Abdominal Pain News and Research

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Abdominal pain is traditionally described by its chronicity (acute or chronic), its progression over time, its nature (sharp, dull, colicky), its distribution (by various methods, such as abdominal quadrant (left upper quadrant, left lower quadrant, right upper quadrant, right lower quadrant) or other methods that divide the abdomen into nine sections), and by characterization of the factors that make it worse, or alleviate it.

Pfizer's Toviaz (fesoterodine fumarate) receives FDA approval for the treatment of overactive bladder

Pfizer Inc has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Toviaz (fesoterodine fumarate) extended release tablets for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms.

2 Nov 2008

Colonoscopy prep harder on women than men

Colonoscopy is especially important for women, because they're more likely to have polyps or lesions deeper in the colon. Only colonoscopy examines the entire length of the colon. Emptying the contents of the colon - a step called bowel prep - is essential to a successful colonoscopy. But there's some reason to believe that bowel prep for a colonoscopy is harder for women than for men, reports the November 2008 issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch.

27 Oct 2008

Outlook for Crohn's disease improves due to new therapies

A study led by Mayo Clinic has found that infliximab (Remicade) administered alone (monotherapy) or in combination with azathioprine is a more effective treatment for patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease than azathioprine alone.

6 Oct 2008

Burst appendix or stomach flu?

A young child arrives at the emergency room after several days of abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea and is sent home with a diagnosis of viral gastritis and treatment for the symptoms. The child seems better for a while, only to return to the ER with worse symptoms and a ruptured appendix, a life-threatening complication of appendicitis.

6 Oct 2008

Woman dies after being scratched by a wild rat

As a rule leptospirosis victims experience severe headaches and flu-like symptoms but the severe form which is Weil's disease, causes jaundice and liver damage, and can be fatal - but it usually only affects 10% of leptospirosis victims.

15 Sep 2008

FDA approves DNA test to measure hepatitis B viral load

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first nucleic acid test for hepatitis B virus (HBV) that measures the amount of viral DNA (viral load) in a patient's blood. Assessing a patient's viral load provides health care professionals with a highly sensitive method for gauging the progress of antiviral therapy in patients with chronic HBV infections.

5 Sep 2008

Coffee appears to protect women from cancer of the uterus

Japanese researchers have discovered a good reason for women to drink coffee - they say it protects them from cancer of the uterus.

2 Sep 2008

New genetic link to inflammatory bowel diseases discovered

A study which entailed scientists trawling through the genetic code of thousands of people, has revealed two new genes involved in childhood inflammatory bowel disease, a painful condition that includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC).

1 Sep 2008

Endoscopic ultrasound 99.1 percent accurate in diagnosing pancreatic neoplasms

Researchers from St. Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri report that EUS and EUS-FNA is 99.1 percent accurate in diagnosing pancreatic neoplasms (abnormal growths or tumors) in patients who were referred for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) because of CT and/or MRI reports of two common, though somewhat ambiguous findings - enlargement of head of pancreas (HOP) or dilation of the pancreatic duct (PD).

27 Aug 2008

Gleevec receives FDA priority review for gastrointestinal stromal tumors after surgery

Novartis has announced that Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) tablets, (known as Glivec (imatinib) outside the US, Canada and Israel), has been granted priority review status by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first therapy to be reviewed for use after surgery in kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

27 Aug 2008

Pancreatitis link to Gardasil to be investigated by the TGA

Some Australian doctors are suggesting that a review of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil is called for after three patients contracted pancreatitis after having the vaccination.

18 Aug 2008

Clomifene citrate or unstimulated intrauterine insemination do not seem to improve fertility

Long established medical interventions to help couples with infertility problems do not seem to improve fertility, according to a study published on bmj.com.

10 Aug 2008

Trial of treatment of inflammatory bowel disease begins at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Anadis Ltd, a biopharmaceutical company focused on research, development and production of immune milk (colostrum)-derived polyclonal antibodies and other proteins to address major diseases, today announces the initiation of a clinical trial with top clinical scientists at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel.

22 Jul 2008

Fatty liver disease may raise heart disease risk in overweight, obese kids

A fatty liver disease that is not well-known in overweight and obese children may be a precursor of cardiovascular disease, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

30 Jun 2008

Watson Pharmaceuticals launches generic version of dronabinol

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that, under a supply agreement with Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Watson has launched the authorized generic version of dronabinol in the 2.5, 5 and 10 mg once daily dosage strengths.

30 Jun 2008

Home-based cognitive behavioral therapy relieves irritable bowel syndrome symptoms

Persons with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can relieve their symptoms as effectively by following a self-administered, at-home cognitive behavioral program as they can by undergoing a 10-week in-office program administered by a trained therapist, a new pilot study has shown.

25 Jun 2008