The renowned expert got acquainted with the most current treatment alternatives for patients with gastroenterological diseases.
October 30, 2022 | | Time to read: 3 min
dr. Ahmed Morales, gastroenterologist and editorial advisor of Revista Medicina y Salud Pública. Photo: Journal of Medicine and Public Health.
Prominent Puerto Rican gastroenterologist and editorial advisor to the Journal of Medicine and Public Health, Dr. Ahmed Morales, represented Puerto Rico at the American Association of gastroenterology held in Charleston, North Carolina. There he shared with colleagues from the continent and reported on the latest advances in the treatment of the most widespread gastroenterological conditions in the population of Puerto Rico.
I had the opportunity to share with other gastroenterologists who are on the course and we all agree that the future is extremely bright and brilliant for patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, said the specialist.
In addition, he pointed out that medicine and science are increasingly developing new, effective, modern and comfortable treatments for patients, offering multiple therapeutic alternatives.
Oral drug innovations vs. injections
“There will be many of them oral medications and much more suitable alternatives will be offered. This helps quality of life, as treatments control the condition, and although there is no cure for these conditions, with advances in treatment, patients can live full lives,” said the gastroenterologist.
Regarding Crohn’s disease, Dr. Morales explained that it is an inflammatory condition and has a genetic component where the immune system attacks the intestines. Usually, this disease is seen in young patients or people on the transition to adulthood, therefore, progress in treatment will allow them to not interrupt their daily work, thus reducing the impact of the condition on the quality of life.
The future of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease treatment
He even gave a revealing fact, “many of the drugs coming out will attack both conditions: Crohn’s disease and colitis. They will have an indication for both and really in the future, maybe making a clear and precise distinction between each disease won’t be as important as actually attacking them with the right treatments”.
During the convention, Dr. Morales also learned about a new generation of antacids that, according to numerous studies conducted in the United States, are more effective in controlling acid pumping.
“I had the opportunity to participate in a conversation where I heard about a drug that has been on the market since 2016 and is a new generation of antacids; drugs that existed before, like omeprazole and proton, drugs that attacked the acid pump, maybe in 5 or six years they will be a thing of the past, because the current ones attack the acid with a different mechanism of action where the acid is more effectively suppressed and the statistics of improvement of esophagitis and regurgitation are better compared to other medicines”.
See the full interview here.