http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A study suggests that diagnostic tests are frequently repeated among Medicare beneficiaries, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-common-medicare-beneficiaries.html Health Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:00:04 EST news272562394 (Medical Xpress)—Michigan State University researchers have unlocked secrets in bone marrow that could lead to improved treatments for colitis and Crohn's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-bone-marrow-secrets-colitis-crohn.html Medical research Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:37:01 EST news267723389 The majority of observational studies have shown that alcohol intake, especially heavy drinking, increases a number of upper-aero-digestive tract (UADT) and other cancers, and even moderate drinking is associated with a slight increase in the risk of breast cancer. A meta analysis published in the Annals of Oncology compares the effects between light drinkers (an average reported intake of up to 1 typical drink/day) versus "non-drinkers" in terms of relative risks for a number of types of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-cancers.html Cancer Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:11:31 EST news267185483 You may think you have dinner all to yourself, but you're actually sharing it with a vast community of microbes waiting within your digestive tract. A new study from a team including Carnegie's Steve Farber and Juliana Carten reveals that some gut microbes increase the absorption of dietary fats, allowing the host organism to extract more calories from the same amount of food. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-gut-bacteria-fat-absorption.html Medical research Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:00:02 EST news266669764 Gut bacteria's key role in immunity is tuned to the host species, researchers have found, suggesting that the superabundant microbes lining our digestive tract evolved with us—a tantalizing clue in the mysterious recent spike in human autoimmune disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-guts-microbiome.html Medical research Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:20:21 EST news259497397 Cedars-Sinai researchers say their examination of the fungi in the intestines suggests an important link between these microbes and inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-cedars-sinai-explore-role-fungus-digestive.html Inflammatory disorders Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:22:13 EST news258214927 (HealthDay) -- The food additive maltodextrin, commonly used in some artificial sweeteners, may worsen Crohn's disease by encouraging the growth of E. coli bacteria in the small intestine, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-compound-artificial-sweeteners-worsen-crohn.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 21 May 2012 15:40:01 EST news256829921 (HealthDay) -- In a scenario reminiscent of the film Fantastic Voyage, researchers have found a way to perform nearly surgery-free gastric bypass procedures in pigs using only a local anesthetic. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-moveable-magnets-forge-gastric-bypass.html Surgery Mon, 21 May 2012 15:10:01 EST news256829650 A phase I clinical trial examining the safety of combining temsirolimus and capecitabine in advanced malignancies suggests the two agents can be given safely to patients. In addition, the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers conducting the study in cancer patients whose tumors have resisted multiple treatments say the combination demonstrates "promising evidence" of disease control and should be studied in a phase II trial. Their clinical findings and additional data from the study will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, June 1 through 5, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-phase-temsirolimus-capecitabine-safe-positive.html Cancer Wed, 16 May 2012 18:00:03 EST news256406984 (HealthDay) -- Levels of certain gut bacteria and low protein intake may raise children's risk of being obese, new research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-gut-bugs-child-odds-obesity.html Health Thu, 10 May 2012 17:50:01 EST news255885088 Sigrun J. Hauge has studied the effect of the measures implemented on farms and in slaughterhouses. The aim of the project "Uncontaminated Carcasses" was to uncover data that would help to improve the hygienic quality of meat from cattle and sheep by means of cleaner animals and efficient ways of slaughtering high-risk animals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-animals-result-coli.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 04 May 2012 09:15:13 EST news255341684 (HealthDay) -- Migraine headaches are more likely to plague people with celiac disease than those without it, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-migraines-people-celiac-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 03 May 2012 15:20:05 EST news255274764 Gut flora, otherwise knows as gut microbiota, are the bacteria that live in our digestive tract. There are roughly one thousand different species of bacteria, that are nourished partly by what we eat. Each person has their own specific gut flora and metabolism and these differ according to our dietary habits. Previous studies in mice have shown that a high-fat diet is capable of causing an imbalance in the gut flora, thus causing metabolic diseases such as diabetes or obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-people-bodies-react-differently-high-fat.html Medical research Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:55:25 EST news254652585 To relieve pain, arthritis sufferers are prescribed medications that may include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors, both of which can irritate the digestive tract. At times additional drugs are co-prescribed with NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors to prevent adverse gastrointestinal (GI) effects. Now a new study available today in the American College of Rheumatology journal, Arthritis & Rheumatism, reveals that decreasing gastroprotective agent (GPA) adherence among users of COX-2 inhibitors is linked to an increased risk of such upper GI complications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-gastroprotective-drugs-anti-inflammatory-medicines.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:57:14 EST news253766693 Tales from the crypt are supposed to be scary, but new research from Vanderbilt University, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and colleagues shows that crypts can be places of renewal too: intestinal crypts, that is. Intestinal crypts are small areas of the intestine where new cells are formed to continuously renew the digestive tract. By focusing on one protein expressed in our intestines called Lrig1, the researchers have identified a special population of intestinal stem cells that respond to damage and help to prevent cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-tales-crypt-cancer-discovery.html Cancer Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:56:30 EST news252330978 In the largest study of its kind, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered five new genetic mutations associated with Crohn's disease in Jews of Eastern European descent, also known as Ashkenazi Jews. The findings, which appear in the March 8 online edition of PLoS Genetics, are the first step in an attempt to explain why the prevalence of Crohn's disease is nearly four times higher in Ashkenazi Jews than in other populations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-genetic-variations-crohn-disease-ashkenazi.html Genetics Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:00:08 EST news250444201 Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis said Monday the European Union will allow it to expand its use of the drug Glivec to treat certain rare forms of gastrointestinal cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-novartis-eu-glivec.html Medications Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:29:24 EST news249553758 Functional foods containing bacteria with beneficial health effects, or probiotics, have long been consumed in Northern Europe and are becoming increasingly popular elsewhere. To be of benefit, however, the bacteria have to survive in the very hostile environment of the digestive tract. A group of scientists from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Ås, Norway have developed a "model gastric system" for evaluating the survival of bacteria strains in the human digestive system, and determined that some bacteria strains survive better when consumed as fermented milks. Their results are published in the February issue of the Journal of Dairy Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-food-probiotics-chance-health.html Health Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:30:01 EST news249131697 small cameras or optic fibres that are usually attached to flexible tubing designed to investigate the interior of the body — can be dangerously invasive. Procedures often require sedative medications and some recovery time. Now a researcher at Tel Aviv University is developing a "capsule endoscope" that can move through the digestive tract to detect problems independent of any attachments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-endoscope-mri-fantastic-voyage-body.html Medical research Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:03:14 EST news243176587 It has been the cause of infamous international foodborne disease outbreaks and yet it is the most studied bacterium in science, an essential part of the human digestive tract, and a backbone of the biotech industry. To enhance public understanding of the bacterium Escherichia coli, the American Academy of Microbiology brought together the nation's leading experts to consider and answer some of the most frequently asked questions about this multifaceted microorganism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-coli-good-bad-deadly.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:43:09 EST news240576181 People recovering from a heart attack or severe chest pain are much less likely to suffer another heart-related problem or to die from one if they take a new blood-thinning drug along with standard anti-clotting medicines, a large study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-drug-deaths-heart.html Cardiology Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:25:32 EST news240409485 Brain tissue is a major consumer of energy in the body. If an animal species evolves a larger brain than its ancestors, the increased need for energy can be met by either obtaining additional sources of food or by a trade-off with other functions in the body. In humans, the brain is three times larger and thus requires a lot more energy than that of our closest relatives, the great apes. Until now, the generally accepted theory for this condition was that early humans were able to redirect energy to their brains thanks to a reduced digestive tract. Zurich primatologists, however, have now disproved this theory, demonstrating that mammals with relatively large brains actually tend to have a somewhat bigger digestive tract. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-guts-larger-brain.html Neuroscience Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:10:21 EST news240066606 Patients with recent use of aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), or anti-clotting drugs such as clopidogreal (Plavix) do not appear to have an increased risk of bleeding during or after removal of precancerous lesions in the digestive tract, according to results of a Mayo Clinic study. The findings, culled from a review of 1,382 procedures of patients treated at Mayo Clinic in Florida, are being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Washington, D.C. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-anti-clotting-drugs-gi-procedure.html Cardiology Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:39:20 EST news239373550 An accomplice to the protein that causes plaque buildup in Alzheimer's disease is the focus of a potential new treatment, according to research by a Georgia Health Sciences University graduate student. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-award-winning-alzheimer-vaccine.html Neuroscience Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:09:59 EST news236254185 The kidneys play an important role in the regulation of blood pressure by adjusting the production of urine after eating or drinking. This process begins already in the upper digestive tract, which could explain why gastric bypass surgery for obesity also markedly reduce blood pressure, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-gastric-bypass-blood-pressure.html Other Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:03:24 EST news234615791 This paper provides an extensive analysis of the proportion of the risk of upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) cancers in the population (the population attributable risk) that may be due to alcohol consumption and/or smoking. The analyse provides strong evidence that smoking is the most important factor in the risk of these cancers, and the risk is enhanced among those who smoke and also consume 2 or more drinks per day. Alcohol alone (i.e., among non-smokers) has little effect on the risk (less than 1%). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-role-alcohol-intake-upper-aerodigestive.html Cancer Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:19:08 EST news234537511 A team led by Johns Hopkins researchers has found that a hereditary colon cancer syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), is associated with abnormally dense blood vessel growth in the skin lining the mouth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-hereditary-colon-cancer-syndrome-abnormally.html Cancer Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:43:51 EST news228066217 Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered new clues about how the intestine maintains friendly relations with the 100 trillion symbiotic bacteria that normally live in the digestive tract. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-scientists-unmask-mysterious-cells-key.html Medical research Mon, 09 May 2011 15:00:16 EST news224161243