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1. What is Crohn's disease?

Crohn's disease is a chronic condition that causes inflammation and ulcerations in the gastrointestinal tract. Common symptoms of Crohn's include diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, weight loss, and sometimes rectal bleeding. Crohn's can also cause complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract--joint pain, skin lesions, and eye inflammation, for example. Children with Crohn's may have growth delays, and if the disease is not well controlled they may not reach their anticipated adult height.

2. Who gets Crohn's disease?

An estimated 500,000 or more people in the United States have Crohn's. It is most commonly diagnosed in young adults between the ages of 15 and 35, but it can appear at any point from infancy through old age. The cause is unknown but there appears to be a genetic component. Some 20% to 25% of sufferers have a relative with Crohn's disease or a related digestive disease, ulcerative colitis.

3. How is Crohn's disease diagnosed?

Crohn's disease is diagnosed through a range of blood tests and procedures. Blood tests can be used to identify inflammation, anemia, and other nutritional deficiencies. The insides of the gastrointestinal tract are examined with an endoscope, a lighted tube with a tiny camera at the end. Samples of intestinal tissue may be removed and examined under a microscope. X-rays of the small intestine can show narrowed areas and other abnormalities.

4. What treatments are available?

Crohn's disease can be treated with medications, surgery, and enteral nutrition, alone or in combination. Many people have times when the disease is active and needs aggressive treatment, and other times when it is in remission and they don't have any symptoms. The goal of treatment is to keep the disease in remission for as long as possible and to regain remission quickly if disease activity recurs.

5. What is enteral nutrition?

In the most general sense, enteral (pronounced with the accent on the "en") nutrition refers to any food or beverage that is swallowed by mouth or delivered through a tube to the stomach or intestines. In addition, the term is used more specifically to refer to special liquid diets used for medical reasons instead of, or in addition to, regular foods and beverages. In people with Crohn's disease, enteral nutrition (in this specific sense) can be used to induce or maintain remission. The liquid diet can be taken orally or through a tube.

6. Is enteral nutrition a cure for Crohn's?

No. Enteral nutrition is an effective treatment for Crohn's disease that can help many people achieve remission and return to remission if they relapse, but it is not a permanent cure. There is no cure for Crohn's.

7. What is the economic burden of Crohn's disease in the United States?

The economic burden of Crohn's disease in the United States is estimated at between $10.9 billion and $15.5 billion annually.*

*AP Yu, LA Cabanilla, EQ Wu, PM Mulani, J Chao. The costs of Crohn's disease in the United States and other Western countries: a systematic review. Curr Med Res Opin 2008 Feb;24(2):319-28.

1. What is enteral nutrition?

2. How does it work?

3. Why would anyone want to use a liquid diet for several weeks when they could take a medication instead?

4. What is Crohn's disease?

5. How many people have Crohn's disease and who gets it?

6. Does enteral nutrition cure Crohn's?

7. What about people with other digestive diseases? Can they benefit from enteral nutrition?

8. What are the usual treatment options for Crohn's?

9. How did you get interested in enteral nutrition?

10. Is this an "alternative" therapy?

11. Is enteral nutrition safe for children with Crohn's?

12. Why don't doctors mention enteral nutrition to their patients with Crohn's?

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Margaret A. Oppenheimer has worked as a medical writer since 1996. She spent 10 years as a consultant for a large pharmaceutical company, researching and writing reports of up to 150 pages on topics ranging from arthritis to urinary incontinence. Currently she works as a freelance writer and editor. She lives in New York City. In her free time, Margaret enjoys public speaking and is an active member of Toastmasters International. She talks to her computer, too…as she does all her writing with voice-recognition software. (So far the computer has refrained from talking back.)

Margaret has a chronic inflammatory disease and has used enteral nutrition herself more than half-a-dozen times. Unfortunately it is not effective in controlling her condition, but she became impressed at how effective it could be for many people with Crohn's. To raise the visibility of this neglected treatment option, she spent four years researching and writing her book on the subject. "I feel patients deserve to know about this therapy," Oppenheimer says. "Granted, it's not as easy as taking a pill, but some patients don't respond to medications or experience serious side effects; they need to know another treatment option exists. Until a cure for Crohn's comes along, we can't afford to ignore any regimen that works."

If you'd like to share information with your readers on Beat Crohn's! Getting to Remission with Enteral Nutrition, but don't have room to publish a complete review or interview, please feel free to use any of the following blurbs in your print publication, Web site, or blog.

Can't get Crohn's disease under control? Learn about a clinically tested dietary treatment in Beat Crohn's! Getting to Remission with Enteral Nutrition. The nutritional regimen, used by people with Crohn's since 1969 but almost forgotten in the US, can be as effective as powerful immunosuppressive drugs. For more details, visit www.ibdbook.com.

Parents of kids with Crohn's disease worry that drugs used to manage the debilitating digestive illness could have serious long-term side effects. A forthcoming book offers an alternative to medications: a clinically tested dietary treatment for Crohn's that can be as effective as powerful immunosuppressive drugs. The treatment regimen involves using special liquid formulas instead of, or in addition to, regular food and beverages to induce and maintain remission. Get the details in Beat Crohn's: Getting to Remission with Enteral Nutrition, by Margaret A. Oppenheimer. (www.ibdbook.com)

Does your child have Crohn's disease? Learn about a clinically tested dietary treatment for the illness in Beat Crohn's! Getting to Remission with Enteral Nutrition. The treatment involves using special liquid formulas instead of, or in addition to, regular food and beverages to induce and maintain remission. (www.ibdbook.com)

Can't get Crohn's disease under control? Learn about a clinically tested dietary treatment in Beat Crohn's! Getting to Remission with Enteral Nutrition. The treatment involves using special liquid formulas ("enteral nutrition") instead of, or in addition to, regular food and beverages to induce and maintain remission. Used by people with Crohn's since 1969 but almost forgotten in the US, enteral nutrition can be as effective as powerful immunosuppressive drugs. (www.ibdbook.com)