Latest GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology News From Medical News Today.

Total news: 315
Last news: May 3, 2008 10:00:00

Scientists at The Australian National University are a step closer to understanding the rare Hartnup disorder after discovering a surprising link between blood pressure regulation and nutrition that could also help to shed light on intestinal and kidney function. - [Read more]

In polarized Caco-2 cells, cholesterol was depleted by a combination of synthesis inhibition and plasma membrane extraction with complexing agents. This led to an increased sorting of CEA to the basolateral surface. Interestingly, polarity was not significantly affected by this approach. The association of CEA to lipid rafts, cholesterol, and sphingolipid-enriched microdomains was inhibited in parallel.This study, performed by a team led by Dr. - [Read more]

Based on research using a new mouse model of gastritis and stomach cancer, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say that prompt treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections reverses damage to the lining of the stomach that can lead to cancer. - [Read more]

C. diff-associated disease (CDAD), otherwise known as severe intestinal disease brought on by the Clostridium difficile (C. diff) pathogen, has been the subject of heightened concern in the medical community. A new report released this month by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality revealed a 200 percent increase in potentially fatal diarrheal infections in U.S. hospitals between 2000 and 2005. - [Read more]

This study determined the efficiency of a gastric juice PCR test for the detection of H. pylori infection in patients receiving PPI therapy and compared it with histology and gastric biopsy PCR.This study, led by Dr Javed Yakoob, is described in a research article to be published in the March 14, 2008, issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology. - [Read more]

The prevalence of gallstones in adults of industrialized countries is approximately 10% and is showing a tendency to rise. Data for pediatric patients is scarce.A research article published on March 14, 2008, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this problem. The team lead by Dr. - [Read more]

Botulinum neurotoxin -- responsible for the deadly food poisoning disease botulism and for the beneficial effects of smoothing out facial wrinkles - can also be used as a dreaded biological weapon. When ingested or inhaled, less than a billionth of an ounce can cause muscle paralysis and eventual death. - [Read more]

Mothers born in India and Sri Lanka are three times more likely to suffer from extreme nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (hyperemesis gravidarum) than ethnic Norwegians. This finding comes from Norwegian Institute of Public Healths study of 900,000 first-time pregnancies registered in the Medical Birth Registry of Norway over a forty year period.Earlier studies reported that 90 percent of pregnant women experience some degree of nausea and vomiting, whereas 0. - [Read more]

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGNX) and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved RELISTOR™ (methylnaltrexone bromide) subcutaneous injection for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with advanced illness who are receiving palliative care, when response to laxative therapy has not been sufficient. - [Read more]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Relistor (methylnaltrexone bromide) to help restore bowel function in patients with late-stage, advanced illness who are receiving opioids on a continuous basis to help alleviate their pain. Opioids are often prescribed on a continuous basis for patients with late-stage, advanced illness to help alleviate pain. - [Read more]

The worlds leading liver cancer experts will come together May 2 and 3 during the fourth annual clinical symposium on liver-directed therapy at Chicagos Drake Hotel. Titled "Radiomicrosphere Therapy," the symposium is hosted by the Goshen Center for Cancer Care and led by Seza Gulec, M.D., F.A.C.S. - [Read more]

In a discovery that could lead to the development of new treatments for gastric cancer, scientists at the Melbourne Branch of the international Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) have discovered what appears to be the primary driver of tumor development in the stomach. - [Read more]

When administered before chemoradiation, the common anti-cancer drug cisplatin neither improved disease-free survival nor reduced the number of colostomies needed when compared to the standard treatment for patients with anal canal cancer, according to a study published in the April 23 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.In the largest cooperative phase III randomized controlled trial of its kind, a multicenter research team led by Jaffer Ajani, M.D. - [Read more]

People with oesophageal cancer are often enduring serious symptoms for over a year before seeking help according to a report launched by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry at Queens.The report, entitled Monitoring Care of Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal cancers: 2005, compares care for patients diagnosed with cancers of the oesophagus and stomach in 1996, 2001 and 2005. - [Read more]

Epeius Biotechnologies Corporation announced that Interim Analysis of an on-going Phase I/II study of Rexin-G for pancreatic cancer confirmed Rexin-Gs anti-tumor activity with no major toxicity in patients with metastatic chemotherapy-resistant pancreatic cancer. The clinical trial design includes 5 escalating doses of intravenous Rexin-G ranging from 1 x 10e11 cfu twice a week to 4 x 10e11 cfu three times a week for 4 weeks. - [Read more]

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Rotarix® [Rotavirus Vaccine, live, oral] for the prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants. Rotarix will offer protection against the most commonly circulating rotavirus types in the U.S. and allow infants to complete the vaccination series by four months of age. The U.S. - [Read more]

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published a further two new commissioning guides to help the NHS in England effectively commission evidence-based care for patients. - [Read more]

For the third year in a row, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute researchers have received funding from the GIST Cancer Institute - a patient driven organization that funds research on gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GISTs. These tumors occur in the gastrointestinal tract and are particularly difficult to treat over time. The $135,000 award supports the research of Anette Duensing, M.D. - [Read more]

The Ultroid Hemorrhoid Treatment, which provides an innovative and non-surgical approach to treating hemorrhoids, was recently featured in Physicians Office Resource. The trade magazine features products and editorials directly targeted to individuals in the medical profession. - [Read more]

The addition of oral prolonged release (PR) naloxone, an opioid antagonist, to the opioid PR oxycodone significantly reduces opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in severe chronic pain patients without affecting analgesia, according to three new studies presented at this years British Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting in Liverpool. - [Read more]