Drug improves remission of Crohn disease among children and adolescents

Among children and adolescents with Crohn disease not responding to treatment, use of the drug thalidomide resulted in improved clinical remission after 8 weeks of treatment compared with placebo, according to a study appearing in JAMA. As many as 1.2 million people in Europe and more than half a million in the United States are estimated to have Crohn disease, a chronic inflammatory disease involving the digestive system. Its incidence is increasing globally.