Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Key to colon cancer prevention is regular screenings

More than 100,000 people will develop colon cancer in 2007, according to the American Cancer Society; the disease currently causes more than 55,000 U.S. deaths annually.

4 Oct 2007

Indian bug is the ancestor of Crohn's disease pathogen

An Indian team of researchers led by Seyed E. Hasnain of the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), University of Hyderabad, India has found that a seemingly unknown mycobacterial organism Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP) could be the earliest ancestor of the 'generalist' branch of mycobacterial pathogens.

3 Oct 2007

Fighting the spread of food poisoning

A Queensland University of Technology researcher has developed a new technique that can help scientists and clinicians quickly and cheaply diagnose the bacteria which causes the most common bout of food poisoning in Australia.

3 Oct 2007

Insights into colorectal cancer screening

Two studies in the October issue of the journal Gastroenterology may help in refining recommendations for the use of colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer.

2 Oct 2007

Noninvasive tests for cirrhosis may help to avoid liver biopsy

Newer ultrasound and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging tests yield encouraging initial results in diagnosing fibrosis (scarring) and cirrhosis of the liver, according to three studies in the October issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

2 Oct 2007

FDA approves new adjustable gastric band for morbid obesity

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for marketing the REALIZE Adjustable Gastric Band, a surgical implant for weight reduction and improvement in obesity-related health conditions, such as type-2 diabetes, in individuals suffering from morbid obesity.

29 Sep 2007

Clostridium difficile infection is four times more likely to kill patients with inflammatory bowel disease

C difficile is an important cause of diarrhoea among inpatients, and the numbers of new cases of the infection have been steadily increasing in recent years.

27 Sep 2007

Capsule endoscopy best for diagnosing Crohn's disease

Research from La Fe University Hospital in Valencia, Spain shows that capsule endoscopy diagnoses more Crohn's disease recurrence after surgery than colonoscopy.

27 Sep 2007

Nerve growth factor positively related with liver cancer - potential therapy target

Nerve growth factor (NGF), as the name says, is an essential peptide factor for the growth and differentiation of neuronal cells.

20 Sep 2007

Common abdominal pain may be due to a potentially treatable newly recognized inflammatory reaction

As many as one in four people in westernized countries experience pain or discomfort in their upper abdomen, and physicians have almost nothing to offer except anti-acid medicines, which usually don't work.

20 Sep 2007

FDA accepts Sucampo's sNDA for Lubiprostone for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has announced that the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for lubiprostone (8 mcg, oral gel capsules, twice daily) for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

18 Sep 2007

The role of gastric reflux in lingual tonsil hypertrophy

Laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPR) is a chronic, often uncomfortable, condition that affects millions of people.

18 Sep 2007

Link between GERD and obesity in females

A group of scientists recently discovered an association between being overweightand a disease called gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) in women.

17 Sep 2007

It's back to the dark ages...hookworms to treat asthma!

Modern medicine may have stopped short of blood-letting, leeches and purges but parasitic worms could be making a come-back!

17 Sep 2007

Chronic fatigue syndrome linked to enteroviruses

Chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as ME (myalgic encephalitis), is linked to a stomach virus, suggests research published ahead of print in Journal of Clinical Pathology.

13 Sep 2007

Colorectal cancer in Canada

In 2007, colorectal cancer will kill approximately 8700 Canadians.

11 Sep 2007

Standards for CT colonography

Recognizing that CT colonography will play a role in screening for colorectal cancer (CRC), and the critical need to increase overall CRC screening rates, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute issued minimum standards for gastroenterologist performance of the test.

10 Sep 2007

Novel insecticidal toxins from bacteria

A light-emitting strain of bacteria and a nematode worm, which work together to prey on soil-dwelling insects, use insecticidal toxins to kill their insect hosts.

5 Sep 2007

Irish study to look at how bacteria, Yersinia enterocolitica, enters the food chain

Monitoring of pig carcasses and pig meat in slaughterhouses, butchers' premises and retail outlets will be undertaken in Ireland over the next two years in an attempt to determine how a human disease causing bacteria, Yersinia enterocolitica, enters the food chain, scientists announced today (Tuesday 4 September 2007) at the Society for General Microbiology's 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

4 Sep 2007

Research looks at hepatitis C recovery

More than 3% of world population is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The outcome of HCV infections is either self recovery or chronic hepatitis, and many of the chronic infections will develop into liver cirrhosis or liver cancer.

30 Aug 2007