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Researchers have now revealed that vitamin B12 plays a pivotal role in cellular reprogramming and tissue regeneration. The research was focused on an experimental process known as cellular reprogramming which is thought to mimic the early phases of tissue repair. The team found that cellular reprogramming in mice consumes large amounts of vitamin B12. Indeed, the depletion of vitamin B12 becomes a limiting factor that delays and impairs some aspects of the reprogramming process. The researchers validated their findings in a model of ulcerative colitis, demonstrating that the intestinal cells initiating repair undergo a process similar to cellular reprogramming and...

I would appreciate any advise or any ideas to help a young loved one who is suffering terribly with ulcerative colitis. The only relief thus far is from prednisone, which comes with other problems. Prayers please! Thank you in advance.

Psyllium fiber protects against ulcerative colitis and suppresses inflammation by activating the bile acid nuclear receptor, a mechanism that was previously unrecognized, according to a study. The findings reveal that psyllium inhibits inflammation that can lead to colitis in mice by increasing serum bile acids, resulting in the activation of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a bile acid nuclear receptor. Fiber-rich foods promote intestinal and metabolic health, but the extent of protection varies for each fiber type. It has been unclear whether dietary fiber can benefit severe forms of intestinal inflammation, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which are...

Cholesterol-lowering statins might protect patients with ulcerative colitis from developing and dying from colorectal cancer. Statin treatment was also associated with a lower risk of death regardless of cause in patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. This is according to a study. "Our study suggests that statins can prevent colorectal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is a high-risk group for this kind of cancer," says Jiangwei Sun. The observational study compared more than 10,500 IBD patients from around the country, of whom half were statin users; the other half of the group, who were matched...

Credit: Fernandolive on Wikimedia Commons Could a dose of hookworms provide a medication-free alternative to people with inflammatory bowel disease? The Malaghan Institute's Hookworm Therapy team, who recently published the results from their year-long clinical study, think it's possible. Published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, the feasibility study found that hookworms were a safe and long-lasting treatment for participants with ulcerative colitis—paving the way for wider clinical studies. The Malaghan Institute has been exploring the potential therapeutic benefits of human hookworms for patients suffering allergic and inflammatory disease for a number of years. This current study was the first of its...

A husband found a heart-wrenching video on his late wife’s phone after she died of a life-long illness. He shared the difficulty of mourning in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic with WOAI/KABB. "Bradley, you've always been the one,” Bradley’s late wife, Stephani Wagoner, is heard saying on the video. “You've always been the one my heart belonged to, the one that made me smile.” Wagoner found the video after she passed. "I wake up every morning listening to that video and I wake up crying to it. I go to bed at night telling her, 'Good night,'" Bradley said....

For many runners with chronic illnesses, managing their condition in order to continue doing the sport they love can be a challenge. But the benefits they gain from it—a calmer mind, a reduction in stress, for instance—help motivate them to keep pushing forward. But for 37-year-old Annabelle Winters, running through chronic illness hasn’t just given her a mental boost: It may have literally saved her life. Winters is a lifelong runner. She started running in third grade, as part of an after-school club in her hometown in southern New Hampshire. While the team competition side of running never quite struck...

It’s all downhill from 27, new research reveals. At least if you’re a millennial, chronic conditions and diseases start to rear their heads in your late-20s, and from there things continue to deteriorate, according to a new Blue Cross/Blue Shield report. Millennials as a generation are in overall poorer health than their predecessors, Gen X-ers, with higher rates of depression, hyperactivity, substance misuse, type 2 diabetes and Crohn’s disease, among other chronic conditions. The report authors warn that the healthcare community needs to be aware that millennials are facing growing and perhaps unprecedented health concerns that could cost them years...

Common compounds produced by gut microbes quench colitis in mice Common molecules made by bacteria in the gut may act as chill pills for the immune system. Molecules secreted by intestinal bacteria work to prevent misplaced immune attacks in inflammatory bowel diseases like colitis, a new study finds. “It is a huge advance,” says Sarkis Mazmanian of Caltech. “This opens up the notion that a very easy and potentially very safe therapy for inflammatory bowel disease could exist.” Decades of research have hinted that microbes play a role in immune-related diseases such as obesity, allergy, inflammatory bowel disease and colon...

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...

A prayer request for a dear friend of mine, whose son has been suffering from a liver disease for a number of years. Things, as you will see from my friend's email (in quotes), have taken a turn, and your prayers are needed and appreciated. Thanks so much.... "Tom remains in the Intensive Care Unit. His Gastroenterologist performed a colonoscopy Saturday morning and discovered his colon was filled with ulcers, hence Ulcerated Colitis, a condition that often occurs in a patient with PSC, Primary Sclerosing Colongitis, and is a big problem. So much so that an ulcer literally weakened the...

    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...