Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

New UChicago Medicine River East facility to offer high-quality outpatient care

The University of Chicago Medicine will open its new $20 million outpatient care center in Chicago's River East neighborhood on Feb. 24. The facility, at 355 E. Grand Ave., will offer a wide range of primary and specialty care services.

20 Feb 2020

DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences partners with microbiome specialist MRM Health

DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences today announced a collaboration with the MRM Health NV, a biopharmaceutical company, focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics based on the human microbiome.

From DuPont 19 Feb 2020

UTHealth physician-scientist receives AHA’s $1 million Merit Award for stroke research

Louise D. McCullough, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is a recipient of the American Heart Association's prestigious $1 million Merit Award to investigate whether the maternal microbiome influences stroke risk in offspring.

19 Feb 2020

Ancient primate microbiomes may yield more information about human development

Ancient human microbiomes are under the microscope for what they tell scientists about the people of long ago. A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution in February 2020 shows that the gut microbiome can adapt to new bacterial exposures, which allows humans to migrate to new locations successfully.

19 Feb 2020

Association between HMO concentrations and infant weight, body composition

Breastfeeding affects infant growth and, researchers have found, helps prevent obesity, both in childhood and later in life. However, the components of breast milk responsible for these beneficial effects remain mostly a mystery.

18 Feb 2020

Cleaning products may raise the risk of childhood asthma finds study

According to a new study from researchers at Simon Fraser University's Faculty of Health Sciences (SFU), exposure to household cleaning products as babies could raise the risk of childhood asthma in children to the age of 3 years. The study titled, "Association of use of cleaning products with respiratory health in a Canadian birth cohort," was published in the latest issue of the journal CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

18 Feb 2020

Updated colorectal cancer screening recommendations released

Patients at average risk of colorectal cancer who have a normal colonoscopy do not need to repeat screening for 10 years.

18 Feb 2020

Natural sugars in breastmilk may influence early childhood growth

Human milk oligosaccharides found in breastmilk may influence a child's growth from infancy through early childhood, according to a study supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health.

18 Feb 2020

Mediterranean diet promotes healthy aging with healthier gut microbiome

A new study published online in the journal Gut in February 2020 reports the striking health-promoting effects of switching to a Mediterranean diet for just one year. The results were due to an increase in the health and number of gut bacteria that favor a healthy diet.

17 Feb 2020

Plant-based diets improve heart health via the gut microbiome

A new study published in February 2020 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports that a reduced intake of animal-based foods and a diet based on plants can result in a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) by influencing the gut microbiome pattern to favor beneficial species.

17 Feb 2020

Adaptive gut microbiome of ancient humans could have been critical for evolution

The microbiome of our ancestors might have been more important for human evolution than previously thought, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

14 Feb 2020

Lab mice may have differences in small-intestine microbiome as compared to humans

There is a growing consensus that the gut microbiome is involved in many aspects of physical and mental health, including the onset of Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and even some behaviors.

14 Feb 2020

Unusually large, bacteria-killing viruses discovered

Scientists have discovered hundreds of unusually large, bacteria-killing viruses with capabilities normally associated with living organisms.

13 Feb 2020

Newly discovered large phages blur the life/non-life boundary

A new study published in the journal Nature shows that there are literally hundreds of viruses large enough to consume bacteria, and with properties that are typical of a living organism rather than the non-living self-replicating packages of DNA/RNA that viruses are often assumed to be.

12 Feb 2020

Microbiome in dermis skin layer is the same regardless of age and gender

In the dermis skin layer, the same bacteria are found across age and gender. This has been shown by researchers from the University of Copenhagen in a new study which has studied skin samples from knees and hips.

12 Feb 2020

Gut bacteria composition and diversity linked to human personality traits

Dr. Katerina Johnson, who conducted her Ph.D. in the University's Department of Experimental Psychology, was researching the science of that 'gut feeling' - the relationship between the bacteria living in the gut (the gut microbiome) and behavioral traits.

12 Feb 2020

Bacterial viruses in intestinal tracts of children may play a role in stunting

New research spearheaded by McGill University has discovered that bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) found in the intestinal tracts of children may play a role in childhood stunting, a significant impediment to growth that affects 22% of children under the age of five around the world.

12 Feb 2020

Diets high in fat and protein exacerbate C. diff infections in mice

Popular diets low in carbs and high in fat and protein might be good for the waistline, but a new UNLV study shows that just the opposite may help to alleviate the hospital-acquired infection Clostridioides difficile.

12 Feb 2020

NETRF announces $3.5 million in research grants to improve neuroendocrine tumor treatment

The Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation, Boston, MA, today announced $3.5 million in neuroendocrine tumor research grants to fund 12 projects around the world in pursuit of more precise treatments for this uncommon cancer affecting an estimated 171,000 Americans.

12 Feb 2020

Study provides new details about therapy-associated polyposis in childhood cancer survivors

In a paper published online today, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers provide new details about a recently discovered condition in which childhood cancer survivors develop numerous colorectal growths called polyps despite not having a hereditary susceptibility to the condition.

12 Feb 2020