Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

UB researchers build 3D-printed, drug-filled dentures to fight against infections

Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. denture-wearing population suffer frequent fungal infections that cause inflammation, redness and swelling in the mouth.

26 Apr 2018

UA researchers aim to predict and prevent fatal disease in premature babies

A new $1.9 million grant at the University of Arizona Steele Children's Research Center will help researchers discover ways to prevent a deadly disease that affects thousands of premature infants annually.

25 Apr 2018

Alcohol damages microbiome in the mouth

A new study has shown that alcohol alters and damages the natural bacterial environment in the mouth. The study titled, “Drinking alcohol is associated with variation in the human oral microbiome in a large study of American adults,” published this week (24th April 2018) in the journal Microbiome explored the effects of alcohol on these bacterial compositions within the mouth.

25 Apr 2018

Mediterranean diet enhances good bacteria living in the gut

Here's another reason to eat a Mediterranean-type diet: It's good for your gut. Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that eating a plant-based diet enhanced the good bacteria living in the gut by up to 7 percent as compared to only 0.5 percent from eating a more meat-centric, Western diet.

25 Apr 2018

Preantral zinc deficiency may affect fertility months

An estimated 10 percent of couples in the U.S. struggle with infertility. While a variety of factors can make it difficult for some people to get pregnant, ovulation disorders are a leading cause of female infertility.

24 Apr 2018

Alcoholic drinks affect oral bacteria tied to diseases

When compared with nondrinkers, men and women who had one or more alcoholic drinks per day had an overabundance of oral bacteria linked to gum disease, some cancers, and heart disease. By contrast, drinkers had fewer bacteria known to check the growth of other, harmful germs.

24 Apr 2018

Home-based treatment program offers robust and sustained relief for IBS patients

In the largest federally funded non-drug clinical trial for irritable bowel syndrome, patients with the most severe and persistent symptoms achieved robust and sustained relief by learning to control symptoms with minimal clinician contact. Led by University at Buffalo researchers in collaboration with colleagues at New York University and Northwestern University, the study was published online before print in Gastroenterology.

23 Apr 2018

Probiotics can improve liver health, shows study

Increased awareness of the importance of the microbes that live in our gut has spurred a great deal of research on the microbiome and fueled a booming probiotics industry. A new study suggests probiotics can improve not only the health of our gut but liver health, as well.

23 Apr 2018

Unhealthy diet damages the development of immature fat cells, study shows

24 hours. This is all it takes for a so-called precursor fat cell to have its 'epigenetic recipe' on how to correctly develop into a mature fat cell, reprogrammed.

20 Apr 2018

New imaging technology to effectively screen for colorectal cancer among young adults

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the country. While the rates of colorectal cancer among patients older than 50 years old has decreased in recent years due to screening, it has increased by 22 percent among those under the age of 50, which could place a burden on the health care system over the next decade.

20 Apr 2018

New initiative launched to support goals of Human Cell Atlas

Uri Laserson, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and Genomics Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and collaborators have been awarded one of 85 grants announced today from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF (CZI), an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

20 Apr 2018

'Gut-on-a-chip' model recreates intestinal matrix critical for nutrient absorption

The difficulties of conducting research on the human gut are substantial: the presence of trillions of bacterial cells interacting with human cells and each other, constant environmental changes every time food is consumed and zero chance of conducting trials that control for all those moving parts.

18 Apr 2018

New mathematical model can predict efficiency of microbiome therapies

A new mathematical model can predict the effectiveness of microbiome therapies that manipulate the immune system through live bacteria and could help doctors choose the most appropriate treatment for people with inflammatory or allergic diseases, a study in eLife reveals.

18 Apr 2018

Children with autism have gastrointestinal and immune system deregulation, research finds

Researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute have found that children with autism spectrum disorder have reduced immune system regulation, as well as shifts in their gut microbiota.

17 Apr 2018

Researchers identify new Listeria species in Costa Rica

Listeria costaricensis is the official name given to the new bacterial species described by investigators from the Costa Rican Institute of Technology (TEC) and the WHO-collaborating center on Listeria at Institut Pasteur.

17 Apr 2018

New faster, streamlined method for bowel cancer detection and treatment

Researchers at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and the University of Adelaide have discovered a faster, more cost-effective way to determine which DNA mutations cause human bowel cancer.

17 Apr 2018

Discovery of 100 new genes may aid research into pigmentation diseases

A new study identified more than 100 genes that play a key role in determining the color of human hair. The findings may have important implications for pigmentation diseases such as melanoma.

17 Apr 2018

Precancerous colon polyps in Lynch syndrome patients display immune activation

Colon polyps from patients with Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that raises colorectal cancer risk, display immune system activation well before cancer development, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

16 Apr 2018

Many Australians not using free bowel cancer testing kits

Bowel cancers affect thousands each year in Australia. Around 16,000 new diagnoses are made annually with huge number of people dying from this cancer. To curb the delayed diagnosis of bowel cancer that leads to less successful treatment outcomes, the Department of Health has been providing free, at-home testing kits for people aged between 50 and 75 years since 2006.

16 Apr 2018

Single FMT enema produces sustained and significant improvements in cognitive function

A single treatment using an optimized, targeted form of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) produces sustained clinical and cognitive improvements, according to the results of a long-term follow-up of patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) who had participated in a short-term study.

16 Apr 2018