A Dige et al. Gastroenterol 2019; 156: 2208-16. This study evaluated the efficacy of freshly collected autologous adipose tissue injection for healing of perianal fistulas in Crohn’s disease.  The overall healing rate was 57% and the treatment had a good safety profile.

HK Somineni et al. Gastroenterol 2019; 156: 2254-65. The researchers found that DNA methylation patterns (from ~850,000 sites) in blood samples from pediatric patients with Crohn’s disease  (n=164) were associated with inflammation and resolved with treatment of inflammation; thus, the changes in DNA methylation are less likely to be a causative agent in disease development or progression and more likely a biomarker of inflammation.

OB Kelly et al. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2019; 25: 1066-71. Among 316 patients who underwent A/P CT scan for any reason, 49 (16%) had evidence of sacroilitis, indicating this is underdiagnosed in patients with IBD.

BG Feagan et al. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2019; 25: 1028-35. In a post hoc analysis of GEMINI 1 trial (n=769 patients: 149 placebo, 620 vedolizumab), a randomized placebo-controlled trial of vedolizumab for ulcerative coliis, compared to placebo ~40% more patients receiving a full induction of vedolizumab had a sustained clinical remission after 52 weeks of therapy.  Of patients in clinical remission at week 14, 66.5% achieved a sustained clinical remission at week 52 compared with 267% of placebo-treated patients based on partial Mayo score..  Sustained clinical remission was based on partial Mayo score and rectal bleeding subscore..