Crohn's Disease Clinical Trials

People living with Crohn's disease (CD) experience psychological and emotional symptoms, in addition to known chronic and disabling physical symptoms, which prevent them from living their life to the fullest (flourishing). Depression and anxiety are experienced by 30% of people living with CD and 60% of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients continue to report chronic pain, stress, sleeplessness, and fatigue, even when they are "objectively" in remission. Psychological stress has been endorsed by 70% of patients with IBD as a key trigger for disease activity which is not surprising given the significance of the gut-brain-microbiome axis, the close communication between the enteric and autonomic nervous systems, and the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and its neuroendocrine and immune functions in the expression of GI symptoms. Interestingly, up to 85% of patients with CD also endorse the positive impact of effective coping skills on disease course. The PI's prior work has suggested that early provision of effective coping strategies, offered at the time of diagnosis or more precisely, immediately prior to biologic medication initiation, could potentially result in faster healing and improved well-being, likely through the combination of 1) physiological mitigation of the stress response and optimization of the gut-brain-microbiome axis; and 2) promotion of effective coping and disease self-management behaviors that promote psychological flourishing despite disease. Unfortunately, to date, early effective psychosocial care has been limited by concerns over reimbursement for psychological services, access to qualified IBD mental health professionals, and the lack of a standardized methodology focused on the brain-gut stress response and how to assess, monitor, communicate and maintain tight control over both physical and emotional well-being. CATHARSIS is a rigorous, placebo-controlled, randomized controlled trial of coping strategies plus medication for 170 people living with Crohn's for less than 5 years who are about to start a new biologic medication due to active disease. Outcomes include improvements in emotional well-being as well as clinical and endoscopic remission over a 12-month period. The overall goal of the study is to demonstrate that it is essential to combine biologic therapy and psychosocial care to ensure optimal and long-term positive outcomes in CD. Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the effects of fluconazole in patients who plan to start or are currently undergoing standard of care treatment and plan to dose-escalate an IL-23 therapy for their Crohn's disease. The main question it aims to assess is whether or not patient response to IL-23 therapies improve when simultaneously treated with fluconazole. Read Less

The purpose of this research is to see if patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and abdominal pain resulting in health-related quality of life deficits despite lack of evidence of active inflammation improve with the use of virtual reality (VR). Read Less

This clinical trial aims to understand the feasibility of patients taking ketone body supplement beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) for 4 weeks with a confirmed diagnosis of Crohn's disease and starting new therapy for active disease. The main questions it aims to answer are: * BHB supplementation will be feasible and acceptable to patients. * BHB supplementation will be associated with a reduction in systemic inflammation. * BHB supplementation will be associated with a reduction in pro-inflammatory bacterial colonies. Participants will: * Take 3 capsules x 3 times per day for 4 weeks. * Document food consumption using a 24-hour food recall questionnaire. * Provide blood and fecal samples twice, at the beginning of the study and the 4-week mark. Researchers will compare the group taking the ketone body supplement and the group not taking the supplement to see if the supplement provides relief of symptoms suffered from Crohn's disease. Read Less

The study is an extension of two parent studies (MLN0002-3024 \[NCT04779307\] and MLN0002-3025 \[NCT04779320\]). Participants must have participated in one of the previous studies. The purpose of this study is to collect the long-term safety of vedolizumab in children with UC or CD. Read Less