December 1, 2010
By Julia VanTine
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) — The case of a man who swallowed parasite eggs to treat his ulcerative colitis — and actually got better — sheds light on how “worm therapy” might help heal the gut, a new study suggests.
“Our findings in this case report suggest that infection with the eggs of the T. trichiura roundworm can alleviate the symptoms of ulcerative colitis,” said study leader P’ng Loke, an assistant professor in the department of medical parasitology at NYU Langone Medical Center. A human parasite, Trichuris trichiura infects the large intestine.
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July 16, 2010
FRIDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) — Getting tested for inflammatory bowel disease through an endoscopy isn’t a pleasant experience, but a new review of existing research suggests that a simple stool test may help doctors figure out who needs the more extensive screening.
Inflammatory bowel disease refers to a number of conditions — including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis — that can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea and bleeding (the disease is sometimes confused with irritable bowel syndrome, which is a different condition.)
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March 4, 2010
THURSDAY, March 4 (HealthDay News) — Researchers have succeeded in sequencing 3.3 million genes from organisms residing in the human gut.
And it appears that each person harbors at least 160 species of bacteria in their gut, far more than originally estimated, according to a paper appearing in the March 4 issue of Nature. The research was led by researchers in China as part of the MetaHIT (Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract) project.
Although this is just the first tiny dent in a mountain of work to be done, the findings should help experts understand both human health and human illness better. Read More
February 19, 2010
FRIDAY, Feb. 19 (HealthDay News) — A protein that plays a key role in protecting the intestinal tract from bacterial infection and inflammation has been identified by U.S. researchers.
Reduced levels of the protein — granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) — could be an underlying factor in severe illness caused by pathogens such as E. coli and intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease, the researchers said. Read More
October 19, 2009
MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) — The use of thiopurine drugs to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) increases the risk of cancers related to viral infection, according to a new study.
IBD includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Thiopurine drugs are used to suppress the immune system in order to maintain remission in IBD patients.
For this study, French researchers analyzed data on 19,486 IBD patients (60 percent with Crohn’s and 40 percent with ulcerative colitis or unclassified IBD) who were followed for a median of 35 months. Read More
October 22, 2008
TUESDAY, Oct. 21 (HealthDay News) — New research shows that almost one-quarter of biologic therapies approved in the United States and Europe since 1995 have been the subject of at least one safety-related regulatory action in the decade since they were approved.
Eleven percent, including Remicade (infliximab), used to treat Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis, and Avastin (bevacizumab), used to treat cancer, have been issued a “black box” warning.
The findings, from Dutch scientists, are published in the Oct. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a themed issue on the Health of the Nation. Read More
September 7, 2008
FRIDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has started listing on its website drugs being evaluated for potential safety issues, the agency said Friday.
“If a drug appears on a quarterly report, it means we have begun analysis to determine whether there is a safety problem that requires further evaluation,” Dr. Gerald Dal Pan, director of the FDA’s Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said during a Friday teleconference. Read More
June 4, 2008
WEDNESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) — U.S. health officials have started a safety review of a class of drugs known as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, which are widely prescribed to treat autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. Read More
