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There is evidence that mesalamine, an aminosalicylate drug, maintains remission in patients with Crohn's disease. This double-blind, controlled Canadian trial randomized 246 patients with Crohn's disease to treatment with either mesalamine (750 mg four times a day) or placebo. All patients had been in remission for at least one month according to a standardized disease activity index, but had had at least one disease flare-up within 18 months.
During 48 weeks of treatment, the recurrence rate was lower with mesalamine than with placebo (25 vs. 37 percent), a difference of borderline statistical significance. In subgroup analyses, mesalamine was more effective in patients with colonic or combined colonic/small bowel disease than in patients w…