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Treatments of Crohn’s Disease are primarily limited to medication and surgery. There are several anti-inflammatory medications that have proven to be beneficial, as well as various forms of surgery depending on the location of the affected area of bowel. Although none of these actually cure Crohn’s Disease, they are helpful is controlling the symptoms. In ebook 2 of “A Complete Guide to Crohn’s Disease and Possible Treatments,” each of these treatments is looked at more completely.

There are five basic categories of medication to treat Crohn’s: aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, immunomodulators, antibiotics, and biologic therapies. Aminosalicylates are used to treat various inflammatory bowel diseases. While used less often with Crohn’s, it has proven to be effective in mild to moderate cases. Corticosteroids work to control inflammation and have been the primary medication treatment since the drug was introduced. Newer version of this type of steroid has proven even more effective in treating Crohn’s. Immunomodulators are used to suppress the body’s immunity mechanisms, which is useful in treating Crohn’s as it is believed the disease may be brought on by the body’s attempt to rid the intestine of bacteria. Antibiotics, on the other hand, are used to rid the body of bacteria and actually repress the intestinal immune system. Biological therapies have recently become a major player in treating Crohn’s. These are created by various living organisms and, in the case of Crohn’s treatment, include the use of an antibody which works to suppress the body’s release of a particular chemical that increases inflammation.

Crohn’s Disease is also treated by surgery. At some point, the majority of people with this disease will have to have a portion of their intestines removed should it become blocked with scar tissue, develop an abscess, or if a fistula requires repair. In the case of a resection, a portion of the bowel is removed, and the two remaining ends are rejoined. However, in more severe cases an ileostomy or colostomy are required, in which fecal matter is redirected, after the removal of a portion of bowel, to a hole in the abdomen to leave the body. The two latter types of surgery are particularly difficult for the patient, as they will then have to wear a bag in which stool is collected. However, there have been major advancements to make this less difficult for the patient.

A less effective treatment option for Crohn’s disease is to control the intake of certain foods. While it is clear Crohn’s Disease is not caused by any particular food, some people notice an increase in certain symptoms with particular foods and a decrease with others. This will vary by individual, but is an option for sufferers of Crohn’s.

Sarah is an acclaimed writer on medical matters, and has written extensively on the subjects of Attention Deficit Disorder, Bird Flu and Crohn’s Disease.
For more of her articles, go to http://www.imedicalvillage.com now.

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His name was Kung Tsu Chen. He was a Chinese poet in 1847 when he described a rare but very real phenomenon now known as “musicogenic epilepsy”. With musicogenic epilepsy, the individual suffers from brain seizures that are triggered by music, and in his case a very specific kind of music. You see, Kung Tsu Chen recorded that though he didn’t know why, he would become sick when he would hear the sound of a street vendor’s flute during the evening sun.

Researchers tell us that this form of epilepsy can appear as a result of many kinds of music. In the case of our Chinese poet the trigger was apparently flute melodies, but seizures can be triggered by type of music, or type of instrument, the composer or even the emotional content of the piece. As a matter of fact, in some cases just thinking about the music, regardless of whether the individual is awake or not, is enough to trigger an epileptic seizure.

Exactly how musicogenic episodes are induced is unknown and unfortunately due to how few cases of musicogenic epilepsy in the world the research monies have not been available to study this question directly. It has been suggested, however, that the right temporal lobe of the brain contains, within the right auditory cortex, a series of modules that specialize in processing music. If this is so, the theory suggests, then musicogenic epilepsy is evidence of a malfunction of this part of the brain.

Fortunately, that’s not the end of the story. Music has also been found to have a profoundly positive effect on individuals with epilepsy as well. One research study even found that when epileptic patients are treated with music therapy as well as conventional epileptic medicines as many as eighty percent of their patients had the frequency of their epileptic seizures reduced by seventy five percent! Likewise, eighty percent of epileptic patients experienced at least some reduction in the intensity of their epileptic seizures.

The reason for this, it has been suggested, may be found in the fact that the brain does not have any single center for processing music. Instead, the areas of the brain that process music are scattered widely across the brain. Thus, when the brain is subjected to music that is highly structured, such as Mozart’s Sonata for Two Piano’s, the brain process is actually aided. Unfortunately, the implication is that the inverse is true as well, certain kinds of music could, in theory, make it more difficult for a brain that is struggling to function in the first place if there is a clash at that weak point.

So, does this mean that we avoid music? Unless you have musicogenic epilepsy the answer is no. As a matter of fact, studies have shown that patients with other kinds of epilepsy can actually be benefited by listening to music! As a matter of fact, in one such study, the researchers found that epileptic episodes were significantly reduced in more than seventy-nine percent of the cases when Mozart’s Sonata for Two Piano’s was being played in the room where the patient was located.

To my knowledge, music is not yet used as a formal treatment for epilepsy, but the sheer fact that music has shown a potential ability to be a treatment for epilepsy as well as its ability to induce epileptic seizures would seem to indicate that music just might play a more significant role in the human experience than we ever imagined.

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music courses for adults including “Pro Secrets: Piano Playing Secrets Of The Pros” He is also the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions” with over 57,400 current subscribers

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