Conventional and Future Therapies for Crohn's Disease

Crohn's disease is part of a group of diseases termed inflammatory bowel disease. Guidelines have long advocated the use of steroids for acute flare up and Current goals of treatment include enhancing long-lasting remission, preventing relapse, reducing the need for surgery, preventing complications and slowing disease progression. No cure currently exists for the disease. Traditionally, the clinical approach to treatment has been symptom-based where patients have had to ‘earn’ their next treatment escalation. However, this approach has evolved rapidly in recent times. Now, treat to target strategies, more intensive monitoring with biomarkers, and use of more biological based therapies appear to give much better clinical outcomes. This review compares traditional approaches to more novel ones and provides an insight for future avenues of therapy.