Digestion News and Research

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Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be absorbed, for instance, into a blood stream. Digestion is a form of catabolism; a break-down of macro food molecules to smaller ones.

Scientists provide proof of principle for drug-based treatment of acute pancreatitis

Scientists have for the first time provided proof of principle for a drug-based treatment of acute pancreatitis - a disease which is often alcohol-related and for which currently there is no treatment.

4 Sep 2013

Targeted Medical Pharma launches new division to manufacture and distribution dietary supplements

Targeted Medical Pharma, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops and distributes prescription medical foods to physicians and pharmacies, today announced the launch of a new division that will specialize in the manufacturing and distribution of a proprietary line of dietary supplements.

30 Aug 2013

The way gut "tastes" sweet food may be defective in sufferers of type 2 diabetes

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have discovered that the way the gut "tastes" sweet food may be defective in sufferers of type 2 diabetes, leading to problems with glucose uptake.

26 Aug 2013

Scientists develop new way to detect threatening nanoparticles in food

Over the last few years, the use of nanomaterials for water treatment, food packaging, pesticides, cosmetics and other industries has increased. For example, farmers have used silver nanoparticles as a pesticide because of their capability to suppress the growth of harmful organisms. However, a growing concern is that these particles could pose a potential health risk to humans and the environment.

23 Aug 2013

Scientists develop new therapies to prevent chemoresistance of established tumours

Cancer cells often develop defence mechanisms which enable them to survive chemotherapy. A group of researchers from the Institutes of Pharmacology and Pathology in Bern present new solutions for preventing the development of such resistances.

17 Aug 2013

Repair of sciatic nerve defects using tissue engineered nerves

Peripheral nerve defects are very common in clinical surgery. For repair of short-segment nerve defects, freeing nerve, nerve diversions or joint flexion can be used to directly connect the two stumps of nerves by using microsurgical techniques; while for long-segment nerve defects, we require a bridging material to bridge defected nerves.

16 Aug 2013

Researchers explain how gut bacteria can inactivate cardiac drugs

For decades, doctors have understood that microbes in the human gut can influence how certain drugs work in the body - by either activating or inactivating specific compounds, but questions have long remained about exactly how the process works.

26 Jul 2013

Patients with early AD also have undiagnosed pre-diabetes, says Georgetown neurologist

When Georgetown University neurologist R. Scott Turner, MD, PhD, began enrolling people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease into a nationwide study last year, he expected to find only a handful of participants with undiagnosed glucose intolerance, as all the patients were already under a doctor's care and those with known diabetes were excluded.

15 Jul 2013

Researchers fabricate nanotweezers that could be used to control and regulate enzymes

In new research, Hao Yan and his colleagues at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute describe a pair of tweezers shrunk down to an astonishingly tiny scale. When the jaws of these tools are in the open position, the distance between the two arms is about 16 nanometers-over 30,000 times smaller than a single grain of sand.

5 Jul 2013

HDAC10 gene plays a key role in autophagy and resistance to chemotherapy in high-risk neuroblastomas

Neuroblastomas are pediatric tumors that originate from cells of the embryonic nervous system. The disease can take widely varying clinical courses that range from spontaneous regression to fatal outcomes.

2 Jul 2013

Research shows conceptual framework encourages children to eat more vegetables

Every parent has a different strategy for trying to get his or her kid to eat more vegetables, from growing vegetables together as a family to banning treats until the dinner plate is clean. New research suggests that teaching young children an overarching, conceptual framework for nutrition may do the trick.

2 Jul 2013

Synthetic biology technology could lead to new antibiotics, modified protein-generators

Synthetic biology researchers at Northwestern University, working with partners at Harvard Medical School, have for the first time synthesized ribosomes -- cell structures responsible for generating all proteins and enzymes in our bodies -- from scratch in a test tube.

30 Jun 2013

People receiving emergency gallbladder surgery are more likely to experience complications

If you have severe pain just below the right side of your rib cage, you may have a gallbladder problem. And it is typically better to seek medical attention sooner than later.

28 Jun 2013

Study examines long-term effects on babies born to mothers with obstetric cholestasis

Babies born to mothers who suffer from a rare metabolic complication during pregnancy are programmed to be overweight, according to a study published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

25 Jun 2013

Scientists show how gastric bypass surgery restores some properties of nerve cells

Understanding how gastric bypass surgery changes the properties of nerve cells that help regulate the digestive system could lead to new treatments that produce the same results without surgery, according to Penn State College of Medicine scientists, who have shown how surgery restores some properties of nerve cells that tell people their stomachs are full.

18 Jun 2013

Perfinity, Thermo Fisher Scientific sign co-marketing agreement for automated online biopharmaceutical analysis system

Perfinity Biosciences Inc. has announced the signing of an agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, to co-market an automated protein sample preparation and analysis system.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 13 Jun 2013

BioLineRx signs out-licensing agreement with CTTQ to develop, commercialize Hepatitis C drug

BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today that it has signed an out-licensing agreement with Jiangsu Chia-tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., the leading Chinese pharmaceutical company in the liver disease therapeutic area, for the development and commercialization of BL-8030, an orally available treatment for the Hepatitis C virus.

10 Jun 2013

Researchers to develop biodegradable replacement for microplastics found in scores of household products

If you've been on or near the water, you've seen it-the plastic trash that litters oceans, lakes, and streams worldwide. But visible plastic-soda bottles, lighters, flip-flops, combs, rope-may be the least of the problem. Scientists are beginning to realize that what you can't see, tiny bits of polyethylene or polypropylene called "microplastics," likely pose a greater threat to marine ecosystems.

6 Jun 2013

CREON Delayed-Release Capsules now available in US for patients with EPI

AbbVie announced that a new, higher-dose capsule of CREON (pancrelipase) Delayed-Release Capsules is commercially available in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved CREON in a 36,000 lipase-unit dose to treat patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency due to cystic fibrosis, swelling of the pancreas that lasts a long time (chronic pancreatitis), removal of some or all of the pancreas (pancreatectomy), or other conditions.

31 May 2013

Tips to keep dog park visits safe, healthy for dogs and dog owners

Dog parks are a great place to socialize dogs and let them play, but they also have some hidden dangers, according to a Kansas State University veterinarian.

20 May 2013