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This came through from Medscape recently....


Budesonide May Improve Refractory Celiac Disease 

The results of a small study suggest that budesonide may be effective in the 
management of refractory celiac disease, report physicians from Columbia 
University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.
Reuters Health Information 2007

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/566602


I had a friend who was prescribed this therapy Milwaukee 5+ years ago by a 
now retired GI doctor at the Medical College of Wisconsin here is Milwaukee.  
The same doctor had diagnosed my friend's celiac 20 years earlier at age 55 
after a lifetime of damage. Even though he had been g.f. for nearly 20 years, 
there had been little improvement to his flatten villi despite a variety of 
aggressive treatments which included years of traditional steroids. 

At that time budesonide was marketed to treat Crohn's disease and was 
definitely experimental for US celiacs.

His usually gruff doctor was positively gleeful when he told us that biopsy 
report came back showing "blunted villi!" It was the first positive response to 
any of the  treatment treatment in 20 years...(Unfortunately, my friend died 
from c.diff infection caught at a rehab center/nursing home not long 
afterwards before he could benefit from his improved villi/absorption.)
 
The treatment is definitely a last resort for those with severe damage that 
doesn't respond to standard treatment & diet. Hopefully, most celiacs dx in the 
future will benefit from better awareness & get a dx before damage becomes 
irreversible and makes these drugs necessary.

Bev in Milwaukee

 

   


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