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Drinking two small glasses of cherry juice a day may reduce gut inflammation and boost quality of life in bowel disease patients, a new study shows. The largest human trial of its kind found consuming 130ml of diluted Montmorency tart cherry juice twice a day for six weeks reduced gut inflammation markers in people with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis by 40%. Participants also reported a 9% improvement in health-related quality of life when taking the fruit drink supplement while receiving standard medication treatment. Montmorency tart cherries are rich in a nutrient known as anthocyanin, a natural compound that gives the fruit...

An international team has found a compound in ginger, called furanodienone (FDN), that selectively binds to and regulates a nuclear receptor involved in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Through a screen to identify chemical components of ginger that bind to receptors associated with IBD, the team observed a strong interaction between FDN and the pregnane X receptor (PXR). FDN reduces inflammation in the colon by activating PXR's ability to suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the body. "We found that we could reduce inflammation in the colons of mice through oral injections of FDN," said Jiabao Liu. IBD patients typically...

Symptoms for patients with the gastrointestinal disease IBS improved as much by eating less sugar and starch as for those who followed FODMAP—the diet currently recommended to patients. Bodil Ohlsson is a professor. Her choice to investigate the role of sugars and starches in IBS is linked to a geneticist's discovery: a genetic variation that hinders the breakdown of sugars and starches in the gut is overrepresented among IBS patients. A few years ago, she led a study involving 105 people with IBS. For four weeks, they ate significantly less sugar and starch, known as the starch and sucrose-reduced diet...

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...

Fatigue is a common and often debilitating companion for people with inflammatory bowel conditions. Now, a study provides insight into why vitamin B1—also known as thiamine—helps some patients regain their energy, while others do not experience the same effect. The study shows, among other things, that patients' response to vitamin B1 depends on gut bacteria, with researchers focusing particularly on a specific "good bug" that seems to play a crucial role. "We know that about half of the fatigued patients benefit from treatment with vitamin B1, but we haven't been able to find anything that distinguishes those who had an...

Two studies may provide hope for patients with irritable bowel syndrome struggling to implement the traditional low-FODMAP diet. In the low-FODMAP diet, patients with IBS restrict their intake of certain carbohydrates (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols), before gradually reintroducing each to determine sensitivity. In the first study, participants started on the traditional low-FODMAP restriction diet, but then had different FODMAP foods reintroduced blindly. The researchers found that patients reacted to an average of two FODMAPs. The data also suggested that individual FODMAPs alone could cause symptoms—as opposed to all the FODMAPs at once. The most significant, finding however, was...

New research looking at the benefits of a Mediterranean diet for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has yielded surprising results. Not only did the diet, rich in fruits, vegetables and legumes, improve the mental health of the study participants, but their gastrointestinal symptoms improved, as well. Dr. Heidi Staudacher said it was common for people with IBS to avoid some of the foods important in a Mediterranean diet as they are known to trigger a worsening of symptoms. "Previously we had an understanding that foods such as legumes, certain whole grains and onion, can worsen gut symptoms in some...

Adopting a healthy lifestyle is strongly linked to a lower risk of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), finds new research. Previously research has linked lifestyle factors with a heightened risk of IBS, and the researchers wanted to find out if a combination of these factors might ward off the condition. They looked at the big five healthy behaviors—never smoking; at least seven hours of sleep every night; a high level of vigorous physical activity every week; a high-quality balanced diet every day; and moderate alcohol intake—among middle-aged participants (average age 55) of the U.K. Biobank. The final analysis included 64,286 people,...

A team of neurobiologists has found that mice with lower levels of Fos (short and medium-chain sugar molecules that are indigestible in the body) in their brains tend to be more susceptible to depression related to stress than mice with higher levels of the chemical. In their study, the group stress-tested mice and then tested levels of Fos in their brains. Prior research has shown that people respond to stressful situations in different ways—some shrug them off while others tend to suffer longer-term repercussions. Such scenarios suggest that some forms of depression may have a genetic link. Prior research has...

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder that affects the large intestine. It is characterized by symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. According to a team of Korean researchers, individuals with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) have a decreased diversity of bacteria in their intestines compared to healthy individuals. This is the first study to establish a clear connection between IBS and a reduction in gut microbiota diversity. The findings were published in the American Society for Microbiology’s journal Microbiology Spectrum. Normally, “More than 10,000 species of microorganism live in the human intestine,” said corresponding author...

…One of the most important advances is a deepened understanding of the mechanism of IBS, which is now characterized as a disorder of the gut-brain interaction, says Hunt. Signals from the gut that might go unnoticed in individuals without IBS instead get transmitted to and interpreted by the brain as pain or the urgent need for a bowel movement. This can lead to anxiety, and the intestine, which is lined with stress hormone receptors, responds by cramping and spasming. Symptomatically, IBS manifests as abdominal pain and either constipation, diarrhea, or alternating bouts of both, and by some estimates as many...

For patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), those who are male and/or have low Alistipes levels are more likely to be nonresponders to fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), according to a study published in Neurogastroenterology & Motility. Magdy El-Salhy, M.D., Ph.D., from Stord Hospital in Norway, and colleagues included 109 patients who received allogeneic FMT to examine factors potentially affecting FMT response. At baseline and at two weeks, one month, and three months after FMT, patients completed questionnaires that assessed their symptoms and quality of life. Fecal samples were also provided at baseline and one month after FMT. The researchers found...

An international study of more than 50,000 people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has revealed that IBS symptoms may be caused by the same biological processes as conditions such as anxiety. The research highlights the close relationship between brain and gut health and paves the way for development of new treatments. IBS is a common condition world-wide, affecting around 1 in 10 people and causing a wide range of symptoms including abdominal pain, bloating, and bowel dysfunction that can significantly affect people’s lives. Diagnosis is usually made after considering other possible conditions (such as Crohn’s disease or bowel cancer), with...

A network of glial cells, the logic gates of the gut’s nervous system, are seen in this micrograph. The cells — the dark orbs enveloped in gray — have been colorized according to how they respond to a chemical signal. Credit: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci./Gulbransen Lab ======================================================================================== Revealing the Logic of the Body’s “Second Brain” Scientists discover new science in the gut and, potentially, new leads on how to treat irritable bowel syndrome and other disorders. Researchers at Michigan State University have made a surprising discovery about the human gut’s enteric nervous system that itself is filled with surprising facts....

Investigators at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research have discovered a surprising new role for tumor necrosis factor (TNF): namely, that it is a major regulator of small blood vessel function, the key determinant of blood pressure. The study is published online today in Nature Communications. TNF has long been tied to inflammation, giving rise to the use of anti-TNF medications for chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and IBS. Now, after years of studying TNF's cell signaling functions in the vascular system, researchers found that TNF directly impacts how the smallest arteries constrict - and thus...

Emulsifiers, which are added to most processed foods to aid texture and extend shelf life, can alter the gut microbiota composition and localization to induce intestinal inflammation that promotes the development of inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic syndrome, new research shows.

Patient-Focused Drug Development for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders; Public Meeting; Request for Comments This conference is being held in the N.E so those of us in the South or West are excluded unless you take the time to EMAIL this person. email Sayyedeh.Mariani@fda.hhs.gov

For years, I’ve warned about the GOP’s Grover Norquist problem. Just last week, he was front and center at the Gang of 8′s amnesty press conference — despite longtime concerns expressed on this blog and by national security advocates and activists about his dangerous Islamist alliances and progressive proclivities. Now we learn that Norquist’s convicted terrorist pal and former funder, Abdurahman Alamoudi, was the first president of the radical mosque attended by the Boston bomber brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Alamoudi, as I’ve documented repeatedly here, provided seed money to Norquist’s Muslim outreach effort during the Bush years.

Leadership: The lack of respect our commander in chief has for our fallen heroes was shown by the sending of a form letter signed by auto-pen to the families of 17 Navy SEALs killed in a crash in Afghanistan. 'I don't take these folks too seriously," President Obama recently told the Virginian-Pilot, referring to a group of former SEALs who formed the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund Inc., to run ads attacking the leaking of details of the Osama bin Laden raid and other national secrets to further his reelection chances. Apparently the president doesn't take the sacrifice of Navy...

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...