Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Lexicon announces results from two initial trials of LX4211 for type 2 diabetes

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the publication of results from two initial trials of LX4211 in patients with type 2 diabetes in the online edition of the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

29 Jun 2012

Inhibiting immune response during initial multi-drug therapy could speed TB treatment time

Inhibiting a key immune response in mice during initial multi-drug treatment for tuberculosis could - paradoxically - shorten treatment time for the highly contagious lung infection according to new research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and the Center for TB Research.

29 Jun 2012

Young inflammatory bowel disease patients have low bone mass

Children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease have significantly lower bone mineral density than their healthy peers, even after adjusting for pubertal delay, Finnish researchers report.

28 Jun 2012

Oral health may be linked to HPV status of head and neck cancer

The chronic oral inflammatory disease periodontitis may be associated with human papillomavirus status in individuals with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, report researchers.

28 Jun 2012

TB research finds body’s own response helps TB bacteria survive

Inhibiting a key immune response in mice during initial multi-drug treatment for tuberculosis could — paradoxically — shorten treatment time for the highly contagious lung infection according to new research from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and the Center for TB Research. Shorter duration of drug therapy is key, researchers say, to increase treatment compliance for the growing global health threat posed by the disease.

28 Jun 2012

Flat polyps may explain colorectal cancer screening discrepancy

Poor ability to detect sessile serrated polyps may explain why endoscopy is more effective at reducing cancer in the distal than the proximal colon, US researchers have discovered.

27 Jun 2012

Scoring system identifies appendicitis in pediatric acute abdomen pain

Using a pediatric appendicitis score may help to identify true cases of appendicitis among children who present to emergency departments with acute abdominal pain, researchers report.

26 Jun 2012

Flavocoxid liver damage reported

A prescription medical food used to treat osteoarthritis may induce reversible liver damage in some users, suggests research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

25 Jun 2012

Staff at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals shortlisted for more awards than any other trust in the country

Teams of staff at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals have been recognised for their hard work by gaining more shortlisted entries in two high profile national award schemes than any other trust in the country.

25 Jun 2012

Positive results from Lexicon’s LX4211 Phase 2b trial on type 2 diabetes

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that LX4211, an investigational, oral, dual inhibitor of sodium glucose transporters 1 and 2 (SGLT1 and SGLT2), showed substantial, dose-dependent, statistically-significant reductions in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in a Phase 2b trial in patients diagnosed with poorly-controlled type 2 diabetes who were concurrently treated with metformin, an established diabetes therapy.

25 Jun 2012

Natural language processing programs can help measure colonoscopy quality

A new study shows that natural language processing programs can "read" dictated reports and provide information to allow measurement of colonoscopy quality in an inexpensive, automated and efficient manner.

23 Jun 2012

European CHMP adopts positive opinion for teduglutide to treat short bowel syndrome

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., jointly announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorisation for the medicinal product teduglutide (Revestive) as a once-daily treatment for adult patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS).

22 Jun 2012

Patients taking common blood pressure drug show symptoms of celiac disease

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered an association between a commonly prescribed blood pressure drug, Olmesartan, and severe gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and electrolyte abnormalities -- symptoms common among those who have celiac disease. The findings are published online today in the medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

22 Jun 2012

Parents must be considered during expansion of genetic screening programs for newborns

Parents must be considered when states decide to expand genetic screening programs for newborns, according to a new study that looked at mandatory testing panels and political pressure by advocacy groups.

22 Jun 2012

IU gastroenterologist develops first guidelines for diagnosis and management of NAFLD

An Indiana University School of Medicine gastroenterologist led a team of distinguished physicians who developed the first guidelines for diagnosis and management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

22 Jun 2012

Link between Olmesartan drug and severe GI issues

22 Jun 2012

Screening reduces colorectal cancer death not development risk

Screening for colorectal cancer by testing for fecal occult blood reduces the risk for death from this type of cancer, study results show.

20 Jun 2012

IOF review outlines pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in young adults

Much of the research defining osteoporosis and fracture risk has focused on older adults, i.e. postmenopausal women and men over the age of 50. While older adults are at highest risk of osteoporosis and related fractures, the disease can also affect younger adults between 20 and 50 years of age. However, the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in young adults is complicated by special challenges, including a complex pathophysiology and the related fact that there is no clear definition of osteoporosis, or of intervention thresholds, in this age group.

20 Jun 2012

Antimicrobial exposure may increase risk of allergies in children

Exposure to common antibacterial chemicals and preservatives found in soap, toothpaste, mouthwash and other personal-care products may make children more prone to a wide range of food and environmental allergies, according to new research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

20 Jun 2012

UMMS researcher receives Janssen Award for microRNA discovery

Longtime collaborators Victor R. Ambros, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and Gary B. Ruvkun, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, were awarded the 2012 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research today by Johnson & Johnson for their co-discovery of microRNA, tiny molecules that are now understood to play a powerful role in gene expression and regulation.

20 Jun 2012