Gastroenterology

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(AUDIO) There are disparities in the sensitivities and specificities of glucose and lactose hydrogen breath tests used to diagnose small intestine bacterial overgrowth and to distinguish patients with irritable bowel syndrome from healthy individuals. Just how useful are these tests? Insights from an expert here.

(AUDIO) According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one-third of US adults are obese. The CDC also estimates that as many as 1.4 million Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel disorder. So is there a link?

(AUDIO) What is the natural history of systemic corticosteroid therapy in ulcerative colitis? Insights here from Dr Nabeel Khan, Assistant Professor of Medicine in Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Tulane Medical Center-author of a new study on this topic.

Ulcerative colitis is primarily a mucosal disease, and other changes appear to be secondary to this process. By contrast, Crohn disease, or granulomatous colitis, involves the whole thickness of the bowel wall.

How best to manage ulcerative colitis? Here: highlights from guidelines from the American College of Gastroenterology on assessment, treatment, indications for surgery, and cancer surveillance.

A diet high in fats and protein increases the risk of developing ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, researchers found. Hou and colleagues performed a systematic review to evaluate the association between diet and risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Despite a lower prevalence of traditional risk factors-such as hypertension and diabetes-patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher incidence of stroke, said researchers at the University of Miami.

Does upper endoscopy affect the diagnosis or management of adults with colitis? No, say investigators from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, although the procedure is routinely performed in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of the colon.

Quality of life in children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a key focus of research presented at the 2010 Advances in IBD conference in Hollywood, Florida. Two of the top abstracts address social isolation and patient adherence to medication regimens among teenagers with IBD.

Ulcerative colitis affects about 500,000 persons in the United States and accounts for more than 30,000 hospitalizations and 1 million workdays lost each year. The exacerbations and remissions that characterize the clinical course of the disease can make its management particularly challenging. What is the optimal approach to treatment? And which agents are most effective for maintenance therapy?