We would like to celebrate with you today`s World IBD Day 2021 and raise awareness for people suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). IBD is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two major forms of IBD are Crohn`s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Both are characterized by inflammation of intestinal mucosa and a chronic, relapsing disease course.
Worldwide more than 6.8 million people live with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, with highest numbers of IBD patients observed in North America and Europe. An estimated 0.3% of the European population is suffering from IBD corresponding to 2.5-3 million IBD patients. In North America, it is estimated that 2.2 million persons are affected. There is a rise of incidence over the last decades globally which, together with the given chronic nature of IBD, leads to an increasing prevalence.
BÜHLMANN is offering a broad product portfolio for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of IBD patients:
Fecal Calprotectin
Calprotectin is a cytosolic protein particularly present in neutrophil granulocytes. Inflammatory alterations in the intestine, as they occur in CD and UC, lead to elevated calprotectin concentrations in stool. Therefore, fecal calprotectin it is the best marker for IBD diagnosis and a very valuable tool to monitor the disease course of IBD patients. Further, it is useful to support quality of life of IBD patients through improved patient management.
BÜHLMANN offers the largest product portfolio in the market of calprotectin testing from the patient home test IBDoc®, with three easy steps for measuring fecal calprotectin at patient home, to the Quantum Blue® rapid tests offering quantitative measurement of fecal calprotectin within 12 to 15 minutes, to the gold standard BÜHLMANN fCAL® ELISA, and last but not least to the automated, random-access BÜHLMANN fCAL® turbo. As the stool extraction is essential for all assays, BÜHLMANN has developed the CALEX® Cap and Valve stool extraction devices for the optimal calprotectin extraction.
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM)
Drugs targeting TNF-alpha had a marked impact on the treatment success and quality of life of patients suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases such as IBD or Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). TDM encompasses measuring drug levels in patient blood (trough) and the occurrence of antibodies that block the drug (anti-drug antibodies).
With the Quantum Blue® Infliximab and Quantum Blue® Adalimumab BÜHLMANN offers quantitative rapid tests to measure infliximab, adalimumab and their biosimilars trough levels in patient serum within 15 minutes. The Quantum Blue® Anti-infliximab and Quantum Blue® Anti-adalimumab provide a highly specific qualitative detection of antibodies against infliximab and adalimumab. Together, the Quantum Blue® TDM assays allow for quick decision making and optimization of treatment in patients suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases.
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