Small Intestine News and Research

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New treatment shows promise in easing symptoms of Parkinson's disease

To date, a cure for Parkinson's disease remains elusive for the more than 50,000 Americans diagnosed yearly, despite decades of intensive study. But a newly approved treatment that might help ease the symptoms of Parkinson's has shown remarkable promise.

22 Apr 2015

Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation may influence weight gain in offspring

Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation may prime offspring for weight gain and obesity later in life, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers, who looked at rats whose mothers consumed a high-fat diet and found that the offspring's feeding controls and feelings of fullness did not function normally.

30 Mar 2015

Low-calorie rice could help potentially reduce obesity rates

Scientists have developed a new, simple way to cook rice that could cut the number of calories absorbed by the body by more than half, potentially reducing obesity rates, which is especially important in countries where the food is a staple.

23 Mar 2015

Scientists find strong association between MAIT lymphocytes and metabolic dysfunctions

Scientists at Institut Cochin (CNRS/Inserm/Université Paris Descartes) and ICAN - Institute of Cardiometabolism And NutritionInserm/UPMC/AP-HP) have discovered that a class of inflammatory cells, MAIT lymphocytes1, is deregulated in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes and obesity.

12 Mar 2015

Scientists sequence genome of hookworm

In an advance that may potentially lead to new treatments for parasitic hookworms, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Cornell University have sequenced the genome of the hookworm, Ancylostoma ceylanicum.

3 Mar 2015

Celimmune licenses anti-IL-15 monoclonal antibody from Amgen

Celimmune LLC, a clinical development-stage immunotherapy company focused on treating and preventing autoimmune diseases, announced today that it has licensed a Phase 2-stage, anti-IL-15 monoclonal antibody (AMG 714) from Amgen.

2 Mar 2015

Study: Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel improves quality of life in advanced PD patients

Although levodopa remains the "gold standard" to effectively control motor deficits in the treatment of early stage Parkinson's disease (PD), it loses effectiveness as the disease progresses. After four to six years of treatment with oral medications for Parkinson's disease, about 40% of patients experience lack of muscle control (dyskinesias), end-of-dose wearing off, and fluctuations in "On/Off" states.

27 Feb 2015

Researchers reveal how C. difficile wreaks havoc on guts, causes life-threatening diseases

In a new paper in the journal Infection and Immunity, the researchers lay out for the first time exactly how C. difficile wreaks havoc on the guts of animals in a short time, and causes severe diarrhea and life-threatening disease in humans.

19 Feb 2015

Study suggests that gastric bypass should be used with caution to treat extreme obesity

Based on five-year follow-up of patients in a randomized clinical trial, researchers have concluded that gastric bypass is the preferred treatment for extreme obesity. This is despite the fact that it is not as effective in reducing body weight as the so-called duodenal switch.

11 Feb 2015

Researchers use pulsed light to modify lactose protein that causes 10% of milk-related allergies

The researchers have managed to modify a type of lactose protein called β-lactoglobulin artificially by means of a treatment with pulsed light. This protein, which is present in lactose serum, is responsible for approximately 10% of milk-related allergies. As a result of this treatment, milk becomes much more digestible.

4 Feb 2015

Gluten-free diet important for people with celiac disease

You'd never suspect it from the proliferation of gluten-free items on supermarket shelves. Yet only one in approximately 133 people - that's 0.75 percent of the population - has celiac disease, a genetic autoimmune disorder that causes the body to react negatively to the intake of gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and their derivatives.

29 Jan 2015

Study links lysosomal dysfunction with neonatal intestinal disorders

Neonatal intestinal disorders that prevent infants from getting the nutrients they need may be caused by defects in the lysosomal system that occur before weaning, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.

28 Jan 2015

New research sheds light on the role of Sox10 protein in Hirschsprung's disease patients

Defects in the protein Sox10, a transcription factor that regulates gene expression, may play a role in the development of post-operative GI dysfunction in Hirschsprung's disease patients, according to new research published in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the new basic science journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

16 Jan 2015

Study finds difference between results from IHC and quantitative molecular techniques

The cause of type 1 diabetes remains unknown. Several studies using immunohistochemistry (IHC) have independently reported hyperexpression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I on pancreatic islet cells in young patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes. Investigators have therefore suggested that HLA hyperexpression may be an important first step in the development of type 1 diabetes.

12 Jan 2015

CHLA scientists grow tissue-engineered small intestine from human cells

A new study by researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles has shown that tissue-engineered small intestine grown from human cells replicates key aspects of a functioning human intestine. The tissue-engineered small intestine they developed contains important elements of the mucosal lining and support structures, including the ability to absorb sugars, and even tiny or ultra-structural components like cellular connections.

9 Jan 2015

Johns Hopkins scientists create statistical model to measure proportion of cancer incidence

Scientists from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have created a statistical model that measures the proportion of cancer incidence, across many tissue types, caused mainly by random mutations that occur when stem cells divide.

2 Jan 2015

Researchers map B cell response to non-gluten proteins of wheat in celiac disease

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have found that, in addition to gluten, the immune systems of patients with celiac disease react to specific types of non-gluten protein in wheat. The results were reported online in the Journal of Proteome Research.

16 Dec 2014

New technique could help diagnose cancerous, pre-cancerous conditions

Since the first "catalog" of the normal bacterial makeup of the human body was published in 2012, numerous connections between illness and disturbances in the human microbiota have been found. This week, scientists report yet another: Cancerous tumors in the ascending colon (the part nearest to the small intestine) are characterized by biofilms, which are dense clumps of bacterial cells encased in a self-produced matrix.

14 Dec 2014

Malnutrition predicts long-term survival in elderly patients undergoing Whipple procedure

Malnutrition is an important factor predicting long-term survival in older patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) (commonly called the Whipple procedure) to treat benign tumors and cysts of the pancreas as well as pancreatitis, according to new study results published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

6 Dec 2014

New technique measures antioxidant capacities of citrus juices

The antioxidant activity of citrus juices and other foods is undervalued. A new technique developed by researchers from the University of Granada for measuring this property generates values that are ten times higher than those indicated by current analysis methods. The results suggest that tables on the antioxidant capacities of food products that dieticians and health authorities use must be revised.

5 Dec 2014