Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

New device rapidly diagnoses gastrointestinal disease by 'reading' the odour of biological fluids

A pioneering new device that could help over four billion adults and children who suffer from infectious diarrhoea in the developing world and reduce outbreaks of diseases such as clostridium difficile (C.Diff) in UK hospital wards is the winner of this year's University of Bristol's New Enterprise Competition.

4 Jul 2007

Breakthrough in understanding of noroviruses

A breakthrough announced this week by scientists at the University of Southampton's School of Medicine will lead to greater understanding of noroviruses, the most common cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis around the world.

27 Jun 2007

Greater understanding of fibromyalgia as a true medical condition

Fibromyalgia, a chronic, widespread pain in muscles and soft tissues accompanied by fatigue, is a fairly common condition that does not manifest any structural damage in an organ.

26 Jun 2007

Polyethylene laxative safe for patients suffering from chronic constipation

A clinical trial including 50 medical centers and 304 patients has confirmed that polyethylene (PEG) laxative is safe for patients suffering from chronic constipation.

23 Jun 2007

Invertebrate immune systems are anything but simple

A hundred years since Russian microbiologist Elie Metschnikow first discovered the invertebrate immune system, scientists are only just beginning to understand its complexity.

23 Jun 2007

40 percent of parents willing to have their child's DNA stored in a government biobank

Genetic testing holds great promise for the future. Information generated by genetic testing may provide information that leads to new treatments for common diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

23 Jun 2007

Pepsin associated with acute rejection of a lung transplant

Researchers in the United Kingdom have demonstrated that high levels of pepsin, a digestive enzyme that is a marker for gastric aspiration, are associated with acute rejection of a lung transplant.

19 Jun 2007

New rheumatoid arthritis genes identified

Researchers at the University of Manchester have identified evidence of several new genes behind the chronic inflammatory disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which affects 387,000 people in the UK.

16 Jun 2007

Folic acid supplements do not reduce risk of precancerous colon tumors

Taking folic acid supplements does not reduce the risk of developing precancerous tumors in the colon and may even increase the risk, a new study has found.

16 Jun 2007

Will list of symptoms for ovarian cancer save lives?

The American Cancer Society along with CancerCare, Gilda's Club and several other medical groups have released a consensus statement listing the symptoms for ovarian cancer.

13 Jun 2007

New genes involved in rheumatoid arthritis discovered

Researchers at the University of Manchester have identified evidence of several new genes behind the chronic inflammatory disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which affects 387,000 people in the UK.

From The University of Manchester 8 Jun 2007

Largest ever genetics study of common diseases

The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, the largest ever study of the genetics behind common diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and coronary heart disease, publishes its results in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics.

8 Jun 2007

PET/CT best for monitoring Crohn's disease

The molecular imaging power of PET/CT is invaluable in noninvasively monitoring Crohn's disease,a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract that mainly affects young people, according to a study released by Belgian scientists at the 54th Annual Meeting of SNM.

5 Jun 2007

When to change the course of treatment

Counting circulating tumor cells before and after the start of treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer could help doctors determine when or if a change in treatment should be made.

5 Jun 2007

Uncontrolled asthma is highly prevalent

A survey of 1,812 patients with moderate-to-severe asthma revealed that the disease was not controlled in 55 percent, despite the fact that most had health insurance and visited their health care providers regularly.

1 Jun 2007

New wireless monitoring system to track esophageal reflux

UT Southwestern Medical Center doctors and UT Arlington engineers have developed a wireless monitoring system that uses electrical impulses to track esophageal reflux.

30 May 2007

Extracorporeal photopheresis may be effective in treating Crohn's disease

Results from an international multi-center Phase II clinical trial suggest that extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) may be effective in treating patients with clinically active (OR symptomatic) Crohn?s disease who cannot tolerate or are refractory to immunosuppressants and/or anti-TNF agents.

28 May 2007

New smart pill helps diagnose stomach problems

People with the chronic stomach condition known as gastroparesis, or slow stomach emptying, live in fear that eating will cause an episode of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

24 May 2007

Concentrated radio waves proide new approach to treating precancerous esophagus condition

The use of concentrated radio waves appears to be a safe and effective way to "burn" away abnormal cell growth in the esophagus that can be a precursor of cancer.

24 May 2007

New data on the probiotic strain Bifantis

The biotechnology company Alimentary Health has announced results from two studies that demonstrate the anti-inflammatory activity of a natural probiotic bacterial strain of human origin, Bifantis (Bifidobacterium infantis 35624), in models of arthritis and Salmonella infection.

24 May 2007