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In a study, Dr. Shai Bel and his research team have uncovered crucial insights into how antibiotic use increases the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study demonstrates that antibiotics interfere with the protective mucus layer in the intestine, a discovery that could reshape our understanding of antibiotic effects and IBD development. IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, affects approximately 1% of the global population. This debilitating condition is marked by the erosion of the mucosal layer that serves as a critical barrier between the gut microbiome and the immune system. Despite ongoing research, the exact causes...

Recent studies show that women can experience bothersome menopause symptoms, like hot flashes, for longer than originally estimated. As a result, more research is focusing on the long-term effects of hormone therapy. A new study suggests certain estrogen-based hormone therapies have favorable long-term effects on the risk of heart disease. Hormone therapy has been the subject of intense debate for more than 20 years since the results of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) became public. Despite the fact that hormone therapy has proven to be the most effective treatment for managing some of the more common symptoms of menopause, such...

The Irish government has promised to set up an official investigation to examine historical abuse in religious-run day and boarding schools in light of “appalling” abuse accounts. The announcement comes as an initial 802-page, five-volume Scoping Inquiry report from the Irish government revealed that 2,395 allegations of abuse had been made in 308 schools between 1927 and 2013. The total number of allegations is believed to be far higher. The allegations were made against 884 abusers. It is believed that half of them have died. The Scoping Inquiry was set up in the aftermath of a 2022 radio documentary called...

A foundation that supports a prominent Catholic movement in France is changing its name after revealing nearly 20 fresh abuse allegations against the famed Abbé Pierre, a formerly beloved Capuchin priest who died in 2007. A Sept. 6 statement released by Emmaus International detailed new allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct by Pierre, who founded the movement in 1949. A previous report had detailed allegations involving at least seven victims, including one who was a minor at the time of her alleged assault. Emmaus France said it first received a report from a woman accusing Pierre of sexual assault in...

A Shoreline man is suing the Seattle Catholic Archdiocese for protecting a priest he says groomed and sexually abused him in the early 1980s at St. John Catholic School. A "John Doe" filed a negligence lawsuit against the Archdiocese on Monday, alleging repeated sexual abuse at the hands of Father Edward C. Boyle, a priest at St. John who died in 1987 at the age of 62, only a few years after the alleged abuse. The Archdiocese has acknowledged Boyle's abuses, publishing his name on a list of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse in the Seattle area in 2016....

A systematic review and meta-analysis conducted by scientists has uncovered promising insights into how vitamin D supplementation can significantly impact cardiometabolic health. The study has implications for tailored therapeutic strategies targeting cardiovascular diseases and related risks. The comprehensive review analyzed 99 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving a total of 17,656 participants. The analysis revealed that vitamin D supplementation, with a median dose of 3,320 International Units (IU) per day, was associated with favorable effects on various cardiometabolic risk factors, including reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin A1C, and fasting blood insulin. Significantly, the...

Excess abdominal fat is associated with widespread chronic pain, particularly in women, finds the first study of its kind. Reducing excess fat deposits in the abdomen may help reduce chronic musculoskeletal pain, especially if it's experienced at multiple body sites, suggest the researchers. Previously published research has shown that obesity is associated with musculoskeletal pain, but it's not known if excess fat tissue is linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain and at multiple body sites. To find out, they drew on data for 32,409 participants in the UK Biobank study who completed questionnaires and underwent health assessments. Around half (51%) were...

Ronald Rodriguez, MD, Ph.D. has discovered that the combination of valproic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 and lessen its severity, according to a study. Valproic acid is a common anti-seizure medication, and DHA is a type of omega-3 fatty acid known to improve brain and heart health. Rodriguez's previous adenoviral gene therapy research in prostate cancer had led him to explore the antiviral potential of valproic acid. Approved by the U.S. FDA, valproic acid showed promise in preventing the COVID virus from replicating, but initial doses proved potentially toxic. "A combination of a...

Patients who are being treated with systemic glucocorticoids are more than twice as likely to develop diabetes as those not receiving the treatment. Glucocorticoids (sometimes known as steroids) fight inflammation and are used to treat a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. While they can be very effective in decreasing inflammation, glucocorticoids have many adverse effects including increasing blood sugar levels and causing diabetes. This is more likely when people use tablets or injections than when used as inhalers, creams or drops. A new study has investigated how commonly patients being treated with glucocorticoids can develop new-onset diabetes. The...

Dry eye disease (DED) is a chronic condition estimated to affect around 360 million individuals worldwide. Evidence suggests laughter therapy alleviates chronic pain, while strengthening immune function. But whether laughter therapy has a beneficial effect on dry eye disease is still unknown. The findings are based on 283 participants who were assessed for dry eye disease using the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) score and randomly assigned to receive laughter exercise or 0.1% sodium hyaluronic acid eye drops four times a day for eight weeks. The laughter exercise group watched an instructional video and were asked to vocalize and repeat...

Altitude changes during commercial flights may affect blood glucose levels of people with type 1 diabetes who are treated with insulin pump therapy, according to research. In the study, insulin delivery from 26 insulin pumps was tested in Europe's largest hypobaric chamber to mimic the atmospheric changes during a normal commercial flight. The hypobaric chamber was depressurized to 550 mmHg over a 20-minute ascent, maintained at a 30-minute cruise (mimicking an airline pressurized cabin altitude of 8,000 feet), followed by a 20-minute descent to the ground (with an ambient pressure increase to 750 mmHg). During the simulated flights, insulin infusion...

Night owls have a higher BMI, larger waists, more hidden body fat and are almost 50% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) than those who go to bed earlier, shows new research. To find out more, Dr. van der Velde and colleagues studied the association between sleep timing, T2D and body fat distribution in more than 5,000 individuals. The analysis involved participants with a mean age of 56 years and mean BMI of 30 kg/m2. The participants were then divided into three groups: early chronotype, late chronotype and intermediate chronotype. The participants were followed-up for a median of...

New research shows that eating fruit, oats and rye in childhood is associated with a higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D). Eating berries, however, is linked to lower odds of developing the condition. T1D is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas. What triggers the immune system's attack is unknown but is thought to involve a combination of a genetic predisposition and an environmental trigger such as a virus or foodstuff. Finland has the highest incidence of T1D globally, with 52.2 cases per 100,000 children under the...

For many people, an enjoyable summer staple food is a scoop of their favorite ice cream. What they may not know is that this creamy treat often contains refined dietary fibers, such as guar gum, that could have negative effects on intestinal health, according to researchers. Guar gum is a common food additive used for its thickening and stabilizing characteristics in ice cream, processed cheeses, bakery products, salad dressings, beverages and more. However, a recent study discovered that ultra-processed diets containing guar gum showed an increased likelihood of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in an animal model. To determine the...

Sickle cell disease is a common genetic disorder characterized by periodic occurrences of pain that occur repeatedly throughout life. These episodes, referred to as vaso-occlusive episodes, happen when sickled cells obstruct blood vessels. The degree of pain may range from a mild discomfort to a severe disabling pain for which the person needs treatment in hospital. A new study has found that hospital-admitted patients who received the fluid Lactated Ringer's, a solution used to replace water and electrolyte loss in patients with low blood volume or low blood pressure, rather than normal saline, had shorter hospital lengths of stay, fewer...

Researchers have delved deeper into the relationship between manganese deficiency and inflammatory bowel disease and found that low levels of the micronutrient can exacerbate intestinal injury and inflammation. Their study centers around the genetic variant of the manganese transporter SLC39A8, which affects manganese levels in the body. People with a genetic variant in SLC39A8, or ZIP8, can have manganese deficiency, which this and prior studies have linked to inflammatory diseases of the intestines such as Crohn's and colitis. "Our research reveals the crucial role of the manganese transporter SLC39A8 in maintaining healthy manganese levels and intestinal health. Our work also...

Insulin resistance is associated with 31 different diseases, and in women, is also linked to higher odds of early death. This is according to a study of data on hundreds of thousands of people. There is compelling evidence of links between insulin resistance and conditions as diverse as Parkinson's disease, gout and sciatica. Insulin resistance is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. To find out more, Ms. Jing Wu and colleagues analyzed data from the UK Biobank. The study involved 429,159 participants. Levels of blood sugar and fats, including cholesterol, were used to calculate each participant's TyG index—a measure...

For patients with metastatic or surgically unresectable leiomyosarcoma, combination therapy with doxorubicin and trabectedin is associated with improved overall and progression-free survival compared with doxorubicin alone, according to a study. Patricia Pautier, M.D. and colleagues conducted a Phase III trial involving 150 patients with metastatic or unresectable leiomyosarcoma who had not received chemotherapy. Patients were randomly assigned to doxorubicin (six cycles) or doxorubicin plus trabectedin (six cycles), with continued trabectedin as maintenance therapy in patients in the doxorubicin-trabectedin group without disease progression. After six cycles of therapy, surgery was allowed to resect residual disease in each group. The researchers found...

Common medicines used to treat conditions including heartburn, reflux, indigestion and stomach ulcers may be the subject of a class action lawsuit in Australia. Lawyers are exploring whether long-term use of these over-the-counter and prescription drugs are linked to stomach cancer or kidney disease. Specifically, patients claimed the company's drugs Nexium (esomeprazole) and Prilosec (omeprazole) increased the risk of kidney damage. The class of drugs we're talking about are "proton pump inhibitors" (sometimes called PPIs). In the case of the Australian potential class action, lawyers are investigating: —Nexium (esomeprazole) —Losec, Asimax (omeprazole) —Somac (pantoprazole) —Pariet (rabeprazole) —Zoton (lansoprazole). Appropriate use...

A study found the risk of developing Parkinson's disease was 76% higher among those with a history of damage to the lining of their upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract than among those without. The study sheds light on the way Parkinson's may develop in some people and also suggests that increased vigilance among those with a history damage to the upper GI tract—typically ulcerations caused by the H. pylori bacterium, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and/or use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such ibuprofen—for future Parkinson's disease risk may be warranted. "People often think about the ways the brain influences the gut,...