Enteral Nutrition in the treatment of Crohn's disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by chronic and recurrent inflammatory reactions of the intestinal mucosa. To set the scene, Dr Ruemmele briefly reviews the pathogenesis of IBD, with a focus on Crohn’s Disease. Patients with Crohn’s Disease exhibit dysregulation in the intestinal microbiome. Therefore, therapies that target the intestinal microbiome (such as exclusive enteral nutrition) may be valuable in this patient population. Traditionally, enteral nutrition plays only a supportive role in the nutritional management plans for Crohn’s Disease patients. Enteral Nutrition is now widely used as induction therapy for patients with active Crohn’s Disease due its remarkable anti-inflammatory effects. While reviewing the efficacy data on Enteral Nutrition in Crohn’s Disease patients, Dr Ruemmele emphasizes that its strong anti-inflammatory effect was most evident when given exclusively. This affects compliance and may well be the reason Exclusive Enteral Nutrition is used mostly in paediatrics, where catch-up growth is necessary. Recent data further demonstrates that this terapy has a specific effect on the intestinal microbiota. These findings support its use for the treatment of Crohn’s Disease, in both adult and paediatric populations.