Feature Channels: Digestive Disorders

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By enabling early disease detection and personalized treatment, laboratory tests can save lives as well as billions in medical costs each year. Join AACC and leading experts in laboratory medicine for a discussion of how clinical tests can be leveraged to achieve these goals, as well as the policies needed to support testing’s vital contribution to healthcare.

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A new study finds that lowering the levels of an antioxidant in the colon has an unexpectedly positive effect on gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation. The paper is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.

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Cancers driven by mutations in the KRAS gene are among the most deadly. For decades, researchers have tried unsuccessfully to directly target mutant KRAS proteins as a means to treat tumors. Instead of targeting mutant KRAS itself, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are now looking for other genes or molecules that, when inhibited, kill cancer cells only when KRAS is also mutated.

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Liraglutide injection, a prescription medication used to treat type-2 diabetes and obesity is associated with marked slowing of stomach emptying and is an effective weight loss therapy. These are the findings of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study by Mayo Clinic researchers published today in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

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A new study suggests that physiological stress in premature infants combined with separation from their mothers may have lasting effects into adulthood. In clinical studies, these factors have been found to increase the risk of obesity and insulin resistance, leading to metabolic disorders such as metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

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A blue-light cystoscopy may detect certain bladder cancer tumors more than the use of standard white-light diagnostic testing.

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Specific immune cells have the ability to produce a healing factor that can promote wound repair in the intestine, a finding that could lead to new, potential therapeutic treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a new research study.

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More and more often, we see “gluten-free” food options on store shelves and restaurant menus. But what does “gluten-free” mean and why have such products become so popular?

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Stephan R. Targan, MD, a pioneering physician and researcher in gastroenterology, has been awarded the Sherman Prize for groundbreaking work in the understanding and treatment of debilitating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Video available at http://www.shermanprize.org/recipient-winners-all/stephan-r-targan-2017-sherman-prize-recipient

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UofL gastroenterologist Matthew Cave, M.D., believes that chemicals we breathe, consume or come in contact with in the environment may be contributing to liver disease. He has been awarded $4 million by the NIEHS to explore the effects of environmental chemicals on the liver.

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The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has awarded UT Southwestern researchers more than $34 million for cancer research and faculty recruitment, including support for programs in pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma.

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Researchers find a way to reduce replication of the AIDS virus in the gastrointestinal tract.

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A Virginia Tech research team discovered that the olive-derived compound oleuropein helps prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

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Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Sema4, and collaborating institutions today published results of an in-depth, multi-omics approach to characterizing the immune component of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

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UCLA has received an $8.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to research ways to help donated livers last longer and improve outcomes for transplant recipients.

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Patients with the most common type of liver cancer who are taking the chemotherapy drug sorafenib can begin their treatment with a lower dose than is currently considered standard, and it will not affect how long they live when compared to patients who start on the full dose.

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High levels of a protein known as suPAR, which has been shown to be a marker and likely cause of kidney damage, is as reliably predictive in children as in adults, according to results of a study published online today in JAMA Pediatrics, a clinical publication of the American Medical Association.

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A clinical trial testing the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab shows the drug to be well tolerated among patients who have carcinoid or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. That’s according to investigators at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and others. The work is being presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2017 Congress next week in Madrid.

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Expanding its surgical and research focus on cancers of the abdominal area and rare conditions including endocrine and mesothelioma malignancies, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey has named H. Richard Alexander, MD, FACS, as its new chief surgical officer. He will be part of the Institute’s Gastrointestinal Oncology Program when he arrives this fall.

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Johns Hopkins scientists say they have developed a blood test that spots tumor-specific DNA and protein biomarkers for early-stage pancreatic cancer.

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Sleep apnea, left untreated for even a few days, can increase blood sugar and fat levels, stress hormones and blood pressure, according to a new study of sleeping subjects. A report of the study’s findings, published in the August issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, adds further support for the consistent use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a machine that increases air pressure in the throat to keep the airway open during sleep.

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A fast, simple blood test for ulcerative colitis using infrared spectroscopy could provide a cheaper, less invasive alternative for screening compared to colonoscopy, which is now the predominant test, according to a study between the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

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Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have demonstrated for the first time using micromotors to treat a bacterial infection in the stomach. These tiny vehicles, each about half the width of a human hair, swim rapidly throughout the stomach while neutralizing gastric acid and then release their cargo of antibiotics at the desired pH.

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An intracellular metabolite of glutamine regulates cellular differentiation programs by changing the DNA-binding patterns of a transcription factor and by altering genome interactions. Genome context near the binding sites affects whether the binding turns on or turns off gene programs.

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In the September 2017 issue of Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, surgeons from the Mayo Clinic show that use of a single dose of antibiotic before surgery results in a very low rate of wound infection following colon surgery.

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A routinely used hospital tool can predict which liver transplant recipients are more likely to do poorly after surgery, according to a study led by Cedars-Sinai. The findings could help doctors identify which patients should receive physical therapy or other targeted interventions to improve their recovery.

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Mayo Clinic researchers, along with colleagues at the University of Iowa, report that a human gut microbe discovered at Mayo Clinic may help treat autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. The findings appear in Cell Reports.

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Rodeo Therapeutics, a new drug development company created by two highly regarded Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researchers, has raised $5.9 million to develop small-molecule drugs that promote the body’s repair of diseased or damaged tissues.

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Researchers in Georgia State University’s Institute for Biomedical Sciences have received a four-year, $1.4 million federal grant to study novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of intestinal inflammation.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a particular gut microbe can prevent severe flu infections in mice, likely by breaking down naturally occurring compounds — called flavonoids — commonly found in foods such as black tea, red wine and blueberries.

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The combination of a bacterium that normally lives in the gut and a protein-rich diet promotes a more tolerant, less inflammatory gut immune system, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings, in mice, suggest a way to tilt the gut immune system away from inflammation, potentially spelling relief for people living with inflammatory bowel disease.

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A team of researchers has demonstrated that children with autism spectrum disorder have a unique composition of gut bacteria and urinary metabolites compared with unaffected children. The research, revealed today at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in San Diego, could lead to promising new treatment options for children with autism as well as earlier detection of the disorder.

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We host more microbiota than our own cells. These micro-guests produce metabolites that are only beginning to be appreciated as important factors in pathologic processes, from chronic inflammatory diseases to preterm birth. In this morning’s President’s Invited Session, Gary Wu, MD, and Rebecca Simmons, MD, both from the University of Pennsylvania, will share the most recent findings and ongoing trials that are beginning to define the complex host-guest relationship in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and pre-term birth.

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Black men who enrolled in patient navigator program at local barbershops were twice as likely to get colorectal cancer screening as those who did not.

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Offering $100 to patients eligible for a preventive colonoscopy screening more than doubled the rate of screening when compared to a simple emailed request, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Kansas State University researchers have found that essential oils can play a role in livestock health.

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A UAB physician will co-chair a steering committee of global cystic fibrosis experts and clinical trial investigators to support the design, conduct and execution of the triple combination pivotal study program.

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A new high-precision feeding system for lab mice reinforces the idea that the time of day food is eaten is more critical to weight loss than the amount of calories ingested.

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Colorectal cancer is fairly treatable when caught early with regular screenings, but it is still the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in American men and the third-leading cause in women.

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A study by researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine shows that when mice that are genetically susceptible to developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were given antibiotics during late pregnancy and the early nursing period, their offspring were more likely to develop an inflammatory condition of the colon that resembles human IBD.

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Inflammatory pain at birth changes how the hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with memory and eating behavior, works later in life, and this pain also causes adult rats to eat more frequently and in larger amounts, according to a study by Georgia State University and the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center.

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Researchers at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have reached important milestones in their quest to engineer replacement tissue in the lab to treat digestive system conditions – from infants born with too-short bowels to adults with inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer, or fecal incontinence.

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Millions of U.S. residents take proton pump inhibitors which are widely prescribed to treat heartburn, ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems. Now, a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that long-term use of the popular drugs carries an increased risk of death.

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Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found evidence that the most difficult C. difficile cases, known as multiple recurring C. difficile infections (mrCDI), are rapidly becoming more common.

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Based on a new molecular study of tissues biopsied from various parts of the upper digestive tract, researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified significant, if subtle, differences in gene mutations and other factors that could help in developing more tailored treatment options for cancer patients.

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A multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore at the National University of Singapore, the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology of A*STAR, and BioSyM, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology have described the mechanical principles adopted by liver cells as they remove excess bile during obstructive cholestasis. This study was published online in the Journal of Hepatology.

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Researchers have identified gut microbiota that interact with brain regions associated with mood and behavior. This may be the first time that behavioral and neurobiological differences associated with microbial composition in healthy humans have been identified.

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A research group in the division of Gastroenterology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has received a National Cancer Institute grant to extend a Barrett's Esophagus translational research network with Columbia University and the Mayo Clinic until 2022.

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Beer lovers may soon have a gut-friendly drink to raise a toast to, thanks to the creation of a novel probiotic sour beer by a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore.

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The Children’s Hospital of Michigan at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) is among the best in the country in seven (7) pediatric specialties according to the new 2017-18 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. The Children’s Hospital of Michigan is nationally ranked in: Cancer, Gastroenterology & Gastrointestinal Surgery, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology and Urology.