FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 26, 2006
CONTACT: Tom Hanley, Public Relations Director
860.545.9954 or pager 860.220.3562 

CONNECTICUT CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER OPENS NEW CENTER FOR PEDIATRIC INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD)

HARTFORD – Connecticut Children’s Medical Center announces the opening of a new Center for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease to serve as a resource for clinical care, for research, and philanthropic funding to help find a cure.

At an educational symposium attended by over 200 people representing patient families at CCMC, Dr. Jeffrey Hyams director of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, and the Center for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease said each week more than one to two children are diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease. The youngest new patient seen this year is just two years old.

Dr. Hyams, a pediatric gastroenterologist, said the IBD Center will provide care to over400 children a year with IBD and is one of the largest programs in the northeast United States. Dr. Hyams said, “We know that poorly treated pediatric inflammatory bowel disease leads to significant and severe gastrointestinal symptoms, growth failure, hospitalizations, surgery and impaired quality of life. We need to change that.”

Inflammatory Bowel Disease includes Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Research has revolutionized care and treatment of IBD, Dr. Hyams said, but little is fully understood of the cause. “Genetic research is just scratching the surface. We also now understand that an abnormality in the response of the gastrointestinal immune system to bacteria in the bowel is of primary importance” Dr. Hyams said.

New therapy such as infusions of the drug Remicade and the improved use of older medications has helped more children go into remission quicker from the disease and had led to a dramatic change in the course of treatment. Dr. Hyams said, “We used to have at least 6 patients at a time hospitalized for treatment of IBD, but it is rare a child is hospitalized now for it.”

However, the effects of IBD on growth and development, and its impact on bone loss are only now being studied.  Dr. Hyams is the founder of the Pediatric IBD Collaborative Research Group, a consortium of 20 clinical research centers in North America compiling detailed data on newly diagnosed children with IBD.

This comprehensive database makes possible prospective research studies that have the potential to develop new understanding of the natural history of inflammatory bowel disease and the best ways for caring for affected children.

At the Center for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease, highly trained physicians, nurses, and nutritionists participate in the care of all children seen in the IBD program from initial diagnosis to long-term management for Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Treatment often involves a combination of medications as well as a plan for optimal nutrition. Careful monitoring of growth is performed. Clinical trials offer patients the latest in treatment breakthroughs. A close working relationship with pediatric and colorectal surgeons ensures ability to offer patients the full spectrum of optimal care. A full time IBD coordinator is involved with the care of all patients. An infusion center for the administration of biological therapies is present in the clinical area and run by trained pediatric infusion nurses.

Physicians in the IBD Center are actively involved in basic and clinical research studies trying to gain a better understanding of the causes of IBD, its response to current and emerging medications, and optimizing growth and bone health for all affected children. Patients have the opportunity to participate in clinical studies and clinical trials translating new advances into better care in a speedy fashion.

Pediatric gastroenterologist Dr. Francisco Sylvester leads the basic research efforts of the IBD Center in studying the effects of gastrointestinal disorders on bone metabolism. Dr. Sylvester is the chairman of the pediatric affairs committee of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America and holds a five year $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study calcium balance in children with IBD to determine how inflammation affects bone forming cell development.

“The IBD Center is the result of Dr. Hyams’ 25 year leadership in advancing the search for better treatment and ultimately a cure for these chronic conditions,” said Martin J. Gavin, President & CEO of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. “As CCMC celebrates its 10^th anniversary this year, the announcement of this new program is testimony to the significance of the need and the urgency to find a cure.”