Ulcer News and Research

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Twenty-five million Americans suffer from ulcers. An ulcer is a sore or hole in the lining of the stomach or duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). People of any age can get an ulcer and women are affected just as often as men.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacterium that lives on the lining of the stomach. Although we used to think that spicy food, acid, and stress were the major causes of ulcers, we now know that nine out of ten ulcers are caused by H. pylori. Medicines that reduce stomach acid may make you feel better, but your ulcer may come back. Here's the good news: Since most ulcers are caused by this bacterial infection, they can be cured with the right antibiotics.

Breath-analysis testing offers potential for blood sugar monitoring in diabetes

Breath-analysis testing may prove to be an effective, non-invasive method for monitoring blood sugar levels in diabetes, according to a University of California, Irvine study.

25 Sep 2007

Common abdominal pain may be due to a potentially treatable newly recognized inflammatory reaction

As many as one in four people in westernized countries experience pain or discomfort in their upper abdomen, and physicians have almost nothing to offer except anti-acid medicines, which usually don't work.

20 Sep 2007

Rapid test to screen blood approved by the FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given it's approval for the first rapid test to detect bacterial contamination in blood platelets prior to transfusion.

20 Sep 2007

HPV infection and head and neck cancer

The human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated as a cause of cervical cancer in women, but there's another devastating form of cancer also linked to HPV infection - head and neck cancer - and almost no one is talking about it.

18 Sep 2007

Drug spending caps cause some seniors to quit taking key medicines

Many seniors quit taking drugs for chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure when they exceed their drug plan's yearly spending limits, according to a RAND Corporation study.

12 Sep 2007

Taking paracetamol slows down bone growth

In Medicine, paracetamol is used to soothe every kind of pain, from simple molar pain to pain produced by bone fractures.

4 Sep 2007

New phages to treat bacterial diseases

Viruses found in the River Cam in Cambridge, famous as a haunt of students in their punts on long, lazy summer days, could become the next generation of antibiotics, according to scientists speaking today (Monday 3 September 2007) at the Society for General Microbiology's 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

3 Sep 2007

Cell that triggers symptoms in allergy attacks can also limit damage

A blood cell known as a troublemaker for triggering the itch and inflammation in allergy attacks, the mast cell, can also calm down the flare-ups, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine have found.

3 Sep 2007

Discovery on manipulating skin tone and color

In the timeless quest for healthier, younger looking skin, scientists from the University of Cincinnati and Tokyo Medical University have made an important discovery toward manipulating skin tone and color.

24 Aug 2007

Insulin pens may offer diabetics substantial savings

Diabetics who need to switch from oral medications to insulin could reduce their annual healthcare costs up to $17,000 by using an insulin pen instead of a syringe to deliver their daily dose of medication.

22 Aug 2007

Cranberries, chemo and ovarian cancer

Compounds in cranberries may help improve the effectiveness of platinum drugs that are used in chemotherapy to fight ovarian cancer, researchers have found in a laboratory study that will be reported at the 234 th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

22 Aug 2007

New model to predict the spread of a 'super-bug' in L.A. county jail

Researchers at UCLA have developed a mathematical model that mimics a particularly nasty and ongoing outbreak in the Los Angeles County Jail (LACJ) of the flesh eating bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus.

17 Aug 2007

Have you ever experienced pain in your abdomen?

Of course, all of us have experienced a “belly ache” sometime in our lives, but how can you decide when abdominal pain is serious? While most stomach pain isn't serious, persistent or severe pain should not be ignored.

16 Aug 2007

FDA taking no chances when it comes to drug safety

These days the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking no chances when it comes to the safety of new drugs.

13 Aug 2007

Steep rises in cancers linked to excessive sun exposure, alcohol, smoking and obesity

Rates of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, have risen by over 40 per cent in the past decade, making it the fastest rising cancer in the UK. Incidence of mouth, womb, and kidney cancers has also shown rapid increases in the last 10 years.

8 Aug 2007

Cognitive impairment link found in popular acid blockers

Long-term use of histamine2 receptor antagonists (H2A), one class of drugs that blocks stomach acid, may be associated with cognitive impairment in older African-American adults.

3 Aug 2007

VAC therapy for wound healing questioned

The effectiveness and value of an increasingly popular treatment used in the treatment of long term wounds are questioned in this month's Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB)

1 Aug 2007

Coated aspirin doesn't guarantee problem-free use

Some people take aspirin without ever having a problem with their stomach. Others develop low-grade stomach pain or get an ulcer.

31 Jul 2007

Long-term herpes treatment may reduce HIV infectivity

Long-term anti-herpes treatment of women infected with both HIV and HSV2, the virus that causes genital herpes, may reduce the proportion of women with detectable HIV virus in their genital secretions according to the results of a trial in Tanzania presented the International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney.

26 Jul 2007