Bowel Problems
Highly Acidic Beverages Not a Threat to Gastrointestinal Tracts
A comprehensive new research review confirms that the upper gastrointestinal tract (GI) is naturally equipped to handle fruit juices, soft drinks, alcohol and other beverages with high acidity.
The research, published in the Journal of Food Science, concludes that drinking liquids that are typically associated with low pH provide little or no harm to natural protective mechanisms of the lining of the upper human GI tract. The author reviewed more than two decades of GI physiology studies focusing on research on the human digestive system from the esophagus to the small intestine.
“The human GI tract is built to withstand the acidity in commonly consumed beverages by having natural neutralizers for acid, cellular repair mechanisms and cells that prevent acid from reaching more sensitive cells.
How to manage Chinese obese children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease?
Short-term lifestyle intervention is more effective than short-term vitamin E capsule therapy on NAFLD and so it should be the first step in the management of children with NAFLD.
This study, performed by a team led by Professor Li Liang, is described in a research article to be published on March 14, 2008, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
NAFLD is likely to reach epidemic proportions in children worldwide in this decade. NAFLD is recognized as a cause of potentially progressive liver damage and may be the hepatic aspect of the metabolic syndrome.
How does P wave dispersion change in patients with Wilson’s disease?
Wilson’s disease is a severe inherited metabolic disorder, which is associated with intracellular copper overload and multiple organ involvement. Main cardiac manifestations in Wilson’s disease include arrhythmias and cardiac failure. Recently, researchers at the Ankara Y¨¹ksek Ihtisas Hospital and in Ankara University Faculty of Medicine investigated P wave dispersion (PWD) as a non-invasive marker of intra-atrial conduction disturbance in patients with Wilson’s disease.
This research, led by Dr. Nurcan Arat is to be published on February 28, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
Real-time Imaging Device May Improve Surgery for Congenital Colon Disease
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are developing a spectral imaging system that could result in shorter operating times for infants undergoing surgery for Hirschsprung’s disease, according to a mouse study reported in the Journal of Biophotonics.
The study documents that in addition to its diagnostic potential, spectral imaging may provide an “optical biopsy,” allowing precise localization of a needed intervention.
Spectral imaging is based on the fact that light reflected from a target can be captured and measured by highly sensitive equipment to develop a characteristic “signature” based on wavelength. In this study, the colon tissue of six mice with the equivalent of Hirschsprung’s disease was analyzed and compared to that of controls. With repeated measurements and calculations, unique signatures for normal tissue and for diseased tissue emerged.
Screening probably caused cystic fibrosis drop
Massachusetts researchers have seen a dramatic statewide drop in the number of newborns with cystic fibrosis, and said on Wednesday the decline may be due to a national effort to screen for the genetic disease.
Cystic fibrosis or CF, which produces a thicker-than-normal mucus that clogs the lungs and other organs, affects about 30,000 children in the United States each year, or 70,000 worldwide, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
U of I study: exercise to avoid gallstones!
A new University of Illinois study shows that exercise-trained mice get far fewer gallstones than sedentary mice and identifies potential mechanisms to explain why this occurs.
The study, recently published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, can be viewed online at: http:// jap.physiology.org/cgi/reprint/01292.2007v1.
“For the first time, we have direct evidence that physical activity reduces gallstone formation, adding to the ever-increasing number of reasons that people should get more exercise,?said Kenneth Wilund, a faculty member in the U of I Division of Nutritional Sciences and an Assistant Professor in Kinesiology and Community Health.
Talk Therapy Can Help Kids With Chronic Stomach Pain
“My tummy hurts” is one of the most common complaints of childhood. Yet for up to 25 percent of school-age children, ongoing abdominal pain is serious enough to interfere with school, playtime and family life. In most of these cases, there are no medical problems— and reassurance and support are all the child needs.
For children whose pain persists, however, a new review of the research suggests that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help.
“The most important finding here is that there seems to be some evidence of benefit of psychosocial interventions in reducing the pain of school-age children with recurrent abdominal pain,” said Angela Heurtas-Ceballos, consultant neonatologist at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in London, and lead review author.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Morning Cortisol Response
People who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) often endure months of persistent fatigue, muscle pain, and impaired memory and concentration. Understanding the physiological changes that accompany CFS, however, has been difficult, but a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) reveals that abnormally low morning concentrations of the hormone cortisol may be correlated with more severe fatigue in CFS patients, especially in women.
“We’re learning more and more about the complexities of the illness that is chronic fatigue syndrome,” said William C. Reeves, M.D., with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga., and lead author of the study. “This research helps us draw a clearer picture in regards to how CFS affects people, which ultimately will lead to more effective management of patients with CFS.”
For their study, the researchers screened 19,381 residents of Georgia, selecting 292 people who had CFS, 268 who were considered chronically unwell, and 163 who were considered well to participate. The researchers then measured free cortisol concentrations in saliva, which was collected on regular workdays, immediately upon awaking and 30 minutes and 60 minutes after awakening. The data indicated different profiles of cortisol concentrations over time among the groups, with the CFS group showing an attenuated morning cortisol profile.
Constipation Most Common Cause of Children’s Abdominal Pain
A new study led by a University of Iowa researcher showed that acute and chronic constipation together accounted for nearly half of all cases of acute abdominal pain in children treated at one hospital.
The study also suggests that physicians should do a simple rectal examination for constipation when trying to determine the cause of abdominal pain in children. The findings, which were based on medical records of 962 children ages 4 to nearly 18, appear in the December issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.
Shorter Legs Linked to Liver Disease
Short legs are linked to an increased risk of liver disease, suggests a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The research contributes to a growing body of evidence on the link between leg length and health.
Hypnosis may calm kids’ irritable bowels
Gut-directed hypnotherapy is “highly effective” for children with long-standing abdominal pain or irritable bowel syndrome (known as IBS), researchers have found.
“We advocate that hypnotherapy become the treatment of choice in children with persisting complaints of either functional abdominal pain or IBS in whom first-line therapies such as education and dietary advice have failed,” Dr. Arine M. Vlieger of St. Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, and colleagues conclude in a report in the journal Gastroenterology.
New intestinal bacteria linked to Crohn’s disease
An increase in the intestinal levels of a new type of infectious Escherichia coli bacteria, along with a depletion of Clostridium bacteria, appears to be involved in the development of Crohn’s disease, according to a report in The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology.
Dr. Kenneth W. Simpson, from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and colleagues used DNA analysis to compare the intestinal microbial flora in patients with Crohn’s disease and in healthy subjects.
Diets high in choline may increase risk for colorectal polyps
Contrary to expectations, diets high in the nutrient choline were associated with an increased risk of some colorectal polyps, which can—but do not always—lead to colorectal cancer, according to a study published online in the August 7 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Major food sources of choline include red meat, eggs, poultry, and dairy products. Choline is involved in a biochemical process known as one-carbon metabolism. Studies have shown that people with increased intake of other nutrients required for one-carbon metabolism, such as folate, are at a decreased risk for colorectal polyps. This is the first study to examine the association between choline and colorectal polyps.
Gallstone Disease: Are You at Risk? Tips on Gallstone Disease
Gallstones are one of the most common gastrointestinal (GI) problems, especially for women. Women between the ages of 20 and 60 years are three times more likely to develop gallstones than men. Gallstones are solid clumps of cholesterol or pigment material that form in the gallbladder, and can range in size from a single grain of sand up to the size of a ping-pong ball.
New Therapy is Effective for Patients with Crohnэs Disease
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that certolizumab pegol is an effective treatment for adults with Crohn’s disease, according to two new studies. These findings were published in today’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Certolizumab pegol blocks tumor necrosis factor, an important cause of inflammation in Crohn’s disease.
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that affects an estimated 500,000 people in the United States. Symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, weight loss and diarrhea. Crohn’s disease has no known medical cure. Currently approved therapies that also block tumor necrosis factor include intravenous infusions of infliximab or subcutaneous injections of adalimumab.
