Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Scientists find tiny organisms in upper female reproductive tract once thought to be sterile

They're inside our gut, on the skin, and in the mouth. Thousands of different types of micro-organisms live in and on the body, playing helpful roles in digestion or in aiding the body's natural defense system.

6 Jun 2016

Maternal vaccination against influenza can reduce flu risk in newborns

Each year, influenza causes between 250,000 and half a million deaths around the world. Pregnant women and young infants have a higher risk of complications related to influenza; these complications can easily lead to death.

3 Jun 2016

Eating walnuts may offer protection against colon tumors

Eating walnuts may change gut bacteria in a way that suppresses colon cancer, researchers led by UConn Health report in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

3 Jun 2016

Rome IV criteria helps diagnose, treat gastrointestinal conditions in children

A child feels nauseated all the time, but no medical test can find what is wrong. Or a child vomits regularly, but there's no illness or eating disorder to explain it. These, and other stomach and bowel-related problems with no obvious causes, are called functional gastrointestinal disorders.

1 Jun 2016

UEG report reveals alarming trends in paediatric digestive health across Europe

A report investigating the current state of digestive health in children has revealed alarming trends in disease incidence and inequalities in the provision of digestive healthcare services for children across Europe.

31 May 2016

New study sheds light on link between gut microbiome and the brain

Intestinal bacteria that can boost bravery or trigger multiple sclerosis: An increasing body of research results confirms the importance of the "gut-brain axis" for neurology and indicates that the triggers for a number of neurological diseases may be located in the digestive tract.

30 May 2016

PNNL scientists play central role in National Microbiome Initiative

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are playing a central role as the nation devotes more than $500 million to understand communities of microorganisms and their role in climate science, food production and human health.

28 May 2016

NASA releases new video that highlights Mark and Scott Kelly's metabolites

NASA's Human Research Program is releasing "Metabolomics: You Are What You Eat" video to highlight its Twins Study which uses omics to study Mark and Scott Kelly's metabolites.

28 May 2016

Combining sonoporation with chemotherapy drug may help improve pancreatic cancer treatment

Researchers at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway have combined a laboratory ultrasound technique called "sonoporation" with the commercially-available chemotherapy compound Gemcitabine to increase the porosity of pancreatic cells with microbubbles and to help get the drug into cancer cells where it is needed.

26 May 2016

Nutrition, safety tips for grilling season

Cooking meat, including beef, pork, fish, or poultry, with high-temperature methods such as pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame can increase exposure to chemicals that can cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.

25 May 2016

Diet-based therapy may improve quality of life in IBS patients

A change in diet can improve the lives of those diagnosed with a common, but hard-to-treat gut disorder.

25 May 2016

Researchers identify mutations that may stimulate early cancer growth in precancerous colorectal tissue

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered mutations that may fuel early cancer growth in precancerous colorectal tissue from high-risk patients.

24 May 2016

Antimicrobial agent triclosan can rapidly disrupt gut bacterial communities

A new study suggests that triclosan, an antimicrobial and antifungal agent found in many consumer products ranging from hand soaps to toys and even toothpaste, can rapidly disrupt bacterial communities found in the gut.

24 May 2016

Gut-directed hypnosis more effective for treating irritable bowel syndrome

Therapeutic hypnosis is an effective and safe complementary technique in surgery and the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. This is the conclusion of a systematic review by Winfried Häuser and his co-authors in the latest issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

23 May 2016

Changes in intestinal microbiota linked to primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis, also known as PSC, is a liver disease with no effective medical treatment. Liver transplantation is the only proven long-term treatment of PSC, although only a fraction of individuals with PSC will ultimately require it.

23 May 2016

Could a new test improve bowel cancer screening uptake? An interview with Professor Halloran

The most recent complete data for England (2014/15) shows an average uptake of the guaiac Faecal Occult Blood Tests (gFOBT) from those invited by the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) of 58.22%.

23 May 2016

New collaborative research center to investigate promising aspects of mucosal immunology

Immunology - and the idea that many diseases can best be addressed by boosting the body's own immune response - is one of the hottest areas in medical research and clinical treatment.

22 May 2016

Research provides pathway toward creation of first broad-spectrum antiviral drug

By studying the rare person -- about one in a million -- who can fight off viral infections more effectively than everyone else, investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a strategy to help the rest of us achieve this enhanced anti-viral state.

21 May 2016

Specific monocyte immune cells serve as link between gut bacteria and the brain

A special kind of immune cell serves as an intermediary between gut bacteria and the brain. Dr. Susanne Wolf of the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association discovered this in tests on mice and published her findings in the journal Cell Reports.

20 May 2016

Insilico Medicine collaborates with National Laboratory Astana to study age-related pathologies

Insilico Medicine announced an agreement with National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, one of the most rapidly growing universities in the world to collaboratively study aging and age-associated pathologies.

19 May 2016