Understanding Therapeutic Concepts in Crohn's Disease.

For more than a decade, the therapeutic focus for Crohn's disease has remained fixed at temporary arrestment of symptomology. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists Crohn's disease as a disease entity without current cure. Biologics in combination with antibiotics can frequently achieve remissions. Without ongoing drug administration, these remissions tend to be of limited duration. Conceptual advancements in understanding the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease have identified treatment approaches, the focus of which goes beyond temporary remission. Concepts derived from Infectious Diseases Inc.'s 17 years of research with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis delineate how new knowledge can be integrated to achieve more sustained remissions.