugs in severe attacks of all forms of inflammatory bowel diseases. The immunosuppressive agents 6-mercoptopurine and azathioprine are useful second-line drugs in otherwise refractory Crohn's disease. The place of cyclosporin is at present uncertain. Metronidazole is the only efficient antibiotics in the treatment of Crohn's disease. The relative merits of various diets are discussed.