Prebiotic May Reduce Colon Cancer Risk, Severity Of Colitis
Researchers at Michigan State University have shown a prebiotic may help the body's own natural killer cells fight bacterial infection and reduce inflammation, greatly decreasing the risk of colon cancer. Prebiotics are fiber supplements that serve as food for the trillions of tiny bacteria living in the gut. When taken, they can stimulate the growth of the "good" bacteria...

For Pediatric Crohn's Patients, MR Enterography As Good Or Better Than Standard Imaging Exams
MR enterography is superior to CT enterography in diagnosing fibrosis in pediatric patients with Crohn disease and equally as good as CT enterography in detecting active inflammation, and a new study shows. The study, conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, found that MR enterography was 77.6% accurate in depicting fibrosis compared to 56.9% for CT enterography...

Treatment With Human Umbilical Cord-Derived Mensenchymal Cells For Colitis In Mouse Model
When laboratory mice were modeled with colitis and treated with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal cells, the cells homed in on the inflamed colon and effectively ameliorated colitis, reported a study published in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (20:9), now freely available on-line.* According to study corresponding author Dr...

Crohn's Disease Outcomes Improved By Early Introduction Of Biologic Therapy
A large-scale study of medical claims data shows that introducing sophisticated biologic therapies early in the course of treatment for Crohn's disease improves response to medication and reduces the need for surgery...

Improved Understanding Of Inflammatory Bowel Disease In First Nations People
Inflammatory bowel disease is relatively rare in Canadian First Nations people but common in white people, possibly due to different genetic variants, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) that helps improve understanding of the mechanisms of the disease...

Nanotechnology Seeks Out Hidden Pathogens
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed a novel technique that may give doctors a faster and more sensitive tool to detect pathogens associated with inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease...

X-Ray Radiation Exposure May Be Greater For Patients With Digestive Disorders
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other gastrointestinal (GI) disorders may be exposed to significant doses of diagnostic radiation, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association...

Living Human Gut-On-A-Chip Could Provide Insights Into Disorders And Help Evaluate Potential Treatments
Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have created a gut-on-a-chip microdevice lined by living human cells that mimics the structure, physiology, and mechanics of the human intestine -- even supporting the growth of living microbes within its luminal space...

Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis: Management Strategies To Prevent Bone Loss And Related Fractures In High-Risk Patients
Oral glucocorticoids are commonly prescribed for a wide variety of disorders, most commonly for rheumatoid arthritis, obstructive pulmonary disease and inflammatory bowel diseases. However, the use of these medications can result in rapid bone loss during the first three to six months of therapy, leading to increased risk of fragility fractures...

Discovery Of Genetic Mutation In Familial Chronic Diarrhea Syndrome
When the intestines are not able to properly process our diet, a variety of disorders can develop, with chronic diarrhea as a common symptom. Chronic diarrhea can also be inherited, most commonly through conditions with genetic components such as irritable bowel syndrome...

Critical Mechanism Of Neuron Death Discovered In Intestinal Inflammation Has Implications For IBD
Researchers from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) and the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine have discovered a pathway that may contribute to the symptoms related to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, collectively known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)...

Bowel Disease Model Reveals Low-Calorie Diet Linked To Higher Death Rate
In a surprising result, Michigan State University researchers looking at the effects of diet on bowel disease found that mice on a calorie-restricted diet were more likely to die after being infected with an inflammation-causing bacterial pathogen in the colon...

Novel Therapy Discovered For Crohn's Disease
The Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) research team at Virginia Tech has discovered important new information on the efficacy of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in treating Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). CLA is a naturally occurring acid found in meat and dairy products known for its anti-cancer and immune modulatory properties...

How Salmonella Avoids The Body's Immune Response Offers Approaches To Fighting Powerful Gut Infections
UC Irvine researchers have discovered how salmonella, a bacterium found in contaminated raw foods that causes major gastrointestinal distress in humans, thrives in the digestive tract despite the immune system's best efforts to destroy it. Their findings help explain why salmonella is difficult to eradicate and point to new approaches for possible treatments...

Despite Lack Of New Treatment Options, Network Approach Improves Outcomes In Crohn's Disease And Ulcerative Colitis
Many children with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis who received treatment through ImproveCareNow, a national quality improvement and research network, ceased to have symptoms and no longer needed to take steroids for disease management...