Feature Channels: Digestive Disorders

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Here’s another reason to eat a Mediterranean-type diet: It’s good for your gut.

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A research team from Queen’s University Belfast, in collaboration with an international team of experts, have made ground-breaking insights into how inflammatory diseases work.

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Increased awareness of the importance of the microbes that live in our gut has spurred a great deal of research on the microbiome and fueled a booming probiotics industry. A new study suggests probiotics can improve not only the health of our gut but liver health, as well.

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The Latest News On Marijuana Research

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A multidisciplinary team of scientists share recent advancements in innovative in-vitro cancer biology methods for screening drug-like molecules in cancer tissue relevant models in a new report published online ahead-of-print at SLAS Discovery. Entitled "Advanced Development of Primary Pancreatic Organoid Tumor Models for High-Throughput Phenotypic Drug Screening," the report can be accessed for free.

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The difficulties of conducting research on the human gut are substantial: the presence of trillions of bacterial cells interacting with human cells and each other, constant environmental changes every time food is consumed and zero chance of conducting trials that control for all those moving parts. One solution, called a “gut-on-a-chip,” involves creating a three-dimensional, microscale model of the human intestinal tract. Composed of biocompatible hydrogels with tunable physicochemical properties, the model recreates the intestinal matrix with villi structures that mimic the mucous-membrane layer of the small intestine.

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Chronic bladder pain affects millions with abdominal discomfort that increases as their bladder fills, causing excessive urinary urgency and frequency. Neuroscientists used optogenetics in experiments with mice to switch on and off the neurons that signal bladder pain.

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Researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute have found that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reduced immune system regulation, as well as shifts in their gut microbiota. The immune deregulation appears to facilitate increased inflammation and may be linked to the gastrointestinal issues so often experienced by children with ASD. The research was published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

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As immunotherapies continue to make up a larger share of new cancer drugs, researchers are looking for the most effective ways to use these cutting edge treatments in combination with each or with other pre-existing options. New studies from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania are providing fresh clues on potentially effective combinations with CAR T therapy in brain cancer as well as a novel therapeutic target in head and neck cancer, and also providing greater understanding of the mechanisms of resistance in pancreatic cancer.

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Researchers at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and the University of Adelaide have discovered a faster, more cost-effective way to determine which DNA mutations cause human bowel cancer.

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Three Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) faculty members were honored recently with the 2018 Tinsley Harrison Award for the best original manuscript published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS, December 2016).

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Pancreatitis in ethnic minorities is linked to very high levels of triglycerides and the risk is further increased by alcohol abuse and gallstones, according to a study published in the journal Endocrine Practice.

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A study by scientists at Cincinnati Children’s reports that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)—best known for causing mononucleosis—also increases the risks for some people of developing seven other major diseases. Published in Nature Genetics, researchers report EBV also plays a role in six other diseases: multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and celiac disease.

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Colon polyps from patients with Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that raises colorectal cancer risk, display immune system activation well before cancer development, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The preclinical research challenges traditional models of cancer immune activation and suggests immunotherapy may be useful for colorectal cancer prevention in certain high-risk groups.

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Click here to go to the Food Science News Source

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UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and their collaborators are reporting preclinical findings for a potential two-treatment strategy to block multiple mechanisms of cancer cell metabolism in pancreatic cancer at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Chicago. The findings will be presented from 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesday.

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center experts are available to provide expert commentary and feedback on research presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2018.

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Dr. Herbert J. Zeh III, an innovator and leader in the field of pancreatic diseases and pancreatic cancer, has been selected as the next Chair of the Department of Surgery.

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A new study—one of a few to concentrate on microbes in the upper gastrointestinal tract—shows how the typical calorie-dense western diet can induce expansion of microbes that promote the digestion and absorption of high-fat foods. Over time, the steady presence of these microbes can lead to over-nutrition and obesity.

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Researchers from Mount Sinai and Sema4, a health information company and Mount Sinai venture, have discovered that giving metastatic bladder cancer patients simultaneous chemotherapy and immunotherapy is safe and that patients whose tumors have certain genetic mutations may respond particularly well to this combination approach, according to the results of a clinical trial published in European Urology.

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Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is now the most common hospital-acquired infection, with significant effects on healthcare costs. Surgeons from George Washington University Hospital sought to identify rates of C. difficile infection in patients undergoing common types of colon operations. The authors utilized the American College of Surgeons NSQIP database for 2015 to retrospectively review all cases of elective ileostomy and colostomy reversals.

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Colon cancer is a common cancer with a relatively high survival for nonmetastatic disease if appropriate treatment is given. A lower survival rate for patients with no or inadequate insurance has previously been documented, but the differences have not been explored in detail on a population level.

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Several groups have championed standardization of this approach in order to optimize outcomes.

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Sanford Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) researchers recently discovered that that inactivation of a protein called p62 in fat cells fuels aggressive, metastatic prostate cancer in mice. The findings suggest that mTOR inhibitors currently used to treat a wide range of cancers may have the unintended consequence of shutting down fat tissue metabolism and fueling tumor growth.

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Researchers nationwide have reached a major milestone in describing the genetic landscape of cancer. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions have completed the genetic sequencing and analyses of more than 11,000 tumors from patients, spanning 33 types of cancer — all part of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project, funded by the National Cancer Institute and National Human Genome Research Institute.

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Material left out of common processes for sequencing genetic material in cancer tumors may actually carry important information about why only some people respond to immunotherapy, possibly offering better insight than the type of material that is being sequenced, according to a study by Mount Sinai researchers published on April 3 in Cell Reports.

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So what is it about the link between drinking coffee and living longer? Could it be the 200 plus organic compounds in the coffee bean itself and its proven benefits of reducing inflammation and regulating glucose levels? Or could it be something else?

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Click here for the latest research and features on Children's Health.

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Framework and Principles on Well-Being Aim to Benefit Patients and Strengthen Health Care Systems

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UCLA scientists discovered higher levels of a protein called humanin in the placenta tissue of women who give birth to severely underweight infants. The researchers suspect that humanin rises to protect the fetus during placenta failure.

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Women who undergo hormone therapy to relieve menopausal symptoms tend to have less fat tissue, particularly in the abdomen, than other menopausal women, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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The longevity and health improvements seen in animals on sulfur amino acid-restricted diets could translate to people, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

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A team of researchers has developed a wearable, non-invasive system to monitor electrical activity in the stomach over 24 hours—essentially an electrocardiogram but for the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract.

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Click here to go directly to Newswise's Obesity News Source

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A team led by LJI researchers reveals that bystander cell accumulation antagonizes rather than abets cell-killing by specific CTLs, curbing inflammation. This is noteworthy because that chief anti-inflammatory role has been traditionally ascribed to what are called regulatory T cells, or "Tregs", which dampen autoimmune responses. T

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More than a dozen Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center clinicians and researchers have been invited to present new findings at the 71st annual Cancer Symposium of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO).

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UroSEEK is aimed toward early detection of bladder cancer in at-risk patients. In almost one-third of patients, bladder cancer detection is late.

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Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast have demonstrated for the first time how molecular analysis of clinical trial biopsy samples can be used to help clinicians identify the key changes that occur in an individual patient’s bowel (colorectal) tumour prior to surgery, so clinicians can better understand and treat the disease.

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The hospital offers the latest generation of technologies for routine upper and lower endoscopy, and advanced endoscopic procedures, including endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and advanced therapeutic endoscopy.

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A report that Americans are drinking a lot of coffee might be good news in the battle against colon cancer, scientists with the Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center say.

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With spring now here, home improvement projects are on many ‘to do’ lists. With that come the usual warnings about safe removal of construction and home materials made of asbestos in much older homes, as exposure to this fibrous mineral is a known risk factor to the development of mesothelioma. A Rutgers Cancer Institute expert shares more about this type of cancer.

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A decade ago, the late Seattle Children’s surgeon, Dr. Richard Grady, began traveling to India to provide urgent surgical care to children with a complex disorder called bladder exstrophy. An article in JAMA Surgery documents Grady's work through an international collaborative aimed at alleviating the global burden of this treatable disease.

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The MiniMed™ 670G insulin pump system (Medtronic, Northridge, California) can improve glycemic outcomes in children with type 1 diabetes as young as 7 years of age, according to an industry-funded study. The results will be presented in a poster on Saturday, March 17 at ENDO 2018, the 100th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Chicago, Ill.

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A new study helps explain changes in the intestines that may be responsible for the reversal of diabetes in people who undergo a type of bariatric surgery known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB). The research will be presented Sunday, March 18, at ENDO 2018, the Endocrine Society’s 100th annual meeting in Chicago, Ill.

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Colorectal cancer is preventable and curable, especially when caught early. An awareness month, says Heloisa Soares, MD, PhD, helps to remind people to talk to their healthcare providers about screening colonoscopies.

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New research presented at ENDO 2018 links semen count to other health problems

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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Christos Mantzoros, MD, MSC, the first scientist to document the role of the hormone leptin in regulating the body’s response to hunger in humans, is the recipient of the Endocrine Society’s Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award for 2018. Mantzoros accepted the award today at a special ceremony at the Society’s 100th annual meeting in Chicago.

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Imagine if doctors could diagnose their patients with lung or esophageal cancer by simply swabbing the inside of their cheeks. Vadim Backman, a biomedical engineer at Northwestern University, has developed a new technology that could make that seemingly simple solution a reality.

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Older patients with colorectal cancer are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and congestive heart failure, according to a study published in Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study also finds that morbidities such as diabetes and hypertension negatively interact with chemotherapy designated for colorectal cancer, which adds to the patient’s increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity.

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It’s well known that a morning cup of joe jolts you awake. But scientists have discovered coffee affects your metabolism in dozens of other ways, including your metabolism of steroids and the neurotransmitters typically linked to cannabis, reports a new study from Northwestern Medicine. In a study of coffee consumption, Northwestern scientists were surprised to discover coffee changed many more metabolites in the blood than previously known.