Crohn's disease (CD) is a nonspecific, chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. It is supposed that in etiopathogenesis oxidative stress (OS) plays a role. However, its precise role in the active and non-active states of disease is not known yet. We conducted a pilot study focusing on the relationship between OS of CD in remission and the possibility to influence clinical parameters and markers of OS by polyphenolic extract, Pycnogenol® (Pyc). Compared to 15 healthy controls 15 pediatric CD patients (all were in remission according to their disease activity index - PCDAI) had reduced the activity of Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) and increased the oxidative damage to proteins. We found negative correlations between markers of inflammation (calprotectin, CRP) as well as between PCDAI and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Activities of antioxidant enzymes, SOD, and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) negatively correlated with calprotectin and PCDAI. Pyc (2 mg/kg) positively influenced the parameters of OS in CD patients after 10 weeks of administration.

The seasonal effect on births of children with later childhood-onset Crohn disease is similar to that described for diabetes mellitus type 1, i.e., maximal frequency of births in summer.

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