Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

An emerging candidate for protecting patients from liver injury after abdomen surgery

Many patients worldwide are going to receive major abdomen surgery or intestine transplantation every year and expect to be afflicted with liver injury afterwards.

17 Jan 2008

New approach to cadmium induced hepatoxicity

Cadmium comes from a wide variety of sources in the environment and from industry and is extremely toxic to humans.

17 Jan 2008

A new significance of LVD and angiogenic MVD is identified in human primary SCRC

Lymphangiogenesis and angiogenesis are critical processes for tumor growth, invasion and metastasis.

17 Jan 2008

Potential new treatment for inflammatory bowel disease

Irish scientists have discovered a new potential therapeutic approach to Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a chronic debilitating disease involving inflammation of the intestine which affects more than 15,000 people in Ireland and millions of people worldwide.

15 Jan 2008

Researchers associate six new genetic variants with heart disease risk factor

Using new techniques for rapidly scanning the human genome, researchers have associated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, two fats in the blood, to 18 genetic variants, six of which represent new DNA regions never before associated with the traits.

15 Jan 2008

FDA approves Tysabri to treat Crohn's disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Tysabri (natalizumab) for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease in patients with evidence of inflammation who have had an inadequate response to, or are unable to tolerate, conventional Crohn's disease therapies.

14 Jan 2008

Chewing too much gum linked to excessive weight loss

German scientists have revealed a link between chewing too much gum and excessive weight loss.

14 Jan 2008

Toronto quarantines passengers from Tel Aviv with flu symptoms

Passengers on an Air Canada flight from Tel Aviv were briefly quarantined on their arrival at Toronto airport because of a health scare.

10 Jan 2008

Brain response differences found in way women with irritable bowel syndrome deal with pain

UCLA researchers found that women with IBS cannot effectively turn-off a pain modulation mechanism in the brain, which causes them to be more sensitive to abdominal pain, compared to women without IBS.

9 Jan 2008

Hospitalizations for gastroespohageal reflux disease on the rise

Hospitalizations for treating disorders caused by gastroespohageal reflux disease (GERD ) increased by 103 percent between 1998 and 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

7 Jan 2008

Hereditary form of colon cancer traced to common ancester in U.S.

A married couple who sailed from England to America around 1630 may be the ancestors of hundreds of people alive today who are at risk for a hereditary form of colon cancer.

3 Jan 2008

Drug effective for hepatitis C patients with low platelets

For patients with hepatitis C, having a low blood platelet count is a frequent complication associated with advanced disease.

2 Jan 2008

Optimal therapy for U.S. hepatitis C patients

As reported recently in the journal Hepatology, WIN-R, a multicenter study of over 5,000 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) showed treatment with weight-based REBETOL ribavirin, USP) (RBV) in combination with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) alfa-2b achieved significantly higher rates of sustained virologic response (SVR) and lower relapse rates compared to combination therapy using a flat dose of RBV 800 mg/day. Superior response was found particularly in patients with the most difficult-to-treat form of the disease, genotype 1 HCV. Efficacy was consistent across all weight groups.

28 Dec 2007

Z-shaped incision inside the stomach enhances minimally-invasive surgery

A novel surgical technique allowing doctors to operate on patients by making a Z-shaped incision inside the stomach could potentially replace certain types of conventional surgery in humans, according to Penn State medical researchers who have successfully demonstrated the procedure in pigs.

18 Dec 2007

Highly promising Alzheimer's and Parkinson's research

The TI Pharma project is a large-scale study into the brain material of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients, who gave permission to the Netherlands Brain Bank for their tissue to be used for scientific research.

17 Dec 2007

Study uncovers clues to cystic fibrosis gene dysfunction and gastrointestinal disease

A new study by researchers at Hasbro Children's Hospital, the pediatric division of Rhode Island Hospital, and Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, offers new insight into the role that the cystic fibrosis gene plays in the development of gastrointestinal disease.

14 Dec 2007

Zebrafish study shows key enzyme in gut is a peacemaker

University of Oregon scientists, using zebrafish to study the gastrointestinal tract, say that an enzyme long assumed to be involved in digestion instead is a detoxifying traffic cop, maintaining a friendly rapport between resident gut bacteria and cells.

13 Dec 2007

Time to remove the stigma associated with incontinence

An independent panel convened this week by the NIH found that fewer than half of individuals experiencing fecal or urinary incontinence - the inability to control bowel movements or urination, respectively - report their symptoms to healthcare providers without being prompted.

13 Dec 2007