DEAR DR. DONOHUE This past winter, at age 69, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Is this unusual for someone of my age? I am currently on medicines that are not giving me good control. Are there any new medicines for Crohn’s? My niece, a nurse, says there are. – V.W.

ANSWER: Crohn’s disease and its cousin, ulcerative colitis, are the two major inflammatory-bowel diseases. Ulcerative colitis is usually restricted to the colon. Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the digestive tract, from the mouth to the anus. It has two peaks. One occurs between the ages of 15 and 30, and the second, between 60 and 80. You are not at an unusual age for developing it.

The exact cause is unknown, but there does seem to be a malfunction of the immune system that plays a major role in its development. Genes are also partially responsible. Researchers have been looking for bacterial and viral causes for decades.

The symptoms of Crohn’s are repeated attacks of diarrhea and abdominal pain, usually on the lower right side. Inflammation of the digestive tract greatly interferes with the absorption of nutrients, so weight loss and deficiencies of minerals like calcium and magnesium often arise.

Medicines that have been used for a long time are still standard for it, and they often bring the illness under control. Sulfasalazine, Asacol and Pentasa are examples. When the illness kicks up a storm, cortisone drugs are brought into play. Azathioprine and mercaptopurine are medicines directed toward controlling the errant immune system. Introduction of new medicines has brought hope to those who fail to respond to older treatments. Infliximab is an intravenous medicine that has worked wonders for those unresponsive to other drugs. Perhaps that is the medicine your niece referred to. It might not be necessary for you till you’ve exhausted all the others. It’s saved for those for whom the older drugs are not doing a perfect job.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My daughter went off to college about a week ago. Before she left, the college sent her a letter advising her to be vaccinated for meningitis. My husband and I had never heard of this vaccine, and we were reluctant to go ahead with it. We feel that introducing too much foreign material into the body is not healthy.

Since she has been at school, we got another letter recommending that we allow the school to vaccinate her. What is this vaccine, and is it safe? – R.B.

ANSWER: The vaccine you inquire about is a new vaccine that protects against the meningococcus (muh-NING-go-KOK-us) germ. The germ is a cause of meningitis, an infection and inflammation of the meninges – the brain coverings. Meningitis is a very serious infection.

People who are new to dorm life and military recruits coming into barracks from around the country often fall victim to meningococcus infection.

I can answer your question by reassuring you that the vaccine is safe and that, if she were my daughter, I would definitely consent to her receiving the vaccine.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My mother has Alzheimer’s disease and lives in a nursing home where she gets excellent care. I visited her around 9 p.m. last week, and she was quite agitated, pacing around and acting completely different from the way she acts during the day. The nurse called it sundowning. What does that mean? – H.C.

ANSWER: The biological clocks of many people with dementing illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease get reset. When the sun goes down, they act more like it’s coming up. That’s sundowning. Controlling sundowning is not an easy task.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What is von Hippel-Lindau disease? – K.H.

ANSWER: It’s an inherited disease where blood vessels curl into little tumors in parts of the brain, the spinal cord and the eye’s retina. Cysts may form in these people’s pancreas, liver and kidneys. Surgical removal of the tumors is sometimes possible, as is radiation with a device known as the gamma knife.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am 82 years old, and I have one cold after another. A neighbor tells me it’s because I don’t take vitamins. What is your opinion of a daily vitamin? I have never found they cured any colds I had. – V.D.

ANSWER: Vitamins are substances that we need in very small amounts for the uncountable biological and chemical reactions that take place in every cell. We don’t make them, with the exception of vitamin D. They have to come from outside sources.

In the best of all worlds, a varied diet would provide enough vitamins for everyone. However, reality must intrude. Many older people don’t get a varied diet. Some are housebound and have too little sun exposure to produce the required amount of vitamin D.

For an older person, a multivitamin that provides close to the daily requirements of all vitamins is a good investment. It is not necessary to buy the most expensive brand.

Vitamins don’t cure colds. They don’t cure anything except vitamin-deficiency illnesses.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.