Feature Channels: Digestive Disorders

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A CSU Northridge microbial ecologist and his students are investigating a gut bacteria that may affect weight gain and obesity.

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In the February 2018 issue of Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, researchers from Denmark discuss their findings involving women with endometriosis who are not responding to hormonal treatment. If hormonal treatments are unsuccessful, surgery is often recommended. However, there has been controversy as to which type of surgery is best. Endometriosis experts from Denmark share the results of a large study of women who underwent laparoscopic colorectal resection for endometriosis not responding to hormonal treatment.

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Researchers at UT Southwestern’s Simmons Cancer Center have shown that RAS molecules act in pairs, known as dimers, to cause cancer, findings that could help guide them to a treatment.

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A groundbreaking report, led by Professor Mark Lawler, Chair in Translational Cancer Genomics at Queen’s University Belfast highlights a plan to end bowel cancer, the second most common cause of cancer death in Europe. The report has been published in the January edition of top international journal Gut (http://gut.bmj.com/).

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A new study shows how stress accelerates pancreatic cancer development. Beta-blockers, which block stress hormones, may increase survival for patients with the disease.

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A Michigan State University researcher is providing new insight into how certain types of stress interact with immune cells and can regulate how these cells respond to allergens, ultimately causing physical symptoms and disease.

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The “Putting Patients First” issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology is an entire issue of the College’s flagship journal dedicated to patient-reported outcomes.

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UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have used precision editing of the bacterial populations in the gut to prevent or reduce the severity of inflammation in a mouse model of colitis.

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Mayo Clinic researchers show that hysterectomy with ovarian conservation is associated with a significantly increased risk of several cardiovascular diseases and metabolic conditions. The findings are published in Menopause.

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Researchers identified a new, more sensitive screening test to recognize Pompe disease, a metabolic disorder affecting cellular processing of glycogen in numerous tissues of the body.

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A new study published in Nature Communications and led by University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center researcher Qing-Bai She identifies biomarker targets that may make existing drugs more effective in fighting certain cancers.

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New recommendations, led by experts at the University of Birmingham, have been published to improve the use of liver blood tests.

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New study, published in the American Journal of Surgery, highlights the prevalence of ED cancer diagnoses; calls for new screening methods.

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Further enhancing a commitment to cutting-edge clinical research efforts, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJBarnabas Health are welcoming Howard S. Hochster, MD, an internationally recognized leader in the development of cancer clinical trials and early phase cancer drugs.

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The scientists hope understanding how immune cells adapt as they enter different tissues will spur the design of better, more specific, medicines.

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SEATTLE – (Dec. 18, 2017) –Virginia Mason has become the first health system in Washington state to begin a new therapy that targets neuroendocrine tumors, an uncommon cancer that affects the intestines, pancreas, lungs and other parts of the body.

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Small bacterial infections that may go unnoticed and which the body easily clears without treatment, such as occurs during mild food poisoning, nevertheless can start a chain of events that leads to chronic inflammation and potentially life-threatening colitis.

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Being over ideal body weight has known risks with respect to heart and blood pressure problems, but the list is growing! In the January issue of Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, researchers from Seoul, Korea, studied nearly 3000 patients undergoing routine physicals over a 6-year period. The authors refer to a fatty liver index. fatty liver index > or equal to 30 was associated with an increased risk of having colon polyps (odds ratio 1.26; 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.49). Thirty-six percent of patients with a fatty liver index > or equality to 30 has colon polyps as compared to 27% of patients with a fatty liver index < 30. This high fatty liver index group also had more polyps, and they were more frequently in the upper colon. One more reason to work on losing those extra pounds!

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Genentech researchers have identified an enzyme that shifts pancreatic cancer cells to a more aggressive, drug-resistant state by epigenetically modifying the cells’ chromatin. The study, which will be published December 11 in the Journal of Cell Biology, suggests that targeting this enzyme could make pancreatic cancer cells more vulnerable to existing therapies that currently have only limited effect against this deadly form of cancer.

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Countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America have seen a rise in incidence of inflammatory bowel disease as they have become increasingly industrialised and westernised, a new study has found.

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DNA sequences between mitochondria within a single cell are vastly different, found researchers. This knowledge will help to better illuminate the underlying mechanisms of many disorders that start with accumulated mutations in individual mitochondria and provide clues about how patients might respond to specific therapies.

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Overcoming a major hurdle in microbiome research, scientists have developed a method to elucidate cause-effect relationships between gut bacteria and disease. The approach could help identify disease-modulating microbes and open doors to precision-targeted therapies derived from microbial molecules.

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Fight Colorectal Cancer (Fight CRC) and the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) are proud to announce “A Blueprint to Advance Colorectal Cancer Immunotherapies”

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Social group membership is the most important factor in structuring gut microbiome composition, even when considering shared diet, environment and kinship, according to research on lemurs at The University of Texas at Austin.

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正在成为个体化医疗的重要组成部分。 微生物群落有助于改良诊断，及早发现和治疗疾病，并降低疾病风险。 Mayo Clinic的研究人员在最新一期的医学杂志Mayo Clinic Proceedings上发表了一篇综述来介绍其重要性。

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ROCHESTER, Minn. – In the latest issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic researchers reviewed the importance of the microbiome as a key component of personalized medicine to improve diagnosis, reduce disease risk and optimize early detection and treatment. The microbiome is the combined genetic material of the microorganisms in a particular environment.

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New findings uncover the mechanisms by which gut bacteria can trigger inflammation in the brain and contribute to multiple sclerosis

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The traits we inherit from our family define and connect us in countless ways. Sometimes these traits are obvious, like curly hair or dimples. But sometimes what we inherit remains hidden, like BRCA gene mutations. With the help of celebrities like actress Cobie Smulders, star of television comedy series How I Met Your Mother and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Basser Center for BRCA launched a video and social media campaign—with the hashtag #invisiblegenes—in the hopes that it will highlight illnesses that can be prevented or treated with early detection.

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Elevated pathogen colonization and a lack of bacterial diversity in the mouth were identified in people with precancerous lesions that could precede stomach cancer, finds a new study led by New York University College of Dentistry and New York University School of Medicine.

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Exposure to antibiotics in mothers may increase risk for inflammatory bowel diseases in their offspring.

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  PHILADELPHIA—Anil K. Rustgi, MD, chief of the division of Gastroenterology and T. Grier Miller Professor of Medicine and Genetics, and Hongzhe Li, PhD, a professor of biostatistics in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, both at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

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Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Health, and University Hospital have committed to increasing colorectal cancer screening across New Jersey by joining a national effort with the American Cancer Society in the fight against this disease.

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An investigator at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, has been awarded $1.5 million by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the NIH for the study of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and its role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29078267

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Being able to build a bioartificial pancreas offers the potential to cure type 1 diabetes. A major challenge with the effort is how to supply the structure with enough oxygen to keep the cells alive. Now, new research suggests that oxygen-generating compounds found in some laundry detergents may play a key role.

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Penn Medicine researchers have singled out a bacterial enzyme behind an imbalance in the gut microbiome linked to Crohn’s disease. The new study, published online this week in Science Translational Medicine, suggests that wiping out a significant portion of the bacteria in the gut microbiome, and then re-introducing a certain type of “good” bacteria that lacks this enzyme, known as urease, may be an effective approach to better treat these diseases.

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By focusing on genetic variations within a primary tumor, differences between the primary and a metastatic tumor, and additional diversity from tumor DNA in the blood stream, physicians can make better treatment choices for patients with gastric and esophageal adenocarcinoma. This study challenges current guidelines and supports evaluation of metastatic lesions and circulating tumor DNA.”

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Research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center finds adherence to surgical treatment guidelines has improved significantly among older Texas patients with colon cancer since 2001, while adherence to chemotherapy guidelines has remained largely unchanged. The study, published today in Cancer, identifies factors influencing adherence rates, including socioeconomic status and access to skilled physicians.

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Seven years ago Cincinnati Children’s scientists first used pluripotent stem cells to mimic natural human development and grow working human intestine in a lab. Today medical center doctors can bioengineer the gastrointestinal tissues of sick children to find clues about a child’s disease and how to treat it. Cincinnati Children’s is building on this early research advancement in personalized medicine by launching the Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM).

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Researchers have found a link between dysregulated tryptophan metabolism and abdominal aortic aneurysm, a life-threatening vascular disease, according to a new study led by Georgia State University.

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This Canadian study provides further evidence that even surgical treatment delays of several weeks do not adversely influence survival. Patients who require further consultations or investigations preoperatively may safely have their surgery moderately delayed in order to minimize their perioperative risk without any evidence that this will compromise treatment outcomes.

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Editor's Highlights include papers on aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation and neutrophil function; transcriptomic analysis of TCE and PCE in the liver and kidney; functional genomics of TCE metabolites genotoxicity; and increased aflatoxin b1 damage in pregnant mice.

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The pancreatic cancer and immunotherapy experts at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have shown for the first time why some people with pancreatic cancer live many more years than others with the deadly disease.

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Rural counties continue to rank lowest among counties across the U.S., in terms of health outcomes. A group of national organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National 4-H Council are leading the way to close the rural health gap.

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After suffering repeated bouts of debilitating Clostridium difficile infections, many patients significantly change their behaviors, but some precautions may do little to prevent future infections, according to a first-of-its-kind study.

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An overabundance of the bacteria Veillonella in the digestive tract may increase pain in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Researchers from Howard University will present their findings today at the American Physiological Society’s Physiological and Pathophysiological Consequences of Sickle Cell Disease conference in Washington, D.C.

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Some of the first living things to greet a newborn baby do a lot more than coo or cuddle. In fact, they may actually help the little one’s digestive system prepare for a lifetime of fighting off dangerous germs. But these living things aren’t parents, grandparents or siblings – they’re helpful bacteria.

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eople with an inherited syndrome called familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) have a 100% lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer if they do not seek appropriate medical care. Recent findings published by researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah identified a promising prevention treatment for patients with FAP.

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Extracorporeal shock-wave therapy at low energy levels showed promise as a new treatment for digital ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego.

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• A new study demonstrated that TRC101, a hydrochloric acid binder for the treatment of metabolic acidosis associated with chronic kidney disease, provided a rapid and sustained average increase in serum bicarbonate. • All adverse effects were mild or moderate.