Ulcerative Colitis News and Research

Latest Ulcerative Colitis News and Research

Compounds derived from blue agave may be more effective way to deliver drugs to the colon

Compounds derived from the blue agave, a fruit used to make tequila, shows promise in early laboratory studies as a natural, more effective way to deliver drugs to the colon than conventional drug-carriers, according to chemists at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico.

3 Apr 2007

Scientists decipher a signaling pathway crucially involved in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis, severely impair the lives of more than four million people worldwide. The development of effective therapies against these diseases requires an understanding of their underlying molecular mechanisms.

15 Mar 2007

New method for rapid diagnosis of intestinal illnesses

Academics have found, for the first time, smells from healthy faeces and people with infectious diarrhoea differ significantly in their chemical composition and could be used to diagnose quickly diseases such as Clostridium difficile (C. Diff.).

27 Feb 2007

Potential new cancer fighting drug found by mistake

Researchers in the United States appear to have almost inadvertently stumbled across what could be a new cancer treatment.

5 Feb 2007

New drug to combat Gastrointestinal graft-vs.-host disease in stem-cell patients shows significant reduction in deaths

Gastrointestinal graft-vs.-host disease is a common and potentially deadly side effect for patients who undergo an allogeneic stem-cell transplant to treat certain blood cancers.

23 Jan 2007

Arthritis drugs not as risky as first thought

Researchers now say that two biotech drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Humira (Abbott Laboratories) and Remicade (Johnson & Johnson), may not raise the risk of cancer and infections as much as was initially feared.

8 Nov 2006

Compliance with medications lowers health care costs

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who take medications as directed have decreased medical costs, researchers from the University of Chicago researchers report at the American College of Gastroenterology annual scientific meeting in Las Vegas. A second study from the same group, however, suggests that there is no simple way to improve compliance.

23 Oct 2006

Quality indicators for gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures

Defining measurements and identifying quality standards in the delivery of colonoscopic care is a major priority for the nation's leading gastrointestinal endoscopic healthcare association.

13 Sep 2006

Drug infliximab may help ease ulcerative colitis

In good news for patients with stubborn cases of ulcerative colitis, a serious intestinal disorder, a new research review suggests that the drug infliximab can be a useful alternative if other treatments don't work.

12 Sep 2006

Probiotic drinks - not all brands live up to claims

According to experts as many as half of all probiotic health drinks do not contain the healthy bacteria they claim on the label.

8 Aug 2006

Crohn's disease - possible genetic cause found

Patients with Crohn's disease of the colon have one copy less than healthy persons of the beta-defensin 2 gene, a gene coding for an important defense molecule of the body.

17 Jul 2006

Importance of T cells in the prevention of autoimmune diseases

Centenary scientist Associate Professor Barbara Fazekas de St. Groth, a leader in inflammatory bowel disease research, has demonstrated for the first time the important role of T cells in the prevention of autoimmune diseases in humans.

9 Jul 2006

Research may lead to new treatments for intestinal disorders

University of Minnesota researchers have found a group of cells in the intestinal system of mice that are proven to turn on T-cells, cells that help fight infection.

24 May 2006

Arthritis drug wins approval for use in children with Crohn's disease

The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. has given approval for the drug Remicade for use in children with active Crohn's disease(CD), a chronic and debilitating condition.

21 May 2006

Data from Novogen inflammatory bowel disease drug Phase I clinical trial shows promise

A recently completed Phase 1 clinical trial of an investigational drug to treat inflammatory bowel disease has demonstrated rapid absorption indicating potential for development as an oral therapy.

6 Mar 2006

Is persistent bacterial infection good for your health?

Bacteria are bad. Mothers and doctors, not to mention the cleaning product industry, repeatedly warn of their dangers. But a Stanford University School of Medicine microbiologist is raising the intriguing idea that persistent bacterial and viral infections have benefits.

27 Feb 2006

Drugs formerly contraindicated for inflammatory bowel disease prove beneficial for pain relief

According to two studies published in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, prescription painkillers are effective in easing the pain of patients with dormant inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and are not likely to cause symptom flare-ups in IBD patients in remissions

12 Feb 2006

New biochip predicts evolution of inflammatory bowel disease

The treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, has very high costs and can include admissions and surgical interventions. Until now, there was no precise tools to predict the evolution and prognosis of these diseases.

26 Jan 2006

Increased attention should be paid to incontinence

It's a topic that is discussed so infrequently - for reasons that are easy to understand - that it may seem it isn't much of a problem. But new research shows that fecal incontinence is prevalent among U.S. women, especially those in older age groups

18 Jan 2006

Loyola to study for first time IV medication for osteopenia and inflammatory bowel diseases

Researchers at the Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease Center and the Division of Gastroenterology at Loyola University Health System are studying a once-yearly, 15-minute infusion of an intravenous (IV) medication in patients with osteopenia (low bone mass) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that, if proven effective, may be considered the standard of treatment.

10 Jan 2006