A simple diet, which strictly excludes certain foods, can lead to remission of Chron's disease, a serious inflammatory pathology which affects the small intestine and colon and which increasingly appears in childhood.
This is what the pediatric gastroenterology department of the Meyer Irccs university hospital in Florence has successfully experimented with.
The dietary regime has so far been recommended to more than 60 young patients: in this series, in 70% of cases, doctors have witnessed a complete remission of the disease, even if it was in a severe form.
"The one conducted by the Florentine pediatrician which is also a reference center for this pathology - explains Aou Meyer - is one of the largest experiences conducted at a European level. And the dietary therapy has proven effective even in patients who do not respond to treatments doctors, even with the use of latest generation biological drugs".
"We are very satisfied with this result - explains Paolo Lionetti, who leads pediatric gastroenterology at Meyer -: until recently, patients were administered an exclusively liquid diet which had shown good results, but was difficult to accept. This diet, although rather rigid, it is followed more willingly by children and adolescents".
The diet excludes all "those foods that can have an inflammatory action on the intestine, those processed by industry, which contain additives, emulsifiers and preservatives. As mentioned, Chron's disease is no longer just a prerogative of adults. onset, in 20-25% of cases, has moved to pediatric age. This makes it very important to have an effective dietary treatment that does not involve any side effects".
The specialists are also trying to develop, in collaboration with Meyer, a Mediterranean variant of the diet.
For this research, Meyer is the leader of a project which also involves the La Sapienza University of Rome, the University of Foggia and the Sofia Cervello Hospital of Palermo and which has been awarded a Pnrr loan of 1 million euros.
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