Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Top-line data from Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 Phase 3 trial on pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. today announced top-line data assessing immunogenicity, tolerability and safety of Prevenar 13 (Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, absorbed]) in adults 18 to 49 years of age.

5 Oct 2012

Age impacts salivary markers of oxidative stress, oral pathology

Age has a significant impact on the variance of salivary markers of oxidative stress, and could shed light on the pathogenesis of oral diseases, report Slovakian researchers.

4 Oct 2012

SLU professor to investigate natural history and progression of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency

Jeffrey Teckman, M.D., professor of pediatrics and biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University, has received a $1.4 million grant from the Alpha-1 Foundation to investigate the natural history and progression of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, an inherited disease that can cause liver damage in children as well as adults.

4 Oct 2012

Early bone graft plus rhinoplasty significantly improves facial esthetics in UCLP

The facial esthetic of children with unilateral cleft lip and palate is significantly improved with early alveolar bone grafting alongside rhinoplasty, versus leaving the procedure until the child is older, study findings show.

3 Oct 2012

New colonoscopy surveillance guidelines from U.S. Multisociety Task Force

Patients at average risk of colorectal cancer who have a clean colonoscopy do not need to repeat the test for 10 years. This and many other practical recommendations for cancer prevention were issued in "Guidelines for Colonoscopy Surveillance After Screening and Polypectomy," a consensus update issued by the U.S. Multisociety Task Force on Colorectal Cancer.

3 Oct 2012

Incidence of esophageal, stomach cancers increased in AIDS

The risk for esophageal and stomach carcinomas, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphomas, is significantly increased in people with AIDS, although the incidence of lymphomas has decreased, the results of a US and UK study reveal.

1 Oct 2012

Prognosis still poor for EVB in cirrhosis

The current standard of care for esophageal variceal bleeding in liver cirrhosis is very effective at controlling bleeding but patient prognosis remains poor, say the authors of an Italian study.

1 Oct 2012

Five prominent surgeons receive Honorary Fellowship from ACS

Last night Honorary Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) was awarded to five prominent surgeons from Japan, the Philippines, Mexico, England, and Belgium during Convocation ceremonies that preceded the official opening of the 2012 ACS Annual Clinical Congress.

1 Oct 2012

Researchers track spread of human invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella in sub-Saharan Africa

A new study out today (Sunday 30 September) reveals that the emergence and spread of a rapidly evolving invasive intestinal disease, that has a significant mortality rate (up to 45%) in infected people in sub-Saharan Africa, seems to have been potentiated by the HIV epidemic in Africa.

1 Oct 2012

Heavy drinkers and smokers may develop pancreatic cancer earlier in life

Those who smoke and drink heavily may develop pancreatic cancer at an earlier age than those who don't, according to a study led by a University of Michigan Health System gastroenterologist.

1 Oct 2012

Researchers identify IL-27 molecule involved in counterbalancing the immune system attack

We couldn't live without our immune systems, always tuned to detect and eradicate invading pathogens and particles. But sometimes the immune response goes overboard, triggering autoimmune diseases like lupus, asthma or inflammatory bowel disease.

29 Sep 2012

Hackensack University Medical Center announces joint venture with community physicians and USPI

Hackensack University Medical Center has announced a joint venture partnership with community physicians and United Surgical Partners International (USPI) in the acquisition and operation of two ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in Bergen County: Hackensack Endoscopy Center (HEC) and Endoscopy Center of Bergen County (ECBC).

29 Sep 2012

FDA approves Abbott’s HUMIRA to treat ulcerative colitis

Abbott today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved HUMIRA (adalimumab) for inducing and sustaining clinical remission in adult patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) when certain other medicines have not worked well enough.

29 Sep 2012

Abbott receives FDA approval for Humira to treat ulcerative colitis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Humira (adalimumab) to include treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in adults.

29 Sep 2012

Incarcerated patients with chronic HCV likely to achieve sustained viral response

Incarcerated patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are just as likely to respond to treatment for the disease as patients in the community, according to findings published in the October issue of Hepatology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

28 Sep 2012

Physicians Endoscopy announces acquisition of minority interest in DHA

Physicians Endoscopy, LLC (PE), the leading GI ASC development and management company in the ASC industry, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a minority interest in the Digestive Health Associates Endoscopy Center, LLC (DHA) located in Stoneham, MA.

28 Sep 2012

Hundreds of new genes are involved in function and development of T-cells

A research team led by investigators at New York University and NYU School of Medicine has determined how cells that cause inflammatory ailments, such as Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis, differentiate from stem cells and ultimately affect the clinical outcome of these diseases.

27 Sep 2012

FIT in shape for new role in ulcerative colitis monitoring

Fecal immunochemical tests could allow noninvasive assessment of patients with ulcerative colitis, say the authors of a Japanese study.

27 Sep 2012

Nottingham expert to study impact of gluten intolerance on patients in the UK

A University of Nottingham expert has been awarded -80,000 by two national charities to study the impact of gluten intolerance on patients in the UK.

27 Sep 2012

Type 2 diabetes may be derived from composition of specific intestinal flora

Whether you have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, in the future may be derived from the composition of your intestinal flora. That according to new metagenomics research of an international consortium of scientists, including Jeroen Raes, connected to VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Metagenomics is the study of the genetic material of complete ecosystems, in this case the human intestine. This study appears in the leading journal Nature.

27 Sep 2012