Treatment of active Crohn's disease by exclusion diet: East Anglian multicentre controlled trial.

Elemental diet is as effective in producing remission of Crohn's disease (CD) as is corticosteroid treatment, but most patients relapse soon after resumption of a normal diet. We have investigated the efficacies of dietary modification and oral corticosteroids in maintaining remission achieved with elemental diet. In a multicentre trial, 136 patients with active CD were started on elemental diet and other treatment was withdrawn.

ECG record during changes in oesophageal pH.

Seventeen patients with non-cardiac chest pain were investigated by simultaneous ambulatory 24 hour ECG and oesophageal pH monitoring. While 11 patients lowered their oesophageal pH below 4 for a significant percentage, (3.4%) of recorded time and experienced chest pain, no simultaneous ECG changes occurred.

A clinical trial of levamisole in primary biliary cirrhosis.

A small pilot study of levamisole in primary biliary cirrhosis failed to demonstrate any improvement in liver function and immunological abnormalities even in 'early' cases. This may be due to the fact that the defect in the immune system lies in its afferent arm. At present, levamisole, which is potentially toxic, cannot be recommended in conventional doses for the treatment of this disease.