Humera approved by FDA for treating Crohn's!

[yellow]

http://www.ccfa.org/reuters/humira?msource=HQ0703DMENWS&tr=y&auid=2446124

U.S. clears use of Abbott drug for Crohn's disease

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. won U.S. approval to promote its injectable arthritis drug Humira for treating patients with moderate to severe forms of Crohn's disease, health officials said on Tuesday.

Humira already is sold for treating three types of arthritis. Crohn's is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines that causes diarrhea, cramping and abdominal pain.

About 1 million Americans have the condition, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement.

Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said Humira "has been shown to reduce signs and symptoms, and to induce and maintain clinical remission of Crohn's disease" in patients who did not respond well to conventional therapy or could not tolerate Johnson & Johnson's drug Remicade.

Humira comes with a "black-box" warning, the strongest possible, that use has been associated with serious, sometimes fatal infections including tuberculosis. Patients should be tested for a latent tuberculosis infection before starting Humira treatment, the FDA advised.

WooHoo!!!

 

[Lyle]

Good news. Heh, the two guys at MacRumors who are affected by this announcement can celebrate.

 

[yellow]

Good news. Heh, the two guys at MacRumors who are affected by this announcement can celebrate.

Pretty much.

Though I did start Remicade last week. Next treatment next week. So far.. no change.
But it was my treatment of last resort. There was nothing else I could do.. but NOW there is more hope!

Everybody Cabbage Patch!

 

[larsonel]

Humira seems to be working well for me.

I am currently taking Humira for Chrones. I've tried Remicade but could not tolerate it. I am happy and active. Ask me about Chrones Disease if you have questions I consider myself to be an expert. P.S. I am new here and have all kinds of interests, this looks like an interesting site. Larsonel

 

[nbs2]

Good news. Heh, the two guys at MacRumors who are affected by this announcement can celebrate.

I am currently taking Humira for Chrones. I've tried Remicade but could not tolerate it. I am happy and active. Ask me about Chrones Disease if you have questions I consider myself to be an expert. P.S. I am new here and have all kinds of interests, this looks like an interesting site. Larsonel

^^^^^ Makes three. Add my sister and you have a vicarious fourth. That's like .0004% of the Crohn's population!

 

[CarolAZ]

I am currently taking Humira for Chrones. I've tried Remicade but could not tolerate it. I am happy and active. Ask me about Chrones Disease if you have questions I consider myself to be an expert. P.S. I am new here and have all kinds of interests, this looks like an interesting site. Larsonel

Hello, I also have crohn's disease, my question is I am on Imuran; have u heard of it? Was told need to get off of it and go on Humira. From what I have read, Humira is not that old to use for Crohn's. I see many side effects of the use of this injection . I recently developed Neuropathy, and two Dr's said it could be from Imuran. I find no indication of that on the Web, Nor from the Neuropathy Center that just became the 5th largest in the U.S. They had an open house this past Friday, and the Doctors there said they never heard of Imuran causing Neuropathy. What do you think of that? I am so confused by all these doctors, one says this, one says another. By the way, my crohns was out of remission in April, was on Predisone until 3 weeks ago. But I find nothing on that drug either causing my new problem.

Thank you for anything you can give me on this.Anyone who can help me on this is welcome to

CarolAZ

 

[yellow]

First off, I am not a doctor.


Imuran is akin to Mercaptapurine (6-MP) in that it's an immuno-suppressant. Crohn's patients seem to have immune systems that go into overdrive. MDs typically use Immuran or 6-MP to help suppress the immune system, which effectively puts us back at "normal" immuno levels.

For those of us taking Remicade, currently the belief that continued use of immuno-suppressors helps reduce the chance of developing antibodies to the mouse protein used in the drug.

Because Humira is basically the same drug, only it uses human anti-bodies, it may not be necessary to dose with immuno-supressors. Though I suspect that an MD might want to keep a patient on it.

I don't know about the side effects of immuran.

Unfortunately, patients typically end up knowing more about the disease, the drugs, and the treatments than the doctors, because they live with it every day. If you are not currently a member, you might want to take a peek at the Crohn's And Colitis Foundation of America's website:

http://www.ccfa.org

There's a lot of good information there to empower you into getting the best care possible.