Gastroenterology

New insurance protections, changes in how AIDS Drug Assistance Program benefits are counted, Medicaid expansion, and other provisions in the law will mean better care for many patients.

Post-hoc analysis of phase III clinical study results finds lubiprostone doesn't interfere with the analgesic effect of opioids in chronic non-cancer pain patients with opioid-induced constipation.

In a study published in Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, a professor in the Department of Digestive System at Xingtai People's Hospital in China, investigated the correlation between psychological status and the mechanism of action of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D).

In a clinical review published in Clinical and Experimental Gastroenterology, researchers from Iwate Medical University in Japan evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of the novel serotonin-receptor agonist ramosetron in patients suffering from diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D).

A recent meta-analysis indicates treatment with oral proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) produces outcomes similar to those obtained with treatment with intravenous PPIs in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding.

Even when it's administered in a low-dose form that resists gastric acid and prevents tablet dissolution in the stomach, aspirin therapy causes peptic ulcer and increases the risk of 30-day mortality resulting from gastrointestinal (GI) disorder progression.

Reviews of crofelemer showed the drug's clinical utility in diarrhea associated with HIV, but clinical trials comparing it to other antidiarrheals are still needed.

A group of researchers has identified two polymorphic sites on mitochondrial ATP (MT-ATP) genes that may play a significant role in the functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder.

Results from a 12-week study show patients treated with eluxadoline report decreased abdominal pain and improved bowel movement frequency and urgency.

While substantial evidence already shows several genetic and environmental elements factor into immune-mediated rheumatic disease susceptibility, a recent review of hospital admissions data suggests vitamin D deficiency can single-handedly elevate a patient's risk of developing certain chronic conditions within that group of disorders.

The delivery of fecal microflora from "normal" stool from healthy donors by jejunal tube or during colonic endoscopy to promote microflora growth in the recipient is becoming more common.

Though they conducted their analysis in China, four researchers have successfully demonstrated a link between babA2 gene and peptic ulcer disease (PUD) in Helicobacter pylori-infected populations within countries located on the Western Hemisphere.

Research findings underscore the importance of testing peptic ulcer patients for H. pylori status.

College students with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms experience higher levels of mental strain and chronic stress than their peers without IBS symptoms.

Recognizing frustrations stemming from "the contested nature of the diagnosis, ineffective treatments, and a mismatch between general practitioner (GP) and patient explanatory models" for irritable bowel syndrome, a team of British researchers examined the tensions between how physicians approach IBS and what's currently recommended for diagnosing and managing the functional gastrointestinal disorder.

Although many US hospitals tout quality improvement in surgical outcomes, new research findings released at the national conference of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) show that taking cancer operation performance into account would deliver a more accurate hospital rating.

With strong clinical evidence and adverse event reports linking Daiichi Sankyo's high blood pressure medication Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) to the gastrointestinal condition known as sprue-like enteropathy, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved changes for the drug's label to include a warning about that risk.

Studies show that treatment with multispecies probiotics stabilizes the gut microflora and relieves symptoms such as abdominal distension and pain in patients with IBS.

Researchers at the Hanyang University College of Medicine set the record straight on the association between IBS symptoms and methane and hydrogen gas produced by intestinal fermentation of lactulose and excreted in the breath during lactulose breath test.

Study shows use of Nissen fundoplication for GERD has fallen, with fewer procedures performed at high-volume centers and more at urban non-teaching hospitals.

Study shows gluten alters bowel functions in patients with IBS-D and that removal of gluten from the diet may reduce the frequency of bowel movements.

Recognizing that melatonin secretion from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract improves abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but decreases with age, Polish researchers from the Medical University of Lodz aimed to define the effect of administering melatonin in postmenopausal women with different predominating IBS symptoms.

Though it's common medical knowledge that an ulcer eating a hole through a patient's stomach requires immediate surgical treatment as a result of its life-threatening nature, new findings from a team of Danish researchers urge physicians to beat the clock in performing emergency surgery on perforated peptic ulcers (PPU).

The chronic constipation associated with conditions such as IBS can lead to serious health complications if left untreated.

To help physicians take a step towards more personalized treatment for patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), the US Food and Drug Administration today approved a fully automated test that can distinguish the seven major HCV genotypes in an infected patient.

A high-potency probiotic supplement that mimics the effect of morphine in the gut may reduce the development of visceral pain in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has issued draft guidance advising physicians to use a fecal calprotectin test to help distinguish between IBS and more serious bowel disorders.

Transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) was shown to be more effective than taking the maximal proton pump inhibitor (PPI) dose in relieving heartburn, regurgitation, and other troublesome symptoms in patients with refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

As irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) remains a complicated condition to treat with an etiology that's still unknown, it's difficult for physicians to find the best proven therapies among new remedies and the variety of pharmacological and nondrug options they have been trying for years.

While it's already clinically understood that most patients with Crohn's disease suffer a recurrence following an intestinal resection, researchers have not evaluated the best strategy to prevent the disease from recurring.