Maintenance therapy

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Maintenance therapy is a medical therapy that is designed to help a primary treatment succeed. [1] For example, maintenance chemotherapy may be given to people who have a cancer in remission in an attempt to prevent a relapse. [2] This form of treatment is also a common approach for the management of many incurable, chronic diseases such as periodontal disease, Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

Crohns disease type of inflammatory bowel disease

Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss.

Ulcerative colitis Inflammatory bowel disease that causes ulcers in the colon

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood. Weight loss, fever, and anemia may also occur. Often, symptoms come on slowly and can range from mild to severe. Symptoms typically occur intermittently with periods of no symptoms between flares. Complications may include abnormal dilation of the colon (megacolon), inflammation of the eye, joints, or liver, and colon cancer.

Periodontal disease

Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a set of inflammatory conditions affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth. In its early stage, called gingivitis, the gums become swollen, red, and may bleed. In its more serious form, called periodontitis, the gums can pull away from the tooth, bone can be lost, and the teeth may loosen or fall out. Bad breath may also occur.

Infliximab

Infliximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody, sold under the brand name Remicade among others, is a medication used to treat a number of autoimmune diseases. This includes Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and Behçet's disease. It is given by slow injection into a vein, typically at six- to eight-week intervals.

Azathioprine

Azathioprine (AZA), sold under the brand name Imuran, among others, is an immunosuppressive medication. It is used in rheumatoid arthritis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and systemic lupus erythematosus, and in kidney transplants to prevent rejection. It is taken by mouth or injected into a vein.

Inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are the principal types of inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine, as well as the mouth, esophagus, stomach and the anus, whereas ulcerative colitis primarily affects the colon and the rectum.

Colitis Inflammation of the colon (large intestine)

Colitis is an inflammation of the colon. Colitis may be acute and self-limited or long-term. It broadly fits into the category of digestive diseases.

Periodontology or periodontics is the specialty of dentistry that studies supporting structures of teeth, as well as diseases and conditions that affect them. The supporting tissues are known as the periodontium, which includes the gingiva (gums), alveolar bone, cementum, and the periodontal ligament. A periodontist is a dentist that specializes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease and in the placement of dental implants.

Microscopic colitis

Microscopic colitis refers to two related medical conditions which cause diarrhea: collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis. Both conditions are characterized by the presence of chronic non-bloody watery diarrhea, normal appearances on colonoscopy and characteristic histopathology findings of inflammatory cells.

Pyoderma gangrenosum

Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare, inflammatory skin disease where painful pustules or nodules become ulcers that progressively grow. Pyoderma gangrenosum is not infectious.

Management of ulcerative colitis involves first treating the acute symptoms of the disease, then maintaining remission. Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis, a disease of the intestine, specifically the large intestine or colon, that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores, in the colon. The main symptom of active disease is usually diarrhea mixed with blood, of gradual onset which often leads to anaemia. Ulcerative colitis is, however, a systemic disease that affects many parts of the body outside the intestine.

Biological therapy for inflammatory bowel disease

Biological therapy, the use of medications called biopharmaceuticals or biologics that are tailored to specifically target an immune or genetic mediator of disease, plays a major role in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Even for diseases of unknown cause, molecules that are involved in the disease process have been identified, and can be targeted for biological therapy. Many of these molecules, which are mainly cytokines, are directly involved in the immune system. Biological therapy has found a niche in the management of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and diseases of unknown cause that result in symptoms due to immune related mechanisms.

Ustekinumab, sold under the brand name Stelara, is a human monoclonal antibody used to treat psoriasis. It is also approved to treat Crohn's disease in the United States, Israel and Australia, and ulcerative colitis in the US, and in the European Union (EU) among people who have not responded to more traditional treatments. It was found not effective for multiple sclerosis.

Vedolizumab, sold under the brand name Entyvio, is a monoclonal antibody medication developed by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. It binds to integrin α4β7. Blocking the α4β7 integrin results in gut-selective anti-inflammatory activity. It is marketed under the trade name Entyvio.

Periodontitis as a manifestation of systemic diseases is one of the seven categories of periodontitis as defined by the American Academy of Periodontology 1999 classification system and is one of the three classifications of periodontal diseases and conditions within the 2017 classification. At least 16 systemic diseases have been linked to periodontitis. These systemic diseases are associated with periodontal disease because they generally contribute to either a decreased host resistance to infections or dysfunction in the connective tissue of the gums, increasing patient susceptibility to inflammation-induced destruction.
These secondary periodontal inflammations should not be confused by other conditions in which an epidemiological association with periodontitis was revealed, but no causative connection was proved yet. Such conditions are coronary heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases and erectile dysfunction.

Aggressive periodontitis describes a type of periodontal disease and includes two of the seven classifications of periodontitis as defined by the 1999 classification system:

  1. Localized aggressive periodontitis (LAP)
  2. Generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP)

Etrolizumab is a biopharmaceutical drug candidate being developed for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. It is a humanized monoclonal antibody against the β7 subunit of integrins α4β7 and αEβ7. Etrolizumab was developed by Genentech by engineering the FIB504 antibody to include human IgGl-heavy chain and κ-light chain frameworks; it is manufactured in CHO cells.

Alicaforsen

Alicaforsen is an antisense oligonucleotide therapeutic that targets the messenger RNA for the production of human ICAM-1 receptor and is being developed for the treatment of acute disease flares in moderate to severe Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Abivax SA is a clinical-stage, publicly traded biotechnology company harnessing the immune system to develop novel treatments against inflammatory diseases, viral diseases and cancer. The company is headquartered in Paris, France and closely cooperates with the CNRS Collaborative Laboratory in Montpellier, France.

Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis

Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD) is a condition characterized by localized inflammation in the colon, which spares the rectum and is associated with multiple sac-like protrusions or pouches in the wall of the colon (diverticulosis). Unlike diverticulitis, SCAD involves inflammation of the colon between diverticula, while sparing the diverticular orifices. SCAD may lead to abdominal pain, especially in the left lower quadrant, intermittent rectal bleeding and chronic diarrhea.

References

  1. Definition of Maintenance therapy at MedicineNet
  2. Berinstein NL (2006). "Principles of maintenance therapy". Leuk. Res. 30 Suppl 1: S3–10. doi:10.1016/S0145-2126(06)80002-0. PMID   16750676.
  3. Pastagia J, Nicoara P, Robertson PB (2006). "The effect of patient-centered plaque control and periodontal maintenance therapy on adverse outcomes of periodontitis". J Evid Based Dent Pract. 6 (1): 25–32. doi:10.1016/j.jebdp.2005.12.009. PMID   17138393.
  4. Orchard T, Probert CS, Keshav S (2006). "Review article: maintenance therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis". Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 24 Suppl 1: 17–22. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2006.03071.x . PMID   16939425.