Gastrointestinal Tract News and Research

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Scientists create polymer additives that enhance orally administered drugs to reach bloodstream

All too often, when a person takes a pill full of a potent and effective drug, the drug passes straight through the body, not reaching the organ where it is needed - a waste of money and inconvenient if it is a cold medicine, but potentially dire if it is a treatment for a serious illness.

29 Aug 2013

New polymer additives enhance ability of oral drugs to reach bloodstream

All too often, when a person takes a pill full of a potent and effective drug, the drug passes straight through the body, not reaching the organ where it is needed — a waste of money and inconvenient if it is a cold medicine, but potentially dire if it is a treatment for a serious illness.

28 Aug 2013

Certain Hodgkin lymphoma treatments put patients at increased risk for stomach cancer

Hodgkin lymphoma survivors who received certain radiation and chemotherapy regimens were at increased risk of subsequently developing stomach cancer, according to a study by scientists at the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

28 Aug 2013

Takeda announces publication of data from two vedolizumab Phase 3 studies for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today announced that results from two Phase 3 studies evaluating vedolizumab, an investigational humanized monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, were published in the August 22, 2013 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

22 Aug 2013

Caltech biologists identify mechanism by which beneficial bacteria reside, thrive in gastrointestinal tract

The human body is full of tiny microorganisms-hundreds to thousands of species of bacteria collectively called the microbiome, which are believed to contribute to a healthy existence. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract-and the colon in particular-is home to the largest concentration and highest diversity of bacterial species.

20 Aug 2013

Scientists prevent cell sleep to reduce chance of tumor recurrence

An international research team led by University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) scientists discovered that by preventing cancer cells from entering a state of cellular sleep, cancer drugs are more effective, and there is a lower chance of cancer recurrence.

2 Aug 2013

Kansas researchers defeat persistent bacteria known for causing infections in hospitals

Kansas State University researchers are defeating persistent bacteria known for causing infections in hospitals.

19 Jul 2013

Comprehensive guide for clinicians to treat medical complications of bulimia

A new study in Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention identifies the numerous medical problems associated with bulimia and provides comprehensive information on diagnosis and treatment for clinicians in various arms of medicine.

16 Jul 2013

IDSA and ASM collaborate to guide the best use of lab tests for diagnosis of infectious diseases

A new guide developed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will help physicians appropriately and accurately use laboratory tests for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. Laboratory test results drive approximately two-thirds of physicians' medical decisions.

11 Jul 2013

Study shows possible biological cause of narcolepsy

In 2000, researchers at the UCLA Center for Sleep Research published findings showing that people suffering from narcolepsy, a disorder characterized by uncontrollable periods of deep sleep, had 90 percent fewer neurons containing the neuropeptide hypocretin in their brains than healthy people.

4 Jul 2013

Endoscopic imaging: an interview with Len Farris, Vice President of Marketing, Americas, PENTAX Medical

The impact of endoscopic imaging on patient care has been enormous since the first fiber optic systems were introduced more than 50 years ago. Today, high resolution and high definition systems are used to provide clinicians and patients unprecedented images from inside the body.

From PENTAX Medical Company 3 Jul 2013

Research suggests new models for study of Barrett's esophagus

Research focused on the regulation of the adult stem cells that line the gastrointestinal tract of Drosophila suggests new models for the study of Barrett's esophagus.

28 Jun 2013

Researchers identify structures that may help develop human intestinal immune system

The trillions of harmful bacteria that populate the human gut represent a continuous threat to our health. Proper intestinal immune function creates a protective barrier between us and the extensive microbial ecosystem in our intestines. Now, researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have identified the structures that serve as the foundation for the development of the human intestinal immune system.

21 Jun 2013

Oral probiotic supplement increases vitamin D levels in blood, says study

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism is the first report of an oral probiotic supplement significantly increasing circulating vitamin D levels in the blood.

20 Jun 2013

Mother's exposure to triclocarban while nursing her babies shortens life of female offspring

A mother's exposure to triclocarban, a common antibacterial chemical, while nursing her babies shortens the life of her female offspring, a new study in rats finds. The results were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

18 Jun 2013

Certain gastrointestinal types of GVHD are associated with worsened quality of life and death

Joseph Pidala, M.D., M.S., assistant member of the Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant and Immunology programs at Moffitt Cancer Center, and colleagues from the Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease Consortium have determined that certain gastrointestinal and liver-related types of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) are associated with worsened quality of life and death.

18 Jun 2013

NGM, MedImmune partner to develop novel therapeutics for treatment of diabetes and obesity

NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, announced today that they have entered into an exclusive agreement to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapeutics from NGM's enteroendocrine cell program for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.

17 Jun 2013

Home treatment improves chronic constipation in children

Home treatment with a simple, battery-operated system that applies four sticky electrode patches to the mid-section allowed a group of children with the most difficult-to-treat, possibly congenital, constipation to reduce soiling and improve elimination, according to results presented today at the 11th World Congress of the International Neuromodulation Society.

12 Jun 2013

Countrywide study in Germany deems PRRT as life-prolonging treatment for patients with NETs

Peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy has been a subject of growing research on neuroendocrine tumors, which take up residence in a variety of organs replete with nerve cells that respond to hormone signaling.