http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. For those with irritable bowel syndrome who wonder if stress aggravates their intestinal disorder, a new University of Michigan Health System study shows it's not all in their head. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-probiotics-stress-induced-intestinal-flare-ups.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:35:24 EST news282472517 Study in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology addresses critical component of problem affecting infants with necrotizing enterocolitis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-probiotic-derived-treatment-premature-babies.html Medical research Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:40:06 EST news279994337 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists have long puzzled over why "bad" bacteria such as E. coli can thrive in the guts of those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causing serious diarrhea. Now UC Davis researchers have discovered the answer—one that may be the first step toward finding new and better treatments for IBD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-scientists-key-growth-bad-bacteria.html Inflammatory disorders Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:56:09 EST news279474958 (Medical Xpress)—A bug thought to be one of the 'good bacteria' in our gut may actually have a role in the development of a bowel disorder that is on the rise in Scotland. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-good-bug-role-bowel-disease.html Inflammatory disorders Tue, 11 Dec 2012 07:49:31 EST news274434547 (Medical Xpress)—Oil and water may not mix, but a University of Georgia study found feeding chickens a blend of plant-based oils in their drinking water can help prevent salmonella contamination before the meat reaches the dinner table—or even the grocery store. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-essential-oil-blend-salmonella-contamination.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:10:03 EST news272184946 (HealthDay)—Greater use of antibiotics is the main reason for an increase in the number and severity of Clostridium difficile infections among hospitalized children and elderly people, researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-antibiotic-tied-diarrheal-infections-hospitals.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:40:02 EST news270144907 Surgeons are making progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of clostridium difficile colitis (C. difficile or C. diff), a vicious bacterial infection that is estimated to affect about 336,000 people each year, typically patients on antibiotics. Using mouse models, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston, found that an oral medication may prevent C. difficile infections (CDI). Also, surgeons at Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, examined human patients to detect a genetic mutation that could steer treatments to prevent repeat infections. The findings from these two separate novel studies were recently presented at the 2012 Annual American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in Chicago. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-tackling-recurrent-bouts-health-care-associated.html Surgery Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:30:35 EST news268569022 More than one billion people in poor countries are starving, and malnutrition remains a major problem even in rich countries, making it a leading cause of death in the world. For over a hundred years, doctors have known that a lack of protein in the diet or low levels of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, can lead to symptoms like diarrhoea, inflamed intestines and other immune system disorders, which weaken the body and can be fatal. However, the molecular mechanism which explains how malnutrition causes such severe symptoms has been largely unexplored. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-malnutrition-linked-inflammation-gut.html Immunology Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:55:26 EST news262461286 Next time your digestive system malfunctions in some embarrassing way, you can always blame man's best friend - not the dog, but the bacterial cells that live in your intestines. Not everyone has a dog but we all have enormous communities of bacteria that help us digest food. They don't always do a perfect job, but without them we'd have a tough time surviving. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-bacteria-people.html Medical research Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:40:02 EST news258719980 Millions of "good" bacteria exist harmoniously on the skin and in the intestines of healthy people. When harmful bacteria attack, the immune system fights back by sending out white blood cells to destroy the disease-causing interlopers. But how do white blood cells know which bacteria are good and which are harmful? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-protein-scouts-dangerous-bacteria-immune.html Immunology Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:52:41 EST news249223672 Probiotics, often referred to as 'good bacteria', are known to promote a healthy gut, but can they promote a healthy mind? Exploring the new world of neurological probiotics, researchers in BioEssays present new ideas on how neurochemicals delivered directly to the gut, via probiotic intestinal microbiota, exert their beneficial effects in maintaining gastrointestinal health and even psychological well-being. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-gut-full-probiotics-neurological-well-being.html Other Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:12:39 EST news229140750 University of Reading researchers are looking for volunteers for a new study which will examine the effects of wholegrain cereals on the immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-wholegrain-foods-aid-immune.html Health Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:37:29 EST news227443038 Poor gut flora is believed to trigger obesity. In the same way, healthy gut flora could reduce the risk. This has shown to be the case in tests on rats. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-healthy-gut-flora-obesity.html Medical research Wed, 25 May 2011 10:56:31 EST news225539767 Just like intelligence agents watching for the real terrorists threatening to attack, monitoring healthcare worker adherence to mandatory hand-washing protocols via hand-washing squads in hospitals can go a long way to stop outbreaks of the opportunistic C. diff bacteria, says Irena Kenneley, an infection prevention and control expert and assistant professor of nursing from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-combating-diff-terrorists-loose-hospitals.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 19 May 2011 14:19:11 EST news225033531