Free Republic

Investigators explore potential role of UV light exposure and vitamin D in Crohn's therapyWashington, DC -- New research points to a potential role for UV light exposure and vitamin D levels in chronic digestive conditions; Crohn's disease, a serious inflammatory condition in the small intestine; and ulcerative colitis (UC), which similarly affects the colon. In two separate studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's 76th Annual Scientific Meeting, a group of investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital probed the connection between geography, UV exposure and incidence of inflammatory bowel disease while another group from Weill Cornell Medical Center looked at...

Scientists have been unclear for some time about how most probiotics work. A new study has found a scientific 'design' for a probiotic that could be used to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn's disease. The research by academics at the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences and the School of Clinical Medicine is published online in the journal PLoS ONE. Most probiotics on the market, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, are lactic acid bacteria. Although probiotics have been shown to successfully maintain remission in IBD, evidence of their effectiveness in active disease is rare. The researchers...

New research suggests that infection with a probiotic strain of E. coli bacteria could help treat an reduce the negative effects of another E. coli infection that may be associated with Crohn's disease. Researchrs from the University of Auckland, New Zealand publish their results in the April 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Crohn's disease is a common chronic disorder that affects the gastrointestinal tract and is believed to develop as a result of an aberrant immune response to intestinal microbes in a genetically susceptible host. Over the last decade, high levels of adherent invasive E. coli...

Canadian research team publishes findings in Journal of Biological ChemistryMontreal, January 27, 2010 – A new study has found that Vitamin D, readily available in supplements or cod liver oil, can counter the effects of Crohn's disease. John White, an endocrinologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, led a team of scientists from McGill University and the Université de Montréal who present their findings about the inflammatory bowel disease in the latest Journal of Biological Chemistry. "Our data suggests, for the first time, that Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to Crohn's disease," says Dr. White, a...

When doctors didn't give a Washington state high school student the answers she wanted, she took matters into her own hands. Eighteen-year-old Jessica Terry, brought slides of her own intestinal tissue into her AP science class and correctly diagnosed herself with Crohn's disease. "It's weird I had to solve my own medical problem," Terry told CNN affiliate KOMO. "There were just no answers anywhere ... I was always sick." For years she went from doctor to doctor complaining of vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and stomach pains. They said she had irritable bowel syndrome. They said she had colitis. They said...

For eight years, Jessica Terry suffered from stomach pain so horrible, it brought her to her knees. The pain, along with diarrhea, vomiting and fever, made her so sick, she lost weight and often had to miss school. During a science class, Jessica Terry, 18, discovered a tell-tale granuloma in her own pathology slide. During a science class, Jessica Terry, 18, discovered a tell-tale granuloma in her own pathology slide. Her doctors, no matter how hard they tried, couldn't figure out the cause of Jessica's abdominal distress. Then one day in January, Terry, 18, figured it out on her own....

Stem cells may force Crohn's disease into retreat, say Long Island medical investigators who are embarking on a pioneering analysis that targets patients who've failed other therapies. Cases of Crohn's disease have skyrocketed since World War II, jumping tenfold in the United States and raising questions about the disease's genetics and demography. It is one of two disorders -- the other is ulcerative colitis -- that are known as inflammatory bowel diseases. Before the 20th century there was no recorded evidence of either. Dr. Robert Richards, director of clinical research in the gastroenterology division at Stony Brook University Medical Center,...

Her carefully cultured cells were dead and Katherine Schaefer was annoyed, but just a few minutes later, the researcher realized she had stumbled onto a potential new cancer treatment. Schaefer and colleagues at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York believe they have discovered a new way to attack tumors that have learned how to evade existing drugs. Tests in mice suggest the compound helps break down the cell walls of tumors, almost like destroying a tumor cell's "skeleton." The researchers will test the new compound for safety and hope they can develop it to treat cancers such...

Adult stem-cell research may lead one day to cures for terminal and debilitating diseases "I hope we will always be guided by both intellect and heart, by both our capabilities and our conscience." -President George W. Bush1 Few areas of scientific study hold as much potential as adult stem-cell research. This research is already generating medical breakthroughs and treatments for debilitating diseases and disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, sickle cell anemia and Parkinson's. Indeed, scientists laud stem-cell treatments as the "miracle cure" of the 21st century. Unlike so many areas of biotechnology, adult stem cells do not spark a...

A weakened immune system - not an over-active one as had been suspected - may cause the intestinal disorder Crohn's disease, research suggests. Work by University College London (UCL) suggests Crohn's is more likely to be due to a weakened immune system failing to destroy bacteria. The Lancet study also suggests the anti-impotence drug Viagra may help to treat the disorder. Viagra was found to correct low blood flow among Crohn's sufferers. There are several pieces of information that suggest Crohn's is linked to an abnormality of the immune response, rather than an excessive one Dr Alistair Forbes Crohn's disease...

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (May 23, 2005) -- Angelo “A.J.” Circo, a nine-year-old boy from Brookfield, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, likes to eat pizza. He sports a slight build, fiery auburn hair and wire-rimmed glasses that make him look like a young Harry Potter. His favorite music is heavy metal and he loves bright blue colors. He does well in school and loves his family. Just as it should be, but not quite. He suffers from Crohn’s disease, diabetes and hereditary pancreatitis. He’s been in and out of hospitals and spends an awful lot of time...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects some 400,000 Americans and is the most common neurological disorder diagnosed in young adults. MS affects eyesight, mobility, bladder and bowel control, and causes chronic pain and dizziness. A quarter of those diagnosed with MS may actually have a benign form, meaning they won't have any symptoms for at least 10 years. Currently, however, there is no method of determining who has this benign form. The result: Many people, diagnosed with MS, are taking medication they don't yet need, with all the attendant side-effects, as well as suffering from excessive anxiety. There is also no way...

    Public release date: 11-Apr-2004 Contact: Elaine Smithelaine.smith@utoronto.ca 416-978-5949University of Toronto U of T researchers isolate gene for Crohn's disease   Researchers at the University of Toronto have isolated a gene that predisposes people to Crohn's disease. "Isolating this gene is a critical step towards improved diagnosis of this disease and developing better therapies for Crohn's sufferers," says Katherine Siminovitch, a U of T professor with the Department of Medicine. She is also a senior scientist at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital and a founding scientist at Ellipsis Biotherapeutics Corp. "There's an urgent need for...

Diet of worms can cure bowel disease 19:00 06 April 04 Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues. Regular doses of worms really do rid people of inflammatory bowel disease. The first trials of the treatment have been a success, and a drinkable concoction containing thousands of pig whipworm eggs could soon be launched in Europe.At the moment the concoction cannot be stored for long, so doctors or hospitals would have to prepare fresh batches of the eggs for their patients. But a new German company called BioCure, whose sister company BioMonde sells leeches and maggots for...