Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Low-dose aspirin increases risk for GI bleeding

The risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding needs to be considered when determining the potential preventive benefits associated with low-dose aspirin for cardiovascular disease and cancer.

12 Sep 2011

Febrile seizures in children may be linked to respiratory alkalosis

New research shows that febrile seizures in children may be linked to respiratory alkalosis, indicated by elevated blood pH and low carbon dioxide levels caused by hyperventilation, and independent of the underlying infection severity.

12 Sep 2011

Study pinpoints relationship between primary brain tumors and onset of epileptic seizures

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham pinpoints the relationship between primary brain tumors and the onset of epileptic seizures and reveals that a drug used to treat Crohn's disease inhibits those seizures and may be able to slow a tumor's growth.

12 Sep 2011

Innovative approach improves feeding outcomes among infants

An innovative approach to treating neonatal feeding problems at Nationwide Children's Hospital has allowed infants who were struggling to feed orally to be discharged earlier and without feeding tubes, subsequently saving millions of annual healthcare charges.

8 Sep 2011

Scientists discover 29 new genetic variants linked with MS

Multiple sclerosis is primarily an immunological disease. Scientists at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) have in succeeded, in collaboration with 23 research teams from 15 different countries, in discovering a total of 29 new genetic variants that are involved in the genesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory disease of the nervous system.

7 Sep 2011

Majority of 9/11 World Trade Center attack survivors report increased incidence of GERS

Increased incidence of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms (GERS) reported by a large population of 9/11 World Trade Center attack survivors, most of whom had not reported any GERD-related symptoms prior to 9/11, worsened the health-related quality life for many rescue and recovery workers, lower-Manhattan residents and local workers who were exposed to the dust cloud and other contaminants in the aftermath of 9/11, according to a study published online today online today in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

7 Sep 2011

Inflammation boosts activity of two proteins that can normalize blood sugar in diabetics

Increased low-grade inflammation in the body resulting from obesity is widely viewed as contributing to type 2 diabetes. Going against this long-held belief, researchers from Children's Hospital Boston report that two proteins activated by inflammation are actually crucial for maintaining good blood sugar levels - and that boosting the activity of these proteins can normalize blood sugar in severely obese and diabetic mice.

5 Sep 2011

Scientists identify human colon stem cells and grow them in lab-plates

Human colon stem cells have been identified and grown in a lab-plate for the first time. This achievement, made by researchers of the Colorectal Cancer Lab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine and published in Nature Medicine, is a crucial advance towards regenerative medicine.

5 Sep 2011

Researchers discover mechanism of low-dose LDN on cell proliferative-related disorders

Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have discovered the mechanism by which a low dose of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (LDN), an agent used clinically to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases, exerts a profound inhibitory effect on cell proliferation.

3 Sep 2011

Study finds link between long-term dietary patterns and human gut bacteria

"You are what you eat" is familiar enough, but how deep do the implications go? An interdisciplinary group of investigators from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found an association between long-term dietary patterns and the bacteria of the human gut.

3 Sep 2011

UTHealth inaugurates new center for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases research

The University of Texas Health Science at Houston (UTHealth) announced the opening of a center devoted to researching and treating diseases associated with malfunctioning immune systems.

2 Sep 2011

Stomach acid-reducing drugs appear to cause small intestine damage

Patients often take drugs to lower stomach acid and reduce the chances they will develop ulcers from taking their anti-inflammatory drugs for conditions such as arthritis, but the combination may be causing major problems for their small intestines, McMaster researchers have found.

2 Sep 2011

Medivir reports net sales of SEK 444.6 m for 1 January - 30 June 2011

Medivir: Interim period (January 2011 - June 2011). Net sales were SEK 444.6 (35.7) m.

31 Aug 2011

FDA accepts Salix and Progenics' sNDA filing for RELISTOR to treat opioid-induced constipation

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for RELISTOR Subcutaneous Injection to treat opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with non-cancer pain.

30 Aug 2011

Study may help explain plague's rapid evolution and aid in development of therapeutics

In the evolutionary blink of an eye, a bacterium that causes mild stomach irritation evolved into a deadly assassin responsible for the most devastating pandemics in human history. How did the mild-mannered Yersinia pseudotuberculosis become Yersinia pestis, more commonly known as the Plague?

30 Aug 2011

Colchicine more effective than placebo for recurrent pericarditis

Colchicine, when given in addition to conventional therapy, was more effective than placebo in reducing the incidence of recurrence and the persistence of symptoms of pericarditis in a randomised controlled trial.

29 Aug 2011

Fludrocortisone may help reduce unexplained chronic nausea in children

Heart rate and blood pressure regulation may hold the key to treating unexplained chronic nausea in children. In a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, a drug commonly used to treat a condition known as orthostatic intolerance (OI), which causes dizziness and occasional fainting when patients stand for long periods, was shown to reduce debilitating chronic nausea in patients.

26 Aug 2011