MedicineWorld.Org blog writers create dozen of blog posts every day including this gi news blog. Visit main blog page for more selection of blog postings Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT en-us http://medicineworld.org/images/gi-news.jpg 99 97 http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2011/hepatitis-c-drug-may-revolutionize-treatment.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2011/hepatitis-c-drug-may-revolutionize-treatment.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT The drug boceprevir helps cure hard-to-treat hepatitis C, says Saint Louis University investigator Bruce R. Bacon, M.D., author of the March 31 New England Journal (NEJM) article detailing the study's findings. The results, which were first reported at the 61st annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease's last November, offer a brighter outlook for patients who have not responded to standard therapy........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2011/cholesterol-regulator-and-cirrhosis.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2011/cholesterol-regulator-and-cirrhosis.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT UCLA scientists have demonstrated that a key regulator of cholesterol and fat metabolism in the liver also plays an important role in the development of liver fibrosis � the build-up of collagen scar tissue that can develop into cirrhosis. Cirrhosis, in turn, is a major cause of premature death and is incurable without a liver transplant........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/11-2010/spice-in-curry-could-prevent-liver-damage.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/11-2010/spice-in-curry-could-prevent-liver-damage.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT Curcumin, a chemical that gives curry its zing, holds promise in preventing or treating liver damage from an advanced form of a condition known as fatty liver disease, new Saint Louis University research suggests. Curcurmin is contained in turmeric, a plant used by the Chinese to make traditional medicines for thousands of years. SLU's recent study highlights its potential in countering an increasingly common kind of fatty liver disease called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Associated with obesity and weight gain, NASH affects 3 to 4 percent of U.S. adults and can lead to a type of liver damage called liver fibrosis and possibly cirrhosis, liver cancer and death........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/6-2010/hepatitis-b-virus-and-liver-cancer.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/6-2010/hepatitis-b-virus-and-liver-cancer.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT Prior studies have shown that antiviral therapy reduces the occurence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). But now, scientists from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Thomas Jefferson University are reporting that the antiviral treatment also prevents recurrence of HCC and extends patients' lives........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2010/hair-dye-and-smoking-linked-to-liver-disease.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2010/hair-dye-and-smoking-linked-to-liver-disease.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT Hair dye and smoking both increase the risk of progressive liver disease, suggests research involving around 5000 people reported in the journal Gut Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), which is an early form of liver cirrhosis, is a long term progressive autoimmune disease, in which environmental factors are thought to play a part........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2010/curcumin-may-delay-liver-damage.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2010/curcumin-may-delay-liver-damage.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT Curcumin, one of the principal components of the Indian spice turmeric, seems to delay the liver damage that eventually causes cirrhosis, suggests preliminary experimental research in the journal Gut Curcumin, which gives turmeric its bright yellow pigment, has long been used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine to treat a wide range of gastrointestinal disorders........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2010/preventing-gastric-cancer-with-antibiotics.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/3-2010/preventing-gastric-cancer-with-antibiotics.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium found in about 50% of humans worldwide, can cause stomach ulcers and, in extreme cases, gastric cancer. In an article for F1000 Medicine Reports, Seiji Shiota and Yoshio Yamaoka discuss the possible eradication of H. pylori infections. Infection by the H. pylori bacterium can approach 100% in developing countries. Most infected people do not have symptoms, but a number of develop problems including stomach ulcers. H. pylori causes more than 90% of all duodenal ulcers and can also contribute to the development of gastric cancer, which is one of the world's biggest medical problems........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/2-2010/new-endoscopic-treatment-for-barretts-esophagus.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/2-2010/new-endoscopic-treatment-for-barretts-esophagus.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT Early tumor formation in Barrett's esophagus (BE) can be effectively and safely treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), in combination with previous endoscopic removal of visible lesions, as per a newly released study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/2-2010/bowel-disease-link-to-blood-clots.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/2-2010/bowel-disease-link-to-blood-clots.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT People living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are known to be at high risk of blood clots when admitted to hospital during a flare-up of their disease but now new research by researchers at The University of Nottingham has shown that those who are not admitted to hospital during flare-ups are also at risk........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/1-2010/mind-body-techniques-for-treating-celiac-disease.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/1-2010/mind-body-techniques-for-treating-celiac-disease.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT For adults and children diagnosed with celiac disease, the only therapy is a gluten-free diet, which can be very challenging. Gastroenterologists at Rush University Medical Center are conducting a newly released study to see if mind/body techniques could help patients with celiac disease adhere to the very strict diet........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/10-2009/drinking-coffee-slows-progression-of-liver-disease.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/10-2009/drinking-coffee-slows-progression-of-liver-disease.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT Patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease who drink three or more cups of coffee per day have a 53% lower risk of liver disease progression than non-coffee drinkers as per a newly released study led by Neal Freedman, Ph.D., MPH, from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The study observed that patients with hepatitis C-related bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis who did not respond to standard disease therapy benefited from increased coffee intake. An effect on liver disease was not observed in patients who drank black or green tea. Findings of the study appear in the recent issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/10-2009/treatment-for-early-stage-acute-liver-failure.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/10-2009/treatment-for-early-stage-acute-liver-failure.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT The antidote for acute liver failure caused by acetaminophen poisoning also can treat acute liver failure due to most other causes if given before severe injury occurs, UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists and their colleagues at 21 other institutions have found. Acute liver failure occurs when cells in the liver die quickly, resulting in toxins being released into the bloodstream and brain. Patients often end up in a hepatic coma as a result of toxins not being cleared by the failing liver. Known causes of acute liver failure include autoimmune hepatitis, drug-induced liver injury, hepatitis A and B, and acetaminophen poisoning........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/10-2009/infliximab-reduces-need-for-surgery.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/10-2009/infliximab-reduces-need-for-surgery.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT A newly released study led by Mayo Clinic scientists has observed that ulcerative colitis patients had a 41 percent reduction in colectomy after a year when treated with infliximab, as per a research studyreported in the October 2009 issue of Gastroenterology. Typically ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) that causes chronic inflammation of the colon, is characterized by abdominal pain and diarrhea. Like Crohn's disease, another common IBD, ulcerative colitis can be debilitating and often lead to colectomy or surgical removal of the colon........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/9-2009/new-blood-tests-for-gastrointestinal-cancers.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/9-2009/new-blood-tests-for-gastrointestinal-cancers.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT Promising results from two new blood tests that can aid in the early identification of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers will be presented at Europe's largest cancer congress, ECCO 15 ESMO 34 [1], in Berlin today (Monday September 21). The tests will make GI cancer detection simpler, cost-effective, and more acceptable to patients than current methods, the scientists say........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/9-2009/second-hand-smoking-results-in-liver-disease.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/9-2009/second-hand-smoking-results-in-liver-disease.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:06:18 GMT A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside has observed that even second-hand tobacco smoke exposure can result in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a common disease and rising cause of chronic liver injury in which fat accumulates in the liver of people who drink little or no alcohol........ ]]>