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The mucosal layer in the small intestine degrades with age in rats, allowing digestive enzymes to slowly escape and leak into organs outside the intestine, including the liver, lung, heart, kidney and brain. As the enzymes are unable to distinguish tissues from food, they break down collagen and destroy many receptors on cell membranes, such as the insulin receptor which leads to type 2 diabetes. The researchers call this process autodigestion. Digestion requires powerful enzymes that are synthesized in the pancreas. They are delivered from the pancreas into the lumen of the small intestine, where they digest all the food...

A recent study compared the gut microbiota and gut-derived metabolites between healthy controls and individuals with fatty liver. The results revealed that certain microbial metabolites are associated with liver fat content. The fact that the gut microbiota associates with many diseases, has raised the hope that they could be used for diagnostic purposes. One of the progressing research fields is the analysis of gut-derived metabolites that are manufactured by the microbes from the food. Fatty liver disease is the most common chronic liver disease world-wide, especially in individuals with obesity, and it predisposes to cardiovascular diseases. The recent study compared...

Why would somebody steal a giant inflatable model of a human colon? Officials at the University of Kansas Cancer Center don’t know. They just want it back

The mesentery’s purpose isn’t fully understood, but its presence could hold the key to treating digestive diseases. It was previously thought that the organ was an unimportant group of structures, but it has now been classified as one single organ, which connects the abdomen to the intestine. The discovery that the mesentery was a single structure was first made by Irish researcher J Calvin Coffey at University Hospital Limerick in Ireland in 2012. Since then, he and his team studied the mesentery to prove it should be classified as an organ. "When we approach it like every other organ,” Coffey...

TORONTO, Canada—Researchers at the University of Toronto have found an explanation for how the intestinal tract influences a key component of the immune system to prevent infection, offering a potential clue to the cause of autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. "The findings shed light on the complex balance between beneficial and harmful bacteria in the gut," said Prof. Jennifer Gommerman, an Associate Professor in the Department of Immunology at U of T, whose findings were published online by the scientific journal, Nature. "There has been a long-standing mystery of how certain cells can differentiate between and attack...

The teeming trillions of bacteria in the digestive tracts of mice have been shown to affect the animals' brain development and behaviour.Mice bred in sterile environments without these "gut flora" were seen to be more adventurous and less anxious than mice with normal gut flora. The research adds weight to the idea that gut bacteria are a critical part of the overall development of mammals.

Maybe the congress and senate should take a closer look at their health care policy. Judging by sloppy work done by a doctor on at least one member of congress. It sounds like members of congress could use an upgrade from their current plan to the plan democrats want to impose on us all. Accidents happen. Carelessness should not.

Diabetes May Be Disorder Of Upper Intestine: Surgery May Correct ItGrowing evidence shows that surgery may effectively cure Type 2 diabetes -- an approach that not only may change the way the disease is treated, but that introduces a new way of thinking about diabetes. (Credit: iStockphoto/Jacob Wackerhausen) ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2008) — Growing evidence shows that surgery may effectively cure Type 2 diabetes — an approach that not only may change the way the disease is treated, but that introduces a new way of thinking about diabetes. A new article — published in a special supplement to the February...

A weakened immune system - not an over-active one as had been suspected - may cause the intestinal disorder Crohn's disease, research suggests. Work by University College London (UCL) suggests Crohn's is more likely to be due to a weakened immune system failing to destroy bacteria. The Lancet study also suggests the anti-impotence drug Viagra may help to treat the disorder. Viagra was found to correct low blood flow among Crohn's sufferers. There are several pieces of information that suggest Crohn's is linked to an abnormality of the immune response, rather than an excessive one Dr Alistair Forbes Crohn's disease...

HARTFORD — Besides being an incredibly selfless act, donating your kidney or bone marrow to help another can be very expensive. Two local lawmakers hope to provide some relief in the form of a tax credit. Their proposal would provide a tax credit of up to $10,000 for a taxpayer who donates an organ or partial organ, such as a kidney, pancreas, intestine, lung or bone marrow. The credit would apply to surgery-related transportation, lodging and lost wages. The bill only applies to living organ donors. The bill is being co-sponsored by state Rep. Mary Ann Carson, R-New Fairfield, and...