Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Younger gut microbiota age reduces cardiovascular disease risk in older adults

Researchers identified gut microbiota signatures and developed a microbial age metric, demonstrating that a younger microbial age may reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in metabolically unhealthy older adults.

14 Jun 2024

Empowering communities: Penn Medicine's annual mammogram event and health fair

Penn Medicine will once again join with community partners and Siemens Healthineers to host a free mammogram clinic and community health fair in June, giving the West Philadelphia and Upper Darby communities convenient access to health screenings right in their neighborhoods.

13 Jun 2024

UC San Diego's initiative for combating the opioid crisis with AI

Opioids are a broad group of effective pain-relieving medicines that can become highly addictive in some individuals. According to government sources, nearly 40 million people are addicted to illicit drugs worldwide.

13 Jun 2024

New research sheds light on IL-23's role in chronic inflammatory bowel diseases

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine discovered a previously unknown link between two key pathways that regulate the immune system in mammals-;a finding that impacts our understanding of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

12 Jun 2024

Sugary drinks disrupt the salivary microbiome

A study in Scientific Reports found that high-sugar beverage consumption can lead to pathogenic changes in the oral microbiota, reducing bacterial diversity and increasing acid-producing bacteria.

12 Jun 2024

Nasal microbiota composition predicts sepsis with high accuracy in ICU settings

The nasal microbiota of intensive care unit (ICU) patients effectively distinguishes sepsis from non-septic cases and outperforms analyzing the gut microbiota to predict sepsis, according to a new study published in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

12 Jun 2024

Gut bacteria turn dietary phytate into health-boosting fatty acids, study shows

Study reveals that human gut bacteria, particularly Mitsuokella jalaludinii, efficiently degrade dietary phytate into short-chain fatty acids, enhancing health benefits through microbial synergy.

12 Jun 2024

Understanding Crohn's disease through 'mini-gut' models

Cambridge scientists have grown 'mini-guts' in the lab to help understand Crohn's disease, showing that 'switches' that modify DNA in gut cells play an important role in the disease and how it presents in patients.

10 Jun 2024

Can lifestyles changes reduce Alzheimer’s risk?

Intensive lifestyle changes significantly improve cognition and function in patients with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease over a 20-week period, showing promising results for non-pharmacological interventions.

10 Jun 2024

Transplanted gut microbes from aged mice trigger inflammation in young germ-free mice

When scientists transplanted the gut microbes of aged mice into young "germ-free" mice -; raised to have no gut microbes of their own -; the recipient mice experienced an increase in inflammation that parallels inflammatory processes associated with aging in humans.

10 Jun 2024

Study uncovers gut microbes' role in childhood obesity

Researchers used Mendelian randomization to identify causal links between gut microbes and childhood obesity, revealing key microbial players that influence pediatric adiposity.

10 Jun 2024

New study reveals gut microbiome's critical role in aging and heart disease

Researchers in China discovered that gut microbiome diversity, influenced by metabolic health and age, significantly impacts cardiovascular disease risk.

9 Jun 2024

Surprising link between a diverse oral microbiome and better cognitive function in aging

Study found that higher oral microbiome diversity is linked to better cognitive function and fewer memory issues in older US adults, highlighting the "oral-brain axis."

9 Jun 2024

Xylitol linked to higher risk of cardiovascular events, Cleveland Clinic study finds

Cleveland Clinic researchers found higher amounts of the sugar alcohol xylitol are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke.

7 Jun 2024

Researchers create digital babies to better understand infants' health

Researchers at University of Galway have created digital babies to better understand infants' health in their critical first 180 days of life.

7 Jun 2024

New soft-robotic device restores natural esophageal motion for improved digestion

A team of Vanderbilt researchers has developed a wirelessly activated device that mimics the wavelike muscular function in the esophagus and small intestine responsible for transporting food and viscous fluids for digestion.

7 Jun 2024

Bile acids: Balancing digestive health and liver toxicity

Bile acids are essential molecules the liver produces that play a critical role in digestion. They help us absorb fat-soluble vitamins and cholesterol from our food.

6 Jun 2024

Novel PET radiotracer enables same-day imaging of gastrointestinal cancer biomarker

A new PET radiotracer enables same-day imaging of the important gastrointestinal cancer biomarker known as Claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2).

6 Jun 2024

Higher amounts of sugar alcohol xylitol associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events

Cleveland Clinic researchers found higher amounts of the sugar alcohol xylitol are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke.

6 Jun 2024

Artificial intelligence accelerates natural-product antibiotic discovery

Almost a century ago, the discovery of antibiotics like penicillin revolutionized medicine by harnessing the natural bacteria-killing abilities of microbes.

5 Jun 2024