Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Focused training increases physician's ability to find potentially precancerous polyps

Just two extra hours of focused training significantly increased the ability of physicians to find potentially precancerous polyps, known as adenomas, in the colon, according to researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida. These findings suggest that new methods to educate endoscopists, the physicians who examine the colon, could increase colorectal cancer detection rates and potentially reduce cancer deaths.

31 Oct 2011

Observer bias increases likelihood of GERD diagnosis

Patients who complain of upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms often face a diagnosis of either gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or functional dyspepsia. Because the two conditions often overlap, it can be difficult to distinguish between them and diagnose them properly. Yet ambulatory care facilities and hospitals have reported a dramatic increase in the number of GERD-related visits/discharges in recent years.

31 Oct 2011

'Good bugs' promising against ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, chronic fatigue syndrome

In four different studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC, researchers explored the effectiveness of probiotics for antibiotic-associated diarrhea; as an anti-inflammatory agent for patients with ulcerative colitis, psoriasis and chronic fatigue syndrome; and for people with abdominal discomfort and bloating who have not been diagnosed with a functional bowel disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

31 Oct 2011

Good digestive health may help regulate and reduce stress in the brain

Good digestive health may help to regulate and reduce stress in the brain, according to a recent study out of University College Cork in Cork, Ireland and featured in the October issue of Food Nutrition & Science.

31 Oct 2011

UV light exposure and vitamin D play a potential role in chronic digestive conditions

New research points to a potential role for UV light exposure and vitamin D levels in chronic digestive conditions; Crohn's disease, a serious inflammatory condition in the small intestine; and ulcerative colitis (UC), which similarly affects the colon.

31 Oct 2011

GC-C agonists have potential to delay progression of colitis into colon cancer

Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a developer of new drugs to treat gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and diseases, today announced that poster P409 presented at the upcoming 2011 annual scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology highlights the potential use of guanylate cyclase-C agonists to delay progression of colitis into colon cancer.

31 Oct 2011

New study describes 2010 norovirus outbreak involving several NBA teams

A new study describes a 2010 outbreak involving several NBA teams, the first known report of a norovirus outbreak in a professional sports association. Published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online, the study highlights unique circumstances for spreading this highly contagious virus among players and staff on and off the court.

31 Oct 2011

American College of Gastroenterology to hold special briefing for journalists

The American College of Gastroenterology will hold a special briefing for journalists at its 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC highlighting new clinical science that explores the role of the "gut microbiota" - the bacterial composition of the GI tract - and the efficacy of probiotics in treating various GI conditions, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea, abdominal discomfort and bloating.

28 Oct 2011

Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children receives Luminos Agile x-ray imaging technology

Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is the first hospital in the United States to receive innovative new x-ray imaging technology that decreases radiation exposure to young patients and produces high-quality images.

28 Oct 2011

Beneficial intestinal bacteria can activate immune cells and trigger MS

Multiple sclerosis is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. For a long time, pathogens were believed to be such external influences. According to scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried, however, it is apparently not harmful bacteria that trigger multiple sclerosis, but beneficial ones - specifically, the natural intestinal flora, which every human being needs for digestion.

28 Oct 2011

Vertex initiates INCIVEK combination Phase 3b study for hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced the initiation of a Phase 3b study called CONCISE that will evaluate the potential for treatment with INCIVEK (telaprevir) combination therapy to be shortened to 12 weeks in people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who have the 'CC' variation near the IL28B gene.

24 Oct 2011

Synergy commences plecanatide Phase II/III trial in chronic idiopathic constipation

Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a developer of new drugs to treat gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and diseases, today announced initiation of dosing of patients in a major Phase II/III clinical trial of plecanatide to treat chronic idiopathic constipation.

24 Oct 2011

FDA accepts Ironwood and Forest Laboratories' linaclotide NDA for review

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Forest Laboratories, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the New Drug Application (NDA) for linaclotide for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic constipation.

24 Oct 2011

Proper daily care and maintenance of central lines might reduce infection rate in PICUs

By following a few basic rules for handling central venous catheters, nurses and doctors at a group of children's hospitals have, in three years, prevented nearly a thousand infections and saved more than a hundred children's lives and millions of dollars, according to a study by investigators at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere.

24 Oct 2011

Ferring reports on FDA approval of labeling supplement for EUFLEXXA to treat knee osteoarthritis

On Oct. 11, 2011, the FDA approved a labeling supplement for EUFLEXXA (1% sodium hyaluronate) that provides 26-week efficacy data from the FLEXX trial, as well as, 52-week safety data to demonstrate the safety of repeated injection cycles.

22 Oct 2011

Pfizer's Prevnar 13: Additional data from adult clinical studies presented at 49th IDSA

Pfizer Inc. announced today that additional data from several clinical studies of Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine) conducted in adults 50 years and older will be presented during the 49th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which is being held Oct. 20-23, 2011, in Boston, Mass.

22 Oct 2011

Sewage provides perfect ecosystem for studying diversity of uncharacterized viral populations

Raw sewage provides a perfect ecosystem for studying the diversity of viral populations that remain uncharacterized. This is one of the principal conclusions of a study published in the journal mBio by a team comprising experts from the UB's Laboratory of Water and Food Viral Pollution, Washington University and the University of Pittsburgh, under the direction of James Pipas.

22 Oct 2011

Microbiome and its role in gastric and estrogen-related cancers

In the October 20th edition of the journal Cell Host and Microbe, Drs. Claudia Plottel and Martin J. Blaser of the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center, and the Department of Biology at New York University, present a model for understanding how cancer evolves in humans based on an understanding of the bacteria living in our body, the microbiome.

22 Oct 2011

DFG announces establishment of twelve research units

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has established nine new Research Units and three Clinical Research Units. The decision was made by the Joint Committee of Germany's central research funding organisation at its October meeting in Bonn.

22 Oct 2011

Light to moderate alcohol intake does not appear to increase risk of all-site cancer

A paper from the National Institutes of Health in the United States has evaluated the separate and combined effects of the frequency of alcohol consumption and the average quantity of alcohol drunk per occasion and how that relates to mortality risk from individual cancers as well as all cancers.

21 Oct 2011

Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Focused training increases physician's ability to find potentially precancerous polyps

Observer bias increases likelihood of GERD diagnosis

'Good bugs' promising against ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, chronic fatigue syndrome

Good digestive health may help regulate and reduce stress in the brain

UV light exposure and vitamin D play a potential role in chronic digestive conditions

GC-C agonists have potential to delay progression of colitis into colon cancer

New study describes 2010 norovirus outbreak involving several NBA teams

American College of Gastroenterology to hold special briefing for journalists

Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children receives Luminos Agile x-ray imaging technology

Beneficial intestinal bacteria can activate immune cells and trigger MS

Vertex initiates INCIVEK combination Phase 3b study for hepatitis C

Synergy commences plecanatide Phase II/III trial in chronic idiopathic constipation

FDA accepts Ironwood and Forest Laboratories' linaclotide NDA for review

Proper daily care and maintenance of central lines might reduce infection rate in PICUs

Ferring reports on FDA approval of labeling supplement for EUFLEXXA to treat knee osteoarthritis

Pfizer's Prevnar 13: Additional data from adult clinical studies presented at 49th IDSA

Sewage provides perfect ecosystem for studying diversity of uncharacterized viral populations

Microbiome and its role in gastric and estrogen-related cancers

DFG announces establishment of twelve research units

Light to moderate alcohol intake does not appear to increase risk of all-site cancer

Your full guide to the gut microbiome eBook

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Your full guide to the gut microbiome eBook

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

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