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Reported by: Jen Markham
Email: jmarkham@...

Bonnie Peters was first diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 1975.

Over the years, her symptoms became so bad she had to stop working and
severely limit her activity.

Drugs to help her with her intestinal problems didn't do much for her
other symptoms.

"Overall body arthritis, the total exhaustion, and I've been having fevers
for about two and a half years," Bonnie said.

Three weeks ago, the 66-year-old Spencerport native enrolled in a clinical
trial at Rochester General Hospital, for a new drug called Prochymal. The
drug is formulated from human stem cells, and researchers hope it could
help shut down the disease in the gastrointestinal tract.

"This works by ideally targeting the inflammation and shutting down the
inflammation such so that inflammatory response is no longer seen and the
patient's symptoms improve with that," said Dr. Kevin Casey, a
gastroenterologist at Rochester General.

Dr. Casey said unlike other Crohn's drugs, patients can take Prochymal
without also having to take an immuno-suppressant, which can cause
complications.

The drug has so far shown positive results in early trials. Bonnie said
she has already noticed a big difference.

"The body pain is gone...the exhaustion is gone," she said. "The fevers
are not gone, but I'm able to go shopping and then go out again in the
evening if I want...it's been wonderful."

Doctors said the treatment is targeted at patients, for which no other
therapy has worked.

Rochester General is currently looking for 15 or more patients with
Crohn's Disease to enroll in the trial. For more information, you can
call the hospital at 922-5465.