Feature Channels: Digestive Disorders

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UCLA scientists have discovered a groundbreaking experimental therapy that has the ability to suppress the development of ulcerative colitis (UC), a disease which causes inflammation in the digestive tract and colon cancer. The treatment utilizes a chemical inhibitor able to block an RNA molecule (microRNA-214) involved in the transmission of genetic information.

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Patients over 50 with ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic disease of the colon, who undergo surgery to treat their condition live longer than those who are treated with medications, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The results are published this week in Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who are doing well on specific biological medications should not be switched to recently approved "biosimilar" products, concludes an expert consensus statement of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN). The statement appears in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, the official journal of the European Society of Paediatric Gatroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Other topics include the importance of nursing in medicine, more efficient drug development, studying the arts improves medical care, and more...

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A technology whose roots date to the 1800s has the potential to offer an extraordinary new advantage to modern-day medicine. In findings published this month in Nature Communications, Case Western Reserve scientists detail how stereomicroscopy can provide physicians an invaluable diagnostic tool in assessing issues within the gastrointestinal tract.

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The McMaster team recruited 75 patients with a flare up of their ulcerative colitis and randomized them to fecal transplant therapy given as an enema derived from stool donated by an anonymous healthy donor, and placebo.

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Topics include: A bioengineered patch to improve stem cell therapy for heart patients, Antacid meds raise risk of C. Diff. bacteria infection in kids, nutrition, new treatments for aggressive breast cancer, lab tests, genetic risks.

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Investigators at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles are providing new hope for babies with short bowel syndrome (SBS) by developing a novel model of SBS in zebrafish, described in a paper published online on June 18 by the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.

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Infants and children who are given prescription acid-reducing medications face a substantially higher risk of developing Clostridium difficile infection, a potentially severe colonic disorder.

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Adults who use proton pump inhibitors are between 16 and 21 percent more likely to experience a heart attack than people who don't use the commonly prescribed antacid drugs, according to a massive new study by Houston Methodist and Stanford University scientists.

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Christine Hachem, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Saint Louis University, reports that patients seem to be embracing probiotics, even as antibiotic use is increasing and over-utilized.

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U.S. and Chinese researchers have begun a controlled clinical trial in Crohn's disease using surface electrodes daily to stimulate an acupuncture point on the stomach meridian that was shown to reduce vagal imbalance in preclinical studies. Restoring vagal balance is known to reduce intestinal inflammation.

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An upset in the body’s natural balance of gut bacteria that may lead to life-threatening bloodstream infections can be reversed by enhancing a specific immune defense response, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

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Biomarker advances in gastroenterology are highlighted in a special June issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology, which also provides new data on how these advances can help the clinician in a wide variety of gastrointestinal (GI) and liver diseases.

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The microbiome of a toddler’s gut may influence their behavior, a new study suggests. Scientists found correlations between temperament and the presence of specific types of intestinal bacteria in both girls and boys. The researchers aren’t looking for a way to help parents modify the ‘terrible twos,’ but for clues about how - and where - chronic illnesses like obesity, asthma, allergies and bowel diseases start.

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AIDP, today released a “Science White Paper” based on the peer-reviewed and published science, including a 2014 randomized, controlled trial from the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA), behind the mechanism of action, safety and efficacy of a new prebiotic ingredient, PreticX

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Mayo Clinic researchers have identified five sub-categories of obesity in an effort to determine the most effective, individual treatments.

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New proof-of-concept research suggests the potential for engineering replacement intestine tissue in the lab, a treatment that could be applied to infants born with a short bowel and adults having large pieces of gut removed due to cancer or inflammatory bowel disease.

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Stool DNA (sDNA) testing, a new non-invasive technology for colon cancer screening, is a promising alternative to colonoscopy for African Americans, according to a new study presented at Digestive Disease Week.

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More than half of popular probiotics contain traces of gluten, according to an analysis performed by investigators at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). Tests on 22 top-selling probiotics revealed that 12 of them (or 55%) had detectable gluten.

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Millions of people afflicted by irritable bowel syndrome can now be diagnosed quickly and accurately with two simple blood tests developed by a Cedars-Sinai gastroenterologist.

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A newly discovered link between bacteria and immune cells sheds light on inflammatory bowel disease, an autoimmune condition that affects 1.6 million people in the United States, report researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota has found a three-way link among antibiotic use in infants, changes in the gut bacteria, and disease later in life.

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In the face of many myths, the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) releases “Nine Truths About Eating Disorders” in order to clarify public understanding. Produced in collaboration with Dr. Cynthia Bulik, PhD, FAED, who serves as distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “Nine Truths” is based on Dr. Bulik’s 2014 “9 Eating Disorders Myths Busted” talk at the National Institute of Mental Health. Leading associations in the field of eating disorders also contributed their valuable input.

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Scientists at The University of Manchester have made an important discovery about an immune cell which is already being used in immunotherapy to treat diseases such as type I diabetes.

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Post-surgical leaks that develop after a segment of the colon has been removed and stitched back together often are caused not by negligence or technical error but by bacteria in the bowel that elude antibiotics, according to new evidence about this devastating complication of gastrointestinal surgery.

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The immune-boosting properties of breast milk have long been known. Now a team of scientists led by Johns Hopkins pediatric surgeon-in-chief David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D., says experiments in mice reveal how breast milk works to ward off the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a devastating intestinal disorder.

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Esophageal cancer is one of the fastest-growing and deadliest cancers in the U.S. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 17,000 new cases of esophageal cancer will be diagnosed in 2015. Incidence of adenocarcinoma, a type of esophageal cancer linked to GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) has risen six-fold in recent decades.

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The gut bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG has a reputation as a helpful microbe. Now, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have come up with an explanation for why. It appears that the bacteria may boost the activity of other gut microbes.

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New research from the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust could transform treatments and diagnosis for a common digestive condition which affects thousands of patients.

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CENTOGENE AG (“CENTOGENE”) announces the launch of the world’s largest genetic mutation database for rare diseases, CentoMD®.

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Women are more likely to have irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal disorders than men. A new study suggests that it’s because the intestine’s nerve cells are more sluggish in women.

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Irritable bowel syndrome racks up an impact on healthcare spending and quality of life: costing more than $20 billion a year in treatment and many missed work days.

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Occasional stomach aches are part of life. But when they continue for more than a few weeks, come back often or are accompanied by bloody stools and additional symptoms, the cause could be inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD.

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A study published recently in the IBD Journal found significant differences in hospital readmissions, medication usage, and both medical and surgical complications of children with Crohn’s disease related to race. In the study, black children had a 1.5 times higher frequency of hospital readmissions because of Crohn’s disease compared to white children.

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Gastroenterologists at NYU Langone Medical Center provide tips for when, who, and how to get screened for colorectal cancer.

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An aggressive campaign to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics has helped cut the rate of infection with a dangerous drug-resistant bacteria at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ, by nearly 40 percent.

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Emulsifiers, which are added to most processed foods to aid texture and extend shelf life, can alter the gut microbiota composition and localization to induce intestinal inflammation that promotes the development of inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic syndrome, new research shows.

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Increased awareness of the importance of digestive health has quickly turned into a multi-million dollar industry. According to Global Industry Analysts, the probiotics market is expected to exceed $29 billion by 2015 and expected to rise 7 percent a year over the next five years.

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Mukund Venu, MD, is a gastroenterologist who specializes in swallowing disorders at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill. “Ron had a rare condition called achalasia, where the esophagus fails to deliver food in to the stomach when eating,” says Venu. “The nerve cells of the esophagus degenerate and cause failure of the normal swallowing process.”

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Researchers found that a baby’s diet during the first few months of life has a profound influence on the composition, diversity, and stability of the gut microbiome. These factors influence the baby’s ability to transition from milk to solid foods and may have long-term health effects.

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Researchers identify signaling molecules in intestinal stem cells that can lead to tumors if left unregulated. The findings suggest a new approach to targeting intestinal cancers.

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For people who have celiac disease, going gluten-free isn't a lifestyle choice, it's a necessity. For everyone else, steering clear of gluten isn't necessarily a good idea.

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Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with a decrease in the diversity of bacteria in the gut, but a new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has linked the same illnesses to an increase in the diversity of viruses.

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1.4 million Americans suffer from uncomfortable abdominal cramping and diarrhea that come with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The condition is associated with an imbalance among the thousands of species of “good” bacteria that inhabit the gut. A University of Utah study published on Jan. 22 in Cell Host and Microbe demonstrates that a component of the immune system, MyD88, coordinates a host immune response that promotes a healthy colony of good bacteria, and digestive health.