IBD tagged posts

A Common Type of Fiber may Trigger Bowel Inflammation

Micrograph showing inflammation of the large bowel in a case of inflammatory bowel disease. Colonic biopsy. Credit: Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0

Inulin, a type of fiber found in certain plant-based foods and fiber supplements, causes inflammation in the gut and exacerbates inflammatory bowel disease in a preclinical model, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The surprising findings could pave the way for therapeutic diets that may help ease symptoms and promote gut health.

The study, published March 20 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, shows that inulin, which is found in foods such as garlic, leeks and sunchoke, as well as commonly used fiber supplements and foods with added fiber, stimulates microbes in the gut to release bile acids that increase the...

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Scientists discover the Cellular Functions of a Family of Proteins Integral to Inflammatory diseases

Scientists discover the cellular functions of a family of proteins integral  to inflammatory diseases

In a scientific breakthrough, Mount Sinai researchers have revealed the biological mechanisms by which a family of proteins known as histone deacetylases (HDACs) activate immune system cells linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other inflammatory diseases.

This discovery, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could potentially lead to the development of selective HDAC inhibitors designed to treat types of IBD such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

“Our understanding of the specific function of class II HDACs in different cell types has been limited, impeding development of therapies targeting this promising drug target family,” says senior author Ming-Ming Zhou, PhD, Dr...

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New Inflammatory Bowel Disease Testing Protocol could Speed up Diagnosis

Black woman wearing sports outfit holding stomach in pain

Serial home tests would reduce unnecessary colonoscopy testing. Patients with suspected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) could benefit from better testing protocols that would reduce the need and lengthy wait for potentially unnecessary colonoscopies, a new study has found.

In a paper published in Frontline Gastroenterology, researchers from the Birmingham NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at the University of Birmingham tested a new protocol to improve IBD diagnosis combining clinical history with multiple home stool tests.

In the two-year study involving 767 participants, patients were triaged and had repeated faecal calprotectin (FCP) tests and the research team found that the use of serial FCP tests were able to strongly predict possible IBD as well as Crohn’s Disease an...

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Nanomedicine for Treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Schematic summary of the overall flow of the study, showing GlyNPs(BR) library synthesis and characterizations of the constructed GlyNP(BR) library.
Schematic summary of the overall flow of the study, showing GlyNPs(BR) library synthesis and characterizations of the constructed GlyNP(BR) library. 

Anti-inflammatory nanoparticles mimic glycocalyx. Chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is on the rise worldwide. The benefits of current medications are limited by problematic side effects. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a South Korean research team has now introduced a new method of treatment. It is based on nanoparticles that mimic a special carbohydrate layer (glycocalyx) located on inflamed bowel cells, and which trigger anti-inflammatory effects in the diseased sites in the intestine.

Stomach cramps and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by significant weight loss, are some o...

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