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The role and advances of immunomodulator therapy for inflammatory bowel disease

Ole Haagen Nielsen1, Mehmet Coskun, Casper Steenholdt

  • 1Department of Gastroenterology, Medical Section D112M, Herlev Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Herlev Ringvej 75, DK-2730 Herlev, Denmark.

Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
|August 8, 2014
PubMed

Immune modulating drugs such as thiopurines (azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine) and methotrexate has been a mainstay for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) for decades. However, despite widely used in IBD, questions still remain concerning the most rational treatment regimens of these agents. Results from a range of recent studies necessitate increased awareness on how to best use these potent drugs in the clinic. As controversy still remains regarding the most appropriate use of immunomodulators, this review is based on scrutinizing the current literature, with emphasis on randomized controlled trials and Cochrane reviews, focusing on aspects that can lead to optimal and evidence-based thiopurine and methotrexate treatment strategies in IBD.

Keywords:
6-mercaptopurineCrohn’s diseaseazathioprineinflammatory bowel diseasemethotrexatetherapyulcerative colitis

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