TNF in Crohns

Hi Class,
I found some interesting information on the relationship between Crohns and TNF alpha. As we all know, TNF alpha plays a role in chemotaxis of white blood cells to fight infection or pathogens. A somewhat new drug, Infliximab, is FDA approved and is used to very selectively target and antagonize TNF alpha . Antagonizing TNF alpha would disable the release of cytokines such as interleukin 1 and 6, and therefore slow the inflammatory process to a large degree. The advantage with this type of antagonizing drug is that it is not necessary to damage the immune system, as is the case in other treatments. Here, TNF can be selectively targeted while leaving the rest of immunity undamaged. I have a friend with Crohns and he is actually taking a low dose of chemotherapy to control it; this tends to destroy many T-cells and other leukocytes and so it takes him weeks or months to get over illness. With TNF inhibitors, time periods can be allowed where the patient can stop treatment and be allowed to fight any sort of illness or pathogen. Also interesting with this friend is that many of the dietary treatments we discussed in class last period, such as yogurt, milk, and certain vegetables are actually triggers for his type of Crohns. This makes controlling it even more difficult and on top of that, he cannot take calcium supplements because that too triggers inflammatory response. A TNF blocker may be beneficial for many patients, however, it has limitations as do all treatments.