COMBATING CROHN'S: ANTIDOTE COULD (LITERALLY) BE A LIFESAVER

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with some members of the Antidote team who shared with me this new and truly helpful way to find research studies and clinical trials that not only are you eligible for but that are a perfect fit for your condition. I, myself, have been in talks with my doctor just a couple of weeks ago about potential involvement in some clinical trials coming up so this seems to have been brought to my attention at an optimal time! Anyone with a chronic illness knows that you do the majority of your own research about your condition and treatments and often are the one presenting the options you find fitting to your healthcare provider. That is why I find Antidote so valuable. This search tool gives you the opportunity to search those options and connect you with the best choices for you. Anything that I can do to make finding treatment options easier, sign me up, because you all know it can be exhausting.

My explanation does not do Antidote justice though so I have included a post from a member of their team, below, so that ya'll can get the full scoop on how Antidote can help you in your battle with Crohn's or any chronic illness for that matter. 

A New Way to Find Research Studies for Crohn’s Disease

As anyone living with Crohn’s disease knows, finding the right treatment option can be a challenge. To start, there’s no one test to diagnose Crohn’s disease, so other conditions have to be eliminated as options first before a Crohn’s diagnosis can be considered.

Once you’ve been diagnosed with Crohn’s, there’s no one treatment that works for everyone. The goal of Crohn’s treatment is to reduce the inflammation that causes symptoms. Ideally, treatment also leads to long-term remission.

But for some people, standard treatments just don’t help that much. Researchers are looking into new options to better treat, and ultimately cure, Crohn’s disease.

Some treatments in development aim to block inflammation at the source instead of treating symptoms once inflammation already occurred. Research suggests that newer corticosteroids, for example, may be better at treating Crohn’s symptoms than older ones, with fewer side effects.

One new treatment path researchers are exploring involves a bacteria called Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (Map), which may contribute to Crohn’s disease. The bacteria causes intestinal infections in cattle that are similar to Crohn’s disease in humans. Several studies are investigating whether treating people with Crohn’s with an antibiotic for this bacteria makes a difference in symptoms.

Joining a clinical trial can be one way to access potential new treatments as well as quality care. There are currently 234 research studies looking for volunteers living with Crohn’s disease in the United States.

Before new treatments can reach patients, they must make their way through four clinical trial phases. Each phase tests the potential treatment for safety, effectiveness, or both, and volunteers are needed for each one.

Every trial has different requirements for participation, though, and it can be difficult to sift through on ClinicalTrials.gov. Though all clinical trials are lifted there, the website wasn’t designed with patients in mind, so it can be frustrating to try and find what you’re looking for.

Antidote is a health technology company that aims to solve this problem through their simple search tool. You can find clinical trials that may be a good fit for you by following a few steps:

1. Answer a couple basic demographic questions about yourself and how far you would be willing to travel for a trial.
2. Respond to a few more specific questions about your medical history. All of your information is private -- Antidote does not collect personally identifiable medical information.
3. See your results and click through on studies that interest you. On the study page, you’ll see more about the trial and the treatment option it’s exploring.
4. Choose the site location that’s most convenient for you, and easily email yourself details about it to share with your doctor.
5. After talking with your doctor about potentially joining a study, contact the researcher listed in the study to learn more.

If you’re interested in learning more about new research studies near you, start a search using the tool below.

BYLINE: Nancy Ryerson is a Digital Marketing Manager at Antidote. Prior to joining Antidote, she was on the marketing team at The Michael J. Fox Foundation and worked as as a health journalist.

I have included this tool below so that you can start to search right off of CrohicallyBlonde.com! As always, if you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to reach out. 

xx