Methotrexate to Maintain Remission in Crohn's Disease Patients with Crohn's disease often relapse. Methotrexate induces remission in Crohn's disease, but its role in preventing relapse in those with quiescent disease is not known. In this 40-week, placebo-controlled study of patients who entered remission during treatment with methotrexate, no other treatments for Crohn's disease were permitted, and methotrexate was effective in maintaining remission.

Growth Hormone Therapy for Crohn's Disease Treatments for Crohn's disease are not always effective and may have severe side effects. Growth hormone affects intestinal growth and repair. In this preliminary study, 37 patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease gave themselves daily injections of growth hormone or placebo for four months and continued their other medications. Patients receiving growth hormone had significantly greater decreases in their scores on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index than those receiving placebo injections.

Polymerized Bovine Hemoglobin for Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia Transfusions in patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia are complicated by autoantibodies that react with erythrocytes from virtually all donors. In rare cases, transfusions cannot sustain the hematocrit at a level compatible with life, because the autoantibodies rapidly destroy transfused red cells. The barrier presented by autoantibodies was circumvented in such a patient by the use of polymerized bovine hemoglobin for transfusion, and the patient eventually made a full recovery.