Francesca Ferretti ¹, Rosanna Cannatelli ¹, Maria Camilla Monico ¹, Giovanni Maconi ¹, Sandro Ardizzone 

J Clin Med  2022 Apr 20;11(9):2302. doi: 10.3390/jcm11092302.

The main goals of Ulcerative Colitis (UC) treatment are to both induce and maintain the clinical and endoscopic remission of disease, reduce the incidence of complications such as dysplasia and colorectal carcinoma and improve quality of life. Although a curative medical treatment for UC has not yet been found, new therapeutic strategies addressing specific pathogenetic mechanisms of disease are emerging. Notwithstanding these novel therapies, non-biological conventional drugs remain a mainstay of treatment. The aim of this review is to summarize current therapeutic strategies used as treatment for ulcerative colitis and to briefly focus on emerging therapeutic strategies, including novel biologic therapies and small molecules. To date, multiple therapeutic approaches can be adopted in UC and the range of available compounds is constantly increasing. In this era, the realization of well-designed comparative clinical trials, as well as the definition of specific therapeutic models, would be strongly suggested in order to achieve personalized management for UC patients. They also presented other non-Pharmacological Therapies for UC including probiotics, cytapheresis and fecal transplantation.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35566428/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9104748/

Iago Rodríguez-Lago ¹, Laura Sempere ², Ana Gutiérrez ^2 3, Andrea Núñez ⁴, Eduardo Leo Carnerero ⁴, Esther Hinojosa ⁵, María Mora ⁵, Fiorella Cañete ⁶, Miriam Mañosa ⁶, Claudia Herrera ⁷, Belén Beltrán ⁸, Ana Forés ⁹, Dolores Arjona ¹⁰, Manuel Barreiro-de Acosta ¹¹, Sam Khorrami ¹², Urko Aguirre ¹³, Daniel Ginard ¹², José Luis Cabriada ¹ , Scand J Gastroenterol 2019 Apr;54(4):459-464.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the combination of granulocyte-monocyte apheresis (GMA) after loss of response (LOR) to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents in ulcerative colitis (UC). Materials and methods: A retrospective, multicenter study was performed in 11 inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) Units. Clinical remission was defined as a partial Mayo score ≤2. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated by the partial Mayo score and the rate of anti-TNF intensification, switch, swap or colectomy. Results: Forty-seven patients with ulcerative colitis were included (mean age 35 years, mean disease duration 52 months, 66% male and 59% extensive colitis). Twenty-three subjects were receiving infliximab, eighteen adalimumab and six golimumab. GMA was combined after a primary non-response (49%) or secondary loss of response (51%) to anti-TNF therapy. We observed a significant decrease in partial Mayo score and fecal calprotectin after GMA. Fifteen patients (32%) responded to the combination therapy without anti-TNF intensification, switch, swap or colectomy. Eight patients (17%) underwent colectomy. Two patients (4%) presented adverse events related to the technique. Conclusions: Combination of GMA and anti-tumor necrosis factor is a safe and effective treatment after the loss of response to these biologic agents, with a significant decrease of the clinical disease activity and biomarkers, in a population with limited therapeutic alternatives.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30982369/

Hiroki Tanaka, Satoshi Motoya, Tomoyoshi Shibuya, Satoshi Tanida, Seiichiro Kokuma, Eiji Hosoi Gastroenterology 2018 154 (6) Suppl.S-996–S-997

Background: There are few studies on the usefulness of granulocyte and monocyte adsorptive apheresis (GMA) in elderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We investigated the safety and effectiveness of GMA in elderly patients who participated in the Post-marketing Surveillance Study of GMA Using Adacolumn® for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Who Have Special Situations (PARTICULAR). Methods: The PARTICULAR study is a retrospective, multicenter cohort study that included patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD) who received GMA between November 2013 and March 2017. Patients with at least one special situation, including elderly patients, patients with anemia, and patients undergoing concomitant treatment with multiple immunosuppressants (IMs) were enrolled. Patients aged # 64 years were excluded from this study. GMA was performed using Adacolumn® (JIMRO, Takasaki, Japan). Each patient received up to a maximum of 11 GMA sessions. The safety of GMA was assessed in all patients. The effectiveness of GMA was assessed in patients with UC with a partial UC disease activity index (pUC-DAI) score of $ 3. Remission was defined as a pUC-DAI score of # 2. Patients receiving concomitant treatment with infliximab, adalimumab, or calcineurin inhibitors were excluded from the effectiveness assessment. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) and remission rates were compared between elderly patients with and without any special situation using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 125 elderly patients (118 UC, 7 CD) from 93 institutions were included. The median age was 73.2 years. Fifty-six patients did not have any special situation, and 69 had at least one or more special situations. The incidence of AEs was 11.2% in all patients. The incidence of AEs was significantly lower in elderly patients without any special situation (3.6%) than in those with at least one or more special situations (17.4%) (Figure 1A). AEs significantly occurred in elderly patients with anemia (21.9%) and on multiple concomitant IMs (23.8%) compared to those without any special situation (3.6%). Anemia and multiple concomitant IMs were identified as independent predictors for a higher incidence of AEs (Table 1). The effectiveness of GMA was assessed in 92 patients with UC. The remission rate was 48.9%. No difference was observed in the remission rate between elderly patients without any special situation (52.2%) and those with at least one or more special situations (45.7%) (Figure 1B). Conclusions: A low incidence of AEs (3.6%) was found in elderly IBD patients receiving GMA without any special situation. Remission was achieved by GMA in 48.6% of the elderly UC patients. Care should be taken when using GMA in elderly IBD patients with anemia or on multiple concomitant IMs

Iago Rodríguez-Lago ¹, Laura Gómez-Irwin ², Encarnación Fernández ³, Rebeca Higuera ⁴, José Luis Cabriada ¹ , Ther Apher Dial. 2017 Feb;21(1):26-30.

Adjuvant treatment with leukapheresis in patients with inadequate response to anti-TNF treatment showed some beneficial effect, although of limited duration, in patients with ulcerative colitis.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28078747/

TARO OSADA＊, SUMIO WATANABE＊, Juntendo Medical Journal61 (6), 588-596

In recent years, landmark progress has been made in the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel
diseases (IBD). The anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α antibody era has shown that mucosal healing is a key
therapeutic goal, and may predict the sustainability of remission or resection-free survival in IBD patients.
Further, the anti-TNF-α antibody infliximab (IFX) became an alternative medication for refractory UC in 2010
under the Japan national health reimbursement scheme. However, to induce remission in steroid-refractory UC,
currently several therapeutic options are available in Japan including cytapheresis, tacrolimus, and anti-TNF-α
biologics, but as yet, there are no guidelines for the sequence and timing of these therapeutic interventions.
Additionally, there are many patients who do not respond, or are intolerant, to anti-TNF-α biologics. Recently,
new strategies like faecal microbiota transplantation and anti-leucocyte infiltration have been tested for induction
and maintenance of remission in IBD patients. This paper provides an overview of the latest treatment options and
future perspectives in IBD therapy

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jmj/61/6/61_588/_pdf/-char/en