Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Next-generation sequencing can improve infant microbiota

Sequencing technology has advanced significantly since the race to sequence the human genome first began. As part of the Teagasc Vision Programme a 'next generation sequencer', the only one of its kind in Ireland, was installed at Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark.

17 Mar 2011

Pig model reveals how cystic fibrosis gene mutation causes disease

It's been more than 20 years since scientists first discovered the gene that causes cystic fibrosis (CF), yet questions about how the mutated gene causes disease remain unanswered.

17 Mar 2011

Conservative approach with endoscopic techniques can resolve colonic perforation

Colonoscopy is considered a safe procedure, although complications can occur. The most dreaded of these is iatrogenic perforation. The literature reports perforation rates of 0.03%-0.8% for diagnostic procedures, and a rate of 0.15%-3% for therapeutic procedures.

16 Mar 2011

Research: Underweight HCV-infected patients tend to be older at HCC onset

The incidence and mortality associated with hepatocellular carcinoma have been increasing worldwide, and hepatitis C virus infection plays an important role in the pathogenesis of HCC.

16 Mar 2011

Experimental vaccine against human norovirus generates strong, safe immune response in mice

Scientists have shown that an experimental vaccine against the human norovirus - the bug behind about 90 percent of highly contagious nonbacterial illnesses that cause diarrhea and vomiting - can generate a strong immune response in mice without appearing to cause the animals any harm.

16 Mar 2011

Prophylactic PEG placement prior to HNC therapy associated with high rate of non use

Impairment of oral intake occurs in the majority of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving chemoradiotherapy. Placement of prophylactic percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube in asymptomatic newly diagnosed HNC before chemoradiation is a common practice in some centers. In some studies, PEG has been associated with a decrease in treatment related weight loss in patients with HNC, but no studies have examined the utilization rate.

16 Mar 2011

AstraZeneca commences NKTR-118 Phase III clinical programme for opioid-induced constipation

AstraZeneca today announced enrolment of the first patient in the Phase III clinical programme for NKTR-118, an oral peripherally-acting opioid antagonist being investigated for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC).

16 Mar 2011

Hydro-stomach CT imaging is not a reliable tool for EGC detection: Study

Traditionally, both air and tap water have been used as oral contrast agents to achieve adequate gastric distension for preoperative computed tomography imaging in patients with early gastric cancer.

16 Mar 2011

Study underscores need for monitoring vitamin D levels in all cirrhosis patients

Vitamin D deficiency is a well reported complication in chronic cholestatic liver disease such as primary biliary cirrhosis. While the prevalence and treatment of this deficiency has been addressed in many articles over the last decades, little is known of the vitamin D status in alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

16 Mar 2011

Repligen reports positive results from RG1068 Phase 3 study to improve MRI of the pancreas

Repligen Corporation reported today positive top-line results from a Phase 3 study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of RG1068, synthetic human secretin, to improve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pancreas in patients with pancreatic disease using endoscopy (ERCP) as a diagnostic reference.

14 Mar 2011

Life Technologies receives FDA 510(k) clearance for StemPro MSC SFM device

Life Technologies Corporation today announced it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for StemPro MSC SFM – a first for this next-generation stem cell culture medium that is now cleared as a medical device and satisfies a crucial requirement for researchers involved in clinical trials in the United States.

14 Mar 2011

Specialists to provide update on latest advancements in surgical field at UCSD conference

The Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine will host the 34th San Diego Postgraduate Assembly in Surgery. The event will take place March 17 to 19, 2011 at the Omni San Diego Hotel.

14 Mar 2011

New study: Alcohol-related chronic pancreatitis is lower than other causes

The relative rate of alcohol-related chronic pancreatitis is lower when compared to other causes, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.

14 Mar 2011

Scientists discover four new genetic variants in humans linked with NAFLD

Five genetic variants in humans - four new - associate with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, according to a study published March 10 in PLoS Genetics.

10 Mar 2011

AGA issues Medical Position Statement on Treatment of Barrett's Esophagus

BARRX Medical, Inc., a leader in developing minimally invasive medical devices to remove precancerous tissue from the gastrointestinal tract, reported today that the American Gastroenterological Association has issued the AGA Medical Position Statement on the Treatment of Barrett's Esophagus.

10 Mar 2011

Despite aspirin therapy, specific inflammatory pathways may influence risk of colorectal cancer

The reduced risk of colorectal cancer associated with taking aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be confined to individuals already at risk because of elevations in a particular inflammatory factor in the blood.

10 Mar 2011

Blood biomarker may help decide intake of aspirin or NSAIDs for reduction of cancer risk

The reduced risk of colorectal cancer associated with taking aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be confined to individuals already at risk because of elevations in a particular inflammatory factor in the blood.

10 Mar 2011

Vertex to present telaprevir and VX-222 study results against hepatitis C at EASL annual meeting

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that 15 abstracts on the company's medicines in development for hepatitis C, including its protease inhibitor, telaprevir, and polymerase inhibitor, VX-222, were accepted for presentation at the 46th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Berlin, Germany, March 30 to April 3, 2011.

9 Mar 2011

Oral magnesium oxide is a safe treatment for children with chronic constipation

Magnesium-containing cathartics are commonly used to treat chronic constipation. Although hypermagnesemia is a rare clinical condition, it can occur as a side effect of increased intake of magnesium salts.

9 Mar 2011

Merck to present VICTRELIS phase III study data against HCV at EASL annual meeting

Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced that several new data analyses from Phase III studies of VICTRELIS, its investigational oral hepatitis C protease inhibitor, will be presented at The International Liver CongressTM / 46th European Association for the Study of the Liver annual meeting.

9 Mar 2011

Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Next-generation sequencing can improve infant microbiota

Pig model reveals how cystic fibrosis gene mutation causes disease

Conservative approach with endoscopic techniques can resolve colonic perforation

Research: Underweight HCV-infected patients tend to be older at HCC onset

Experimental vaccine against human norovirus generates strong, safe immune response in mice

Prophylactic PEG placement prior to HNC therapy associated with high rate of non use

AstraZeneca commences NKTR-118 Phase III clinical programme for opioid-induced constipation

Hydro-stomach CT imaging is not a reliable tool for EGC detection: Study

Study underscores need for monitoring vitamin D levels in all cirrhosis patients

Repligen reports positive results from RG1068 Phase 3 study to improve MRI of the pancreas

Life Technologies receives FDA 510(k) clearance for StemPro MSC SFM device

Specialists to provide update on latest advancements in surgical field at UCSD conference

New study: Alcohol-related chronic pancreatitis is lower than other causes

Scientists discover four new genetic variants in humans linked with NAFLD

AGA issues Medical Position Statement on Treatment of Barrett's Esophagus

Despite aspirin therapy, specific inflammatory pathways may influence risk of colorectal cancer

Blood biomarker may help decide intake of aspirin or NSAIDs for reduction of cancer risk

Vertex to present telaprevir and VX-222 study results against hepatitis C at EASL annual meeting

Oral magnesium oxide is a safe treatment for children with chronic constipation

Merck to present VICTRELIS phase III study data against HCV at EASL annual meeting

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Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Microbiology eBook

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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