Nanotherapy shows potential to treat severe Crohn’s disease

Scientists from the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago have shown that nanotherapy reduces intestinal inflammation and reduces wounds in a rodent model of severe Crohn’s disease. This approach could be an alternative to biological antibody therapies that have many side effects, including an increased risk for certain cancers. It could also prevent the need for surgery in the future. Results were published in the journal Advanced therapeutic.

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by persistent inflammation in the digestive tract, usually in the small intestine. It can lead to intestinal obstruction and perforation, bleeding, abdominal pain, diarrhea, muscle weakness, weight loss and malnutrition that cause growth disorders in children.

One of the main features of Crohn’s disease is lesions along with non-continuous parts of the abdomen. Conventional therapies include biological antibody therapies, and in severe cases, non-therapeutic surgery. It is estimated that 70 per cent of patients with Crohn ‘s disease require lifelong surgery and many require additional surgery.

We injected into the intestinal lesion nanomolecules carrying an anti-inflammatory peptide, which is a small proportion of protein. The results were amazing. We have seen a decrease in inflammation based on a decrease in immune cells and pro-inflammatory proteins. The size of the lesion is greatly reduced, which gives us hope that with this treatment we can save skeletal tension and avoid the removal of parts of the abdomen in severe cases of infection. Crohn. “

Arun Sharma, PhD, Lead Author, Director of Surgical Research at the Manne Research Institute at Lurie Children and Associate Professor of Urology and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and McCormick School of Engineering

Based on their design, these nanomolecules allow a thick dose to be absorbed into a patient. Dr. Sharma and his colleagues noticed that it creates an anti-inflammatory environment that not only keeps the lesion from growing but also reduces its size.

“Our study provides confirmation of key findings that this nanotherapy may be effective for Crohn’s disease and may be relevant to other inflammatory infectious diseases, such as ulcerative colitis,” says Dr. Sharma. Translating this work into a clinical application, we need to develop a less invasive delivery method, such as oral or endoscopy. “