today show the significant impact of UC on patients' productivity, employment and social activities. A survey of 1,000 patients who rated their UC symptoms on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being very severe, showed that patients with more severe disease reported greater disability, significantly more days missed from work and significantly more days of reduced productivity, compared with patients with less severe disease (P < 0.01). In fact, 19 percent of patients with the most severe disease were on long- or short-term medical leave from work, compared with less than seven percent of patients whose disease was less severe (P < 0.01). Of patients who were employed, those with the most severe disease missed an average of 19 days of work in the past year, compared with one day for those with the mildest disease (P < 0.01). Furthermore, even when at work, patients who rated their disease as more severe reported being less productive on more than 30 days in the past year, underscoring the negative impact of UC on patients' ability to function in the workplace.
"Many patients with ulcerative colitis report experiencing extremely bothersome symptoms, that affect many areas of their lives, including their ability to maintain full-time employment and make and keep social engagements," said Richard J. Geswell, President, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. "Since patients with more severe symptoms experience more difficulties than those with milder disease, a treatment that rapidly reduces UC symptoms and keeps disease activity at bay over time may reduce the impact of the disease on patients' work status and productivity."
About the ACT Long-Term Extension
Patients with moderate to severe UC, defined as a baseline Mayo score ≥ 6 and ≤ 12, who were unresponsive to or intolerant to at least one standard therapy, including corticosteroids, immunosuppressants or 5ASAs, were enrolled in ACT 1 (n=364) or ACT 2 (n=364). The 728 patients were ran
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Contact: Melissa Katz
mkatz2@cntus.jnj.com
215-325-6875
Centocor, Inc.
23-May-2007
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