Gallstones News and Research

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Gallstones are small, pebble-like substances that develop in the gallbladder. The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped sac located below your liver in the right upper abdomen. Gallstones form when liquid stored in the gallbladder hardens into pieces of stone-like material. The liquid—called bile—helps the body digest fats. Bile is made in the liver, then stored in the gallbladder until the body needs it. The gallbladder contracts and pushes the bile into a tube—called the common bile duct—that carries it to the small intestine, where it helps with digestion.

Linagliptin significantly reduces blood glucose levels in T2D patients with moderate to severe renal impairment

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company today announced results from a new study in which linagliptin demonstrated statistically significant reductions in blood glucose levels (HbA1c) after 12 weeks (the study's primary endpoint) in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with moderate to severe renal impairment, compared with placebo. Most patients had T2D for more than ten years (76 percent) and were on insulin (86 percent).

24 Jun 2013

Pancreatitis and diabetes drugs: an interview with Dr Sonal Singh, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas which leads to leakage of pancreatic enzymes. Apart from certain drugs such as GLP-1 based therapies, the most common causes of pancreatitis are Gallstones and Alcohol use.

30 Apr 2013

Blocked bile ducts can be effectively treated with metal stents

A multi-center analysis, led by Weill Cornell Medical College and published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, shows the use of temporary "fully covered self-expanding metal stents" (FCSEMS) can effectively fix a painful and potentially life-threatening benign biliary stricture -- a severely blocked or narrowed bile duct.

21 Mar 2013

GLP-1 pancreatitis concerns justified

Study results have raised further concerns over a link between pancreatitis and the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based therapies for patients with Type 2 diabetes.

28 Feb 2013

GLP-1 may increase risk of hospitalization for people with acute pancreatitis

People who take the newest class of diabetes drugs to control blood sugar are twice as likely as those on other forms of sugar-control medication to be hospitalized with pancreatitis, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

25 Feb 2013

Florida Hospital, Sanford-Burnham and Takeda renew research agreement

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and Florida Hospital announced today that they have renewed a research agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) to extend their collaboration to discover and evaluate new therapeutic approaches to obesity. The collaboration uses a research and drug-development model that creates an early feedback loop in the discovery pipeline.

12 Feb 2013

Novartis receives FDA approval for Signifor injection to treat Cushing's disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Signifor (pasireotide diaspartate) injection for the treatment of Cushing's disease patients who cannot be helped through surgery.

15 Dec 2012

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore announces opening of new geriatric surgery center

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, a LifeBridge Health center, is proud to announce the opening of the Sinai Center for Geriatric Surgery, the nation's first surgical center dedicated exclusively to providing specialized surgical and pre and postoperative care for elderly patients.

10 Dec 2012

Teenagers with obesity can benefit from gastric bypass surgery just as much as adults

Teenagers with severe obesity can benefit from gastric bypass surgery just as much as adults. A study by Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden found that 81 teenagers lost an average of 96.8 pounds following surgery, significantly improving their health and quality of life.

23 Oct 2012

Children with obesity face increased risk for gallstones

Children who are overweight or obese face an increased risk for gallstones, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition.

26 Aug 2012

Statins reduce pancreatitis risk

Statins reduce the risk for pancreatitis in patients with normal or mildly elevated triglyceride levels, say the authors of a large meta-analysis.

24 Aug 2012

Acute pancreatitis: An interview with Viktor Oskarsson

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas. The most common symptom is acute abdominal pain, which is often accompanied with nausea and vomiting.

4 Jul 2012

Acute pancreatitis may be staved off by diet rich in vegetables

A diet rich in vegetables could help stave off the development of the serious condition acute pancreatitis, suggests a large study published online in the journal Gut.

28 Jun 2012

NHS surgery waiting times and time of discharge under scrutiny

The NHS medical director Prof Sir Bruce Keogh, has written to Strategic Health Authorities saying it is unacceptable to send people home when they may have no family support. Figures show that 100 NHS trusts sent 239,233 patients home between 23:00 and 06:00 in 2011. The Times reported that some 3.5% of all hospital discharges took place between those hours and this rate had steadily held for the past five years. The Times had contacted 170 NHS trusts in England but only 100 responded. The rates of those discharged varied widely between different hospitals.

19 Apr 2012

Indomethacin given after digestive diagnostic procedure may prevent pancreatitis: Study

There is a high risk of pancreatitis after a diagnostic procedure - ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography). ERCP is a procedure that is commonly utilized to treat or diagnose problems of the bile and pancreatic ducts. During an ERCP procedure, a lighted scope is inserted through the mouth while X-ray pictures are taken to check the tubes that drain the liver, pancreas and gallbladder.

15 Apr 2012

N.Y. cardiologist to discuss metabolic conditions at The Jeremy Kyle Show

The New York Cardiac Diagnostic Center announced today Dr. Steven Reisman, a New York City cardiologist, will be featured on an upcoming episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show. Dr. Reisman will be discussing the increased risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome for individuals who are overweight or obese.

19 Jan 2012

Scientists develop new gallbladder endoscopy

For more than 100 years, the traditional treatment for the painful growths called gallstones has been removal of the gallbladder, or cholecystectomy. But a new device, patented in China, promises to make removing the entire organ unnecessary. A group of scientists from the Second People's Hospital of Panyu District and Central South University in China have developed an endoscope specially designed for locating and clearing out gallstones and other gallbladder lesions.

18 Jan 2012

MRC-funded study to explore pancreatic cancer

A promising line of attack against pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer is to be explored further at Cardiff University, thanks to substantial new funding from the Medical Research Council.

4 Jan 2012

The Hormone Foundation publishes fact sheet about harmful hCG diet

In an effort to provide clarity to the confusion surrounding the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) diet, The Hormone Foundation, the public education affiliate of The Endocrine Society, today published, "Myth vs. Fact: The Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) Diet."

9 Dec 2011

Dendritic cells play a novel protective role in pancreas

NYU Langone Medical Center researchers have discovered the novel protective role dendritic cells play in the pancreas. The new study, published in the November issue of journal Gastroenterology, shows dendritic cells can safeguard the pancreas against acute pancreatitis, a sudden dangerous swelling and inflammation of the pancreas gland.

23 Nov 2011