Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

High-fiber diet may raise risk of diverticulosis

For more than 40 years, scientists and physicians have thought eating a high-fiber diet lowered a person's risk of diverticulosis, a disease of the large intestine in which pouches develop in the colon wall. A new study of more than 2,000 people reveals the opposite may be true.

24 Jan 2012

Luteolin interferes with cell signaling in colon cancer cells

Luteolin is a flavonoid commonly found in fruit and vegetables. This compound has been shown in laboratory conditions to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties but results from epidemiological studies have been less certain. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Gastroenterology shows that luteolin is able to inhibit the activity of cell signaling pathways (IGF and PI3K) important for the growth of cancer in colon cancer cells.

23 Jan 2012

EMA CHMP issues positive opinion to MSD's REMICADE for treatment of pediatric UC

MSD today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion recommending the use of REMICADE (infliximab) in the treatment of severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) in pediatric patients ages 6 to 17 years, who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy, including corticosteroids and 6-mercaptopurine or azathioprine, or who are intolerant to or have medical contraindications for such therapies.

21 Jan 2012

FDA allows marketing of Stratify JCV Antibody ELISA test for PML

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed marketing of the first test to help determine the risk for a rare brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in people using the drug Tysabri (natalizumab) to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) or Crohn's disease.

21 Jan 2012

New data from Infinity saridegib and gemcitabine Phase 1b/2 combination trial on pancreatic cancer

Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced updated data from the Phase 1b portion of an ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of saridegib in combination with the chemotherapy gemcitabine in patients with previously untreated, metastatic pancreatic cancer.

20 Jan 2012

Inflammation enhances pancreatic cancer cell progression

Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Rhim, MD, a Gastroenterology Fellow in the Stanger lab, discovered that pancreatic cancer cells in an animal model begin to spread before clinically obvious tumor tissue is detected.

20 Jan 2012

Experimental drug helps patients with advanced colon cancer

According to results from a new clinical trial, an experimental cancer drug regorafenib appears to extend survival slightly in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Regorafenib is a so-called multikinase inhibitor, which targets several of the ways cancer develops and grows, researchers said.

19 Jan 2012

The AJMS publishes updates on type 2 diabetes, STIs

Research is leading to new insights on two major public health challenges: preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and improving disease control for patients with type 2 diabetes. Expert updates on these critical topics appear in a special symposium section of the January issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (The AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

19 Jan 2012

New combo drug helps suppress hepatitis C genotype 1 infection

A new combination of investigational drugs successfully suppressed hepatitis C genotype 1 infection in a high percent of patients who had not responded to previous treatment in a study led by a University of Michigan hepatologist.

19 Jan 2012

New colorectal cancer screening test is highly accurate and more sensitive: Study

Results of two studies suggest that a new, investigational colorectal cancer screening test developed in a collaboration between Mayo Clinic and Exact Sciences Inc. of Madison, Wis., is highly accurate and significantly more sensitive than other noninvasive tests at detecting precancerous tumors (adenomas) and early-stage cancer.

19 Jan 2012

Researchers identify critical cellular, molecular events that lead to esophageal adenocarcinoma

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified the critical early cellular and molecular events that give rise to a type of esophageal cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma, the fastest-rising solid tumor in the United States.

18 Jan 2012

Food insecurity forces families to 'stretch' infant formula

Despite receiving supplemental food benefits, some families cannot afford enough infant formula and resort to the dangerous practice of formula "stretching" - watering down formula - to feed their babies, according to a Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study conducted at urban pediatric clinics.

18 Jan 2012

Gastric bypass superior to lap banding finds study

A new study evaluates the best option in terms of weight loss surgery for those who need it. Researchers found gastric bypass patients lose more weight than gastric banding patients and keep it off longer. Even though banding is a simpler operation, nearly half of those patients were still obese after six years.

17 Jan 2012

Gut bacteria may determine outcome of heart attack

New research published online in the FASEB Journal suggests that the types and levels of bacteria in the intestines may be used to predict a person's likelihood of having a heart attack, and that manipulating these organisms may help reduce heart attack risk.

13 Jan 2012

Children with autism, gastrointestinal symptoms have high levels of Sutterella in their gut

New research conducted in the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, reports that children with autism and gastrointestinal disturbances have high levels of a bacterium called Sutterella in their intestines.

12 Jan 2012

Researchers analyze microorganisms in human gut as a complex, integrated biological system

For the first time, researchers have analyzed the multitude of microorganisms residing in the human gut as a complex, integrated biological system, rather than a set of separate species. Their approach has revealed patterns that correspond with excess body weight.

11 Jan 2012