A professor from Ealing’s University of West London (UWL), has co-authored a report following new research into treatments for children and young adults who suffer from the deliberating health condition of Crohn’s disease.
Professor Ray Playford, Professor of Molecular Medicine at UWL, was part of a research group which conducted a feasibility study into treatments for Crohn’s disease and its findings are now published in scientific journal Nutrients.
Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel condition that can affect individuals of any age but is particularly troublesome in children and young adults where immunosuppression is avoided if possible.
For those in this age group, there are benefits to have treatment with special liquid diets but these can be limited, due to the taste of these products and patients may also need the insertion of a tube if treatment is required for prolonged periods.
Experts investigated new treatments and a collaboration between UWL, Liverpool, Edge Hill and Cork Universities and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital among other medical teams, looked at supplementing sufferers’ normal diet with bovine colostrum, the milk first produced by cows after calving, instead of the existing treatment plan.
Twenty-three children and young adults with Crohn’s disease took part in the study.
Professor Playford said: “Bovine colostrum is a rich source of growth factors and immune regulators. This study provides evidence that children and young adults find this treatment acceptable and can take it for sufficient time to hopefully reduce inflammation.”
He added: “This initial pilot study was not planned to determine the efficacy of bovine colostrum, this will form the basis of a follow-up study. However, based on previous work from ours and other groups, bovine colostrum shows exciting possibilities to heal the gut and reduce inflammation without the requirement to exclude normal foods.
“This was a true collaborative effort of colleagues from many centres, especially Prof Stephen Allen, Professor of Paediatrics, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, who was a principal investigator on this study and received National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funding.”
To view the report, click here.
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