Gastroenterology

A liver damaged by hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be replaced by transplantation, but HCV recurs universally and, unchecked, will damage the new liver as well. Study results show a new combination of direct-acting antivirals combined with ribavirin eradicated HCV for most transplant patients with recurrent HCV genotype 1 infection and liver damage.

Three strategies for achieving one-time screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) show variable success, but all detected more cases of HCV than current practice.

From 2001 to 2010, the infection rate of an intestinal superbug has doubled, with increases in mortality rates and length of hospital stays reflecting this trend, suggested research in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC).

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic recently reported, at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (The Liver Meeting 2014), in Boston, MA, on the safety and efficacy in post-liver transplant of 2 new oral medications, simeprevir and sofosbuvir, within a 12-week treatment span.

Attempting to catch up with bacteria's resistance to drugs, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (UCLA) researchers have manufactured an antibiotic that they believe will counteract bacterial antibiotic resistance.

By adapting new technologies, George Washington University School of Medicine investigators are pressing their colleagues to research methods which will fight off parasitic worms.

A screening tool that uses a common marker for liver malignancy or inflammation in combination with other values holds promise for improved screening accuracy in hepatocellular carcinoma.

New combinations of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) may point the way to hepatitis C virus (HCV) cures without ribavirin (RBV) for some patients.

As the rapidly evolving field of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment progresses, clinicians can look to an expanding array of clinical trials to guide and individualize treatment decisions.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) represents a complex and heterogenous disease entity, with an increasing incidence for both genders and worldwide.

Outcomes for liver transplant recipients have never been better, and long-term survival will depend on a holistic approach that includes evidence-based health surveillance by hepatologists and others to optimize screening and primary prevention in this population.

Hepatorenal syndrome, a potentially deadly complication of ascites in liver disease that represents a devastating metabolic cascade of organ failure, should be recognized early and managed vigorously.

A recent study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the School of Medicine has shown that aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) protect against the development of colorectal cancer through cell suicide pathway induction in intestinal stem cells that carry a certain mutated gene.

A recent study has shown that in addition to losing weight patients who undergo weight loss surgery also decrease their chances of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus.

There is currently no algorithm to guide clinicians in deciding which medication to choose to help promote weight loss in individuals with obesity. Rather, clinicians must take stock of a variety of factors when making treatment decisions for a particular patient.

The range of medication choices to treat obesity is expanding, and a rational prescribing plan requires a solid grasp of medication side effects.

Physicians treating individuals affected by obesity who are contemplating laparascopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) have a new risk assessment tool available. The user-friendly online risk calculator uses a robust statistical model and can offer an accurate preoperative risk assessment, based on updated outcome data.

An intragastric dual-balloon device was well tolerated and proved effective for patients with moderate levels of obesity, owing in part to its ability to conform to stomach anatomy, according to Jaime Ponce, MD, Medical Director for the Bariatric Surgery program at Hamilton Medical Center, in Dalton, Georgia.

Even as Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems become more commonplace in the medical community there is still a large knowledge gap between health care professionals and their patients regarding the availability and use of these systems, according to a recent survey.

Serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin/protein isolate appears to be a safe and effective nutritional moiety in patients with refractory IBS-D or IBS-M.

As the number of bariatric surgeries increase, clinicians require more and better data about its long-term outcomes. As we know, as more people take a medication or undergo a surgical procedure, the better the quality of the collective data. It's the strength in numbers concept. In the case of bariatric surgery, many clinicians have questions about treatment failure rates and they suspect that reports of sustained weight loss may be overly optimistic.

According to a recent study published in Radiology, computed tomographic (CT) findings may be able to predict the efficacy of nonsurgical treatment in patients afflicted with adhesive small-bowl obstruction.

While the dangers of smoking are well known to most people there still remains a segment of the population who continues to smoke despite efforts to encourage them to quit.

As the workload for doctors increases some practices and hospitals are turning to scribes to help with some of the duties. What they should be doing and how much involvement they should have remains a topic of discussion.

Researchers have found that a simple blood test might help diagnose pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease.

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) is frequently the go-to procedure for patients with complex or morbid obesity who need or want to reduce their weights. Laparoscopic procedures are attractive to surgeons, insurers and patients because in addition to being as effective as other procedures, they shorten hospital stay and allow patients to heal more quickly compared to other bariatric surgeries.

Laparoscopic interventions for rectal cancer are controversial. Oncologists have concerns about high conversion rates and long operating times associated with laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (TME), and they worry that laparoscopic TME violates the principle of sharp mesorectal dissection.

A literature review published in Trends in Molecular Medicine suggests inflammatory bowel disease can be controlled by levels of inhibitors of apoptosis.

In diarrhea patients, a frozen capsule fetal microbiota transplantation treatment can be effective to eliminate symptoms.

Xi E. Zheng, MD, PhD, shares her views on young-onset colorectal cancer at 2014 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.