Last update:

Gastroenterology news

Gut-derived bacterial molecule may drive severe liver disease

Researchers at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, together with international collaborators, have discovered that a small molecule made exclusively by gut bacteria can actively drive disease in the bile ...

C. difficile colonization in infants reshapes gut development, challenging a long-held assumption

Since its discovery, the highly contagious bacterium Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile or C. diff) has been reported not to cause symptoms in infants, leading to the assumption that colonization was not a serious health ...

Are petting zoos safe?

A 3-year-old girl has died from a rare illness after visiting a petting zoo in Victoria. She developed brain damage and kidney failure after spending weeks in intensive care.

Mini-tumors reveal new drug combinations for liver cancer

Liver cancer is difficult to treat because tumors vary greatly from patient to patient. Researchers at the University of Basel have captured this diversity by creating a collection of mini-tumors, which they use to systematically ...

Supplement plus chemotherapy boosts pancreatic cancer survival

When added to standard chemotherapy, a clinical version of the dietary supplement L-glutamine improved survival in an early-phase trial of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The study, led by Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences ...

Gut bacterium and its metabolite found to delay aging

A new study published in Nature Aging on Aug. 25 reports that a single gut bacterium—Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (BP)—together with a small molecule it produces, 5-aminovaleric acid betaine (5-AVAB), can alleviate multiple ...

New approach to gene correction for iron storage disease

Hereditary primary hemochromatosis is caused by a single faulty building block in a gene. This leads to iron overload, which can have serious consequences for organs and joints. In preclinical studies, researchers have already ...

Key gut protein balances immune protection and tolerance

A protein produced by gut immune cells orchestrates both immune protection against pathogens and immune tolerance of gut bacteria, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The discovery illuminates ...

How immune cells in our gut mesentery fight salmonella

Widely recognized as the face of food poisoning, salmonella bacteria lurk in raw meat and poultry, on pets, and in unpasteurized dairy products. If untreated, extreme cases can lead to full-body infections, like typhoid fever. ...

Study reveals a distinct subtype of eosinophilic esophagitis

Researchers from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago identified a distinct subtype of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)—a chronic allergic inflammatory disorder in which the esophagus narrows, interfering with ...

New biological clues behind coffee's benefit to liver health

In one of the most comprehensive studies of coffee and liver health to date, Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators linked higher coffee consumption with a lower risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver-related ...