Clinical Advances in Ustekinumab in the Treatment of Crohn's Disease

Abstract

As the study of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) advances, various biological agents for IBD are emerging, ushering in a new area of IBD treatment. Ustekinumab, an anti-interleukin-12/23 agent, is a new option for Crohn's disease patients with prior failure of traditional pharmacological treatment or tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonist (TNF-α) . We reviewed the mechanisms of action, clinical effectiveness, safety, loss of response and the adjustment of therapy regarding ustekinumab in Crohn's disease, and summarized the strengths of ustekinumab treatment, such as rapid onset, significant efficacy and high safety. However, this treatment needs to be further examined by clinical and follow-up studies since it has been used for a short period of time with insufficient clinical evidence.

Keywords

• crohn's disease|ustekinumab|histologic remission|safety|loss of response|intensification treatment|dual biologic therapy|review