Unconventional treatments for inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

The limited efficacy of standard medical therapies for inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) has resulted in a continuing search for alternative treatments. Short-chain fatty acids, fish oil, sulfhydryl agents, nicotine, clonidine, and heparin, and local administration of anesthetics, sucralfate, and other drugs, have been used with varying success, mostly in uncontrolled trials. Nicotine and short-chain fatty acids are the most promising unconventional agents for the treatment of ulcerative colitis when given in combination with standard mesalamine therapy; however, when administered alone, neither nicotine nor short-chain fatty acids are efficacious therapeutic alternatives. Enteric-coated fish oil is effective in maintaining remission of Crohn's disease but is not a useful treatment in the active phases of the disease.