"NY’s Best Hospitals Supplement: How An Impromptu Visit To A Mount Sinai Gastroenterologist Ended Decades of Distress" - Reuven Blau
Paul O'Neill, the Jersey Shore resident, was just 19 years old when he was diagnosed with the debilitating inflammatory bowel ailment Crohn’s disease. For years, his symptoms were treated with an anti-inflammatory medicine that was developed in the 1950s to deal with rheumatoid arthritis. But the drug, sulfasalazine, was doing little to stop his constant need to use the bathroom and he was totally unable to eat certain foods, like pizza, or drink beer. James Marion, MD, professor of medicine and gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the director of education and outreach and the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center at The Mount Sinai Hospital, suggested a newer medication that might help. Remicade, an immunosuppressive drug, goes after the chemical believed to be one of the main causes of inflammation tied to Crohn’s disease. “It literally turned his life around,” Dr. Marion said, “He had forgotten what normal felt like. He had forgotten what it felt to not fell sick all the time.” In addition to Dr. Marion’s expertise, Mount Sinai has made O’Neill’s treatment options easily accessible by digitizing his entire medical record. O’Neill simply emails his doctor with ongoing medical questions.
- James F. Marion, MD, Professor, Medicine, Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, Education and Outreach, Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center at The Mount Sinai Hospital