Category: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology

In a series of mouse experiments, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have pinpointed a specific immune deficiency as the likely fundamental cause of ulcerative colitis, a chronic, sometimes severe inflammatory disease of the colon or large intestine that afflicts half a million Americans.

“The study shows that allowing babies to swim is possibly not as harmless with regard to infections as has been presumed till now,” suggests Dr. Joachim Heinrich. He leads the research unit environmental epidemiology at the GSF Institute for Epidemiology.Prof. Dr. Dr. H. Erich Wichmann, Director of the GSF Institute of Epidemiology, adds: “This is a first indication.

AmeriCares and International Medical Corps (IMC) are delivering critical medicines to Iraq in an emergency airlift responding to the cholera outbreak in that country. Cholera and other forms of dehydrating watery diarrhea have spread through northern Iraq recently, affecting some 30,000 people there. The first cholera cases were reported in Baghdad at the end of September.

Scientists have identified and described stem cells specific to several tissues and organs of the body key master cells that give rise to the specialized cell types characteristic of that organ. But to date, it hasn’t been possible to pinpoint functioning stem cells in the stomach, either in laboratory animals or people.

Flatulence isn’t much fun for the person having it - or those nearby. The October 2007 issue of the Harvard Health Letter lists tips for dealing with intestinal gas. For example: — Slow down your eating: A little bit of air goes down with everything you swallow. To reduce the amount of air, eat and drink slowly and chew food thoroughly.

A Queensland University of Technology researcher has developed a new technique that can help scientists and clinicians quickly and cheaply diagnose the bacteria which causes the most common bout of food poisoning in Australia.Erin Price, from QUT’s Faculty of Science, has developed a novel set of methods that uses genetic markers to pinpoint the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni.

Robert Michael Educational Institute LLC will introduce a new continuing education resource as part of their exhibit booth at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), October 4-7, in San Diego, California. Project CDAD: Outbreak Prevention and Control is designed to assist healthcare providers in preventing and controlling Clostridium difficile-Associated Disease (CDAD) in their hospitals. C.

Workshops, online programs and databases are just some of the ways that Kansas State University shares knowledge about the biosciences, food safety and animal health with the professionals who help ensure the safety of our food supply.

Giardia lamblia, one of the most common human parasites in the United States, causes more than 20,000 intestinal infections a year, often through contact with contaminated drinking or swimming water. In the September 28 issue of Science, an international team led by researchers at the MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) describe the complete genome (genetic sequence) of Giardia, which could lead to the development of new drugs to combat this persistent infection, called giardiasis.

Today’s issue of the scientific journal Science presents research on the genetic make up and biology of the parasite Giardia lamblia that ultimately may lead to better diagnosis and treatment of the diarrhea disease giardiasis, which affects 200 million people every year. It may also bring an understanding of several vital biological processes in humans. Giardia lamblia is an intestinal parasite that exists all over the world and causes diarrhea.