Ulcerative colitis & other Inflammatory Bowel Disorders

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Who wants to eat monkey worms? Yuch!...

Parasitic worms 'treat diarrhoea'
15 November 2012 - Chronic diarrhoea could be treated using parasitic worms, a study of monkeys has suggested.

Research published in PLOS Pathogens, suggests the treatment restores gut bacteria to a healthy state. Other work in mice has already suggested conditions such as ulcerative colitis could be treated in this way. A UK expert said parasitic worms were being investigated for a range of conditions, including multiple sclerosis and allergies.

Captivity

Inflammatory bowel diseases, like colitis, are often fuelled by a wrongly targeted response by the immune system to gut bacteria. Such diseases are more common in developed countries - and scientists suggest this is because people in developing countries have more exposure to parasitic worm (helminth) infections and therefore have a natural protection that has evolved as people and worms learnt to co-exist.

Macaque monkeys suffer from a similar bowel condition to humans

Recent studies have used parasitic worms to successfully treat inflammatory bowel disease in humans, but it is unclear exactly how they do this. This latest study looked at monkeys because young macaques kept in captivity often develop chronic diarrhoea that can be hard to treat. Five macaques with diarrhoea were treated with parasitic worms called whipworms.

Tissue samples were taken before and after treatment and it was found the balance of gut bacteria was restored to required levels. And four out of five animals had less diarrhoea and started to gain weight. Dr P'ng Loke, of the New York University Langone Medical Center, who led the study, said: "The idea for treating colitis with worms is not new, but how this therapy might work remains unclear.

More BBC News - Parasitic worms 'treat diarrhoea'

 

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Granny says now dey got a breath test for bowel cancer...

'Promising results' for bowel cancer breath-test
4 December 2012 - Could a breath test detect cancer?

Scientists say they have developed a breath-test that can accurately tell if a person has bowel cancer. The test, which looks for exhaled chemicals linked to tumour activity, was able to identify a majority of patients with the disease. The British Journal of Surgery reported an overall accuracy of 76%. However, another scientist said it was unlikely a fully functioning and reliable breath-test would be available soon for the general public. Scientists are working on breath-tests for a host of other diseases, including several types of cancer, TB and diabetes. If diagnosed and treated early, the chances of stopping cancer can be good, but there is often little or no outward sign of the disease until it has progressed significantly.

Chemical 'smell'

The current screening test for bowel cancer looks for signs of blood in the faeces, but only a small proportion of those who test positive actually have colorectal cancer, which means unnecessary and invasive further testing for many people. The breath-test technology relies on the idea that the biology of tumours can lead to the production of specific "volatile organic compounds", combinations of chemicals unlikely in a healthy person. These can be found in small amounts in the breath of the patient, and early studies found dogs could be trained to identify them - although the latest study relies an electronic device to analyse breath gases.

The team from a hospital in Bari, southern Italy, compared the breath of 37 patients known to have bowel cancer with that of 41 "controls" who were thought to be healthy. The initial test identified the cancer patients with 85% accuracy, and although, when combined with a follow-up test, the overall result fell to 76%, the researchers were upbeat about its potential. "The present findings further support the value of breath-testing as a screening tool," they say. It might be possible that the technique could help identify patients whose cancer was returning after treatment. Bigger studies with a greater number of patients were now needed to fine-tune the test and confirm it worked, said Dr Donato Altomare and colleagues.

Breath-tests have been suggested for a variety of diseases, including other types of cancer, TB and diabetes, but Dr Claire Turner, a lecturer in analytical chemistry at the Open University, said that it was often difficult to interpret the cocktail of chemicals contained in every breath, as they could be influenced by what the patient had been eating, or even just by being ill or spending time in a hospital environment. She said: "These technologies show a great deal of promise, and hopefully we will see larger studies in the future. "However, we are unlikely to see this kind of breath testing available widely in the short term."

BBC News - 'Promising results' for bowel cancer breath-test

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Testing for cervical cancer with vinegar
4 December 2012 - Smear tests to check for abnormal cells that lead to cervical cancer are expensive and require specialist equipment. So doctors in India are trying a new method - vinegar swabs.

Cervical cancer used to kill more women in the United States than any other cancer. Today, deaths in the US are almost unheard of thanks to a decades-old test called a pap smear, which allows for early detection and treatment. In India, however, tens of thousands of women still die each year from cervical cancer. "It's just not possible for us to provide [the pap test] as frequently as it is done in the West," says Dr Surendra Shastri, a cancer specialist at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. The pap test requires trained personnel and well-equipped labs, which many parts of India don't have. "So what do we do?" Shastri asks. "We can't let the women die."

It turns out there may be a simple answer. It's a cheap and easy test developed by scientists at Johns Hopkins University and other institutions. And it relies on something many people have in their kitchen. In the village of Dervan in the state of Maharashtra, doctors have set up a temporary clinic in the shell of an empty store. A sheet hangs from the ceiling to provide some privacy. There is no electricity - not even a light bulb - in the storefront. About a dozen Muslim women in headscarves have come for the test. One is on the exam table, her long brown skirt pushed aside. With her friends sitting nearby, she looks calm and ready. Dr Archana Saunke takes a cotton swab and applies a clear liquid to the woman's cervix. "We wait for one minute, and we see if there is any yellowish patch," she explains.

If the liquid makes the normally pink cervix turn white or yellow, that means there are pre-cancerous cells - cells that could become cancer. Within a minute or two, the doctor has good news for her patient. "It's normal," Saunke says. The woman smiles broadly. When tests yield bad news and show abnormal cells, these can be removed on the spot with a squirt of liquid nitrogen. No return trip is needed. So what is this clear liquid Saunke uses? Acetic acid, or common household vinegar.

These tests being done as part of a trial programme run by Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital and Walawalkar Hospital in Dervan, where Dr Suvarna Patil is medical director. Patil says when the vinegar test was first brought to the villages, women were not interested, even though it was free. "Whenever we used to go to their houses, they used to shut the doors. They would say, 'No, we don't want [it]. You go away.'" Many women found testing a bother, says Patil, and were embarrassed to have a vaginal exam. And for what? They assumed cancer couldn't be treated.

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C. diff runs rampant...

C. diff spread 'fast and easy'
10 December 2012 - Clostridium difficile causes diarrhoea - elderly people taking antibiotics are particularly vulnerable

Two closely-related strains of Clostridium difficile became antibiotic resistant and were able to rapidly spread to hospitals around the world, a study says. Researchers were able to show how the bacterium travelled by forensically analysing its genetic code. The strains of the hospital infection seemed to become more severe after they became resistant. The findings were published in the journal Nature Genetics. The US Centers for Disease Control say C. difficile is linked to 14,000 deaths in the US each year. The infection has been in hospitals for decades. However, there was growing concern in the last decade after large outbreaks in Europe, the US and Canada. They were caused by a once rare variant of C. difficile which has become the most common cause of the infection in North America.

Tracking

The genetic code of C. difficile mutates rapidly. By comparing the genetic code of batches of C. difficile, researchers can work out how related different batches of C. difficile are. Doing this on a large scale, involving 151 samples from infections in 19 countries, allowed researchers to build up a picture of the spread of the antibiotic resistant strains. It showed there was an strain called FQR1 which started in the US and spread across the country and to Switzerland and South Korea. A second strain FQR2 started in Canada before spreading across North America, Europe and Australia. It entered the UK on four separate occasions.

Dr Trevor Lawley, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, told the BBC: "If we can understand how it happened there are lessons in that. It's a fact that two strains emerged which tells us this is more frequent than we realise and it is driven by antibiotic resistance. "It also shows the global healthcare systems are completely interlinked - it showed up in the UK within months."

Prof Brendan Wren, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has been studying C. difficile for 25 years. He said: "Once it became fluoroquinolone resistant, it just seemed to become more severe and transmissible." "Not only is [the antibiotic] virtually useless against this organism, but resistance seem to have been a major factor in the continued evolution and persistence of these strains in hospitals and clinical settings." The cost and time taken to sequencing the whole genome of a bacterium has plummeted. It took less than a day at a cost of £40-60. The hope is that in the future researchers will be able to monitor the spread of diseases while outbreaks are happening as well as getting a better understanding of the disease and how to stop it.

Source

 

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Bowel cancer genes found...

Two bowel cancer genes discovered
23 December 2012 - UK researchers believe they have explained why some families are incredibly vulnerable to bowel cancer.

They have found two genes, which are passed from parent to child, that greatly increase the risk of a tumour forming. The study, published in Nature Genetics, analysed DNA from 20 people with a strong family history. The findings could be used to develop a test to judge someone's risk of the disease.

One of the people who took part in the study, Joe Wiegand from Hampshire, was diagnosed with bowel cancer when he was 28. Most of his colon had to be removed. "There's a very strong history of bowel cancer in my family - my dad's mother and sister both had it, my dad was diagnosed with it at 43 and a few cousins have had bowel cancers and brain tumours. "It's clear that something's going on in our family." The researchers looked at the genetic code of 20 people and found faults in two genes could increase the chance of developing the cancer.

Prevention

Lead researcher, Prof Ian Tomlinson from the University of Oxford, said: "There are some families where large numbers of relatives develop bowel cancer, but who don't have any of the known gene faults that raise the risk of developing the disease. "These two faults are rare, but if you inherit them your chance of bowel cancer is high." He said that, in the short-term, the findings could be used to work out which people had a high risk of developing bowel cancer and, in families with a high incidence of the cancer, to work out which people were at risk and needed more regular screening. He said it was "conceivable" that specific therapies could be designed to overcome these mutations in the future.

Prof Richard Houlston, from the Institute of Cancer Research, said the finding was "one of the most important discoveries in bowel cancer genetics in years". Dr Julie Sharp, from Cancer Research UK, said the research was "another piece of the puzzle" for at-risk families. She said the findings mean, "doctors can help families with a strong family history by preventing cancer from developing or diagnosing it earlier to help more people survive".

BBC News - Two bowel cancer genes discovered

 

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Ibuprofen 600mg reduces inflammation

 

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Mice were infected with a worm called Trichinella spiralis in the study...

Weight loss 'is body's way of fighting off gut worms'
17 January 2013 - Weight loss following infection with intestinal worms is the body's way of fighting off the parasites, University of Manchester researchers have said.

The immune system hijacks a hormone that controls when to stop eating, their study of mice suggests. This then triggers the type of immune response needed to expel the worms from the gut, PLoS Pathogens reports. The finding could lead to new ways to treat people with intestinal worms, researchers say. Researchers first saw a potential link when they were measuring levels of a hormone called cholecystokinin in volunteers after they had been fed a meal. One man had incredibly high levels and on further investigation it was found he had an intestinal worm infection he had picked up on holiday.

Joining forces with a team specialising in gut worm infections the researchers did a study in mice infected with a worm called Trichinella spiralis. They found that immune cells called T-cells responded to the worm infection by driving up levels of cholecystokinin. This increase has a knock-on effect of driving down another hunger hormone, leptin, which influences what type of immune response the body needs to produce. When they artificially added leptin back into the infected mice, the immune system mounted the wrong response and the intestinal worms remained in the gut for longer.

Global problem

Nearly one in every four of the world's population are infected with gastrointestinal parasites. It has long been known that these infections often result in a period of reduced appetite and weight loss but why or how this happens was not understood. Study author Dr John Worthington said the researchers had looked at only one type of parasitic worm but were now doing tests to see if the same response was produced in response to other worms. "Naturally you would think that if you are losing weight you are going to have less energy to fight off infection," he said. "This does the opposite of what you would expect." Dr Worthington added that eventually they would be looking at whether different treatment or nutrition strategies could be designed to boost this immune effect in people affected with intestinal worms.

Dr Mark Robinson, lecturer in parasite proteomics at Queen's University Belfast, said that diseases of humans and animals caused by parasitic worms were among the most widespread and economically devastating throughout the world and drug resistance was becoming a problem. "The best way to combat worm infections in the future will be the development of vaccines which represent safer, more environmentally-friendly, alternatives to drugs," he said. "At present, vaccine development is hampered by a lack of basic understanding of how parasitic worms interact with, and influence, our immune system, so research in this area will hopefully contribute to making new anti-parasite vaccines a reality."

BBC News - Weight loss 'is body's way of fighting off gut worms'

 

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Research into gut bacteria...

Scientists Explore Gut Reaction to Disease
March 06, 2013 — The human body harbors 100 trillion microbes, naturally occurring bacteria that can be helpful, even essential to our health. The microbes in our gut, or gastro-intestinal tract, help us digest our food and keep disease-causing bacteria at bay.

University of Colorado scientist Rob Knight is trying to learn what nutrients promote the beneficial ones, and understand how they interact. “What this research could ultimately lead to is a world where no infectious disease goes undiagnosed,” he says. To achieve that goal, Knight needs lots of microbes, from lots of people. To collect them, he’s launched an online campaign called the American Gut project. People around the world are invited to take part. They are sent a questionnaire about their diet, their health and their use of antibiotics, along with sterile cotton swabs to rub on their tongue, or their hands or their forehead. Subjects even run the swabs over their used toilet paper so Knight can obtain samples of their personal microbes. Then, they return the packet to Knight’s lab.

Lab director, Chris Lauber, who says that most studies of the human microbiome focus on lab animals or people with a specific illness, is confident the open-ended nature of the American Gut Project will reveal new information. "Anybody can enroll, and we don’t care what their disease state is and whether they’re on antibiotics," Lauber says. "We just want to know about them. And what microbes are in their gut.” A growing body of research indicates it’s easy to kill off these gut microbes, through malnutrition, overuse of antibiotics, junk food and pollution. For example, in countries with traditional diets and less antibiotic use, allergies, asthma and autoimmune disease are less common than they are in Western countries.

Changes to gut microbes may even contribute to the worldwide epidemic of obesity and diabetes, which is why Second Genome CEO Peter DiLaura says his company is sponsoring sampling kits for 100 Type 2 diabetics. “We’re really focused on working with Rob and the team at American Gut to understand in detail the microbial communities and the microbiome for this epidemic,” DiLaura says. Second Genome hopes to develop pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals for diabetes treatment based on what is discovered about the microbes in our guts.

But Knight says the immediate goal is to continue gathering important data, and he encourages everyone to participate in the sampling: “You should participate if you have a fundamental interest in what microbes are living on and inside of your body," he says. "And also if you want to contribute to medical research that might someday provide useful information to you or to other people.” Everyone who participates in the American Gut project will receive a summary of the microbes in their sample plus feedback about their foodlog and their health questionnaire. They can also donate scholarships to sample the microbes of people in developing nations, and volunteer to be part of future research.

Source

 

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Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK after lung cancer...

Male bowel cancer on the increase, says Cancer Research
1 April 2013 - Bowel cancer rates among men have increased by more than a quarter in the last 35 years, a report has suggested.

The Cancer Research UK study said this contrasted with a rise of just 6% in the rate for women over the same time. However, bowel cancer survival rates are are improving with half of all patients living for at least 10 years after being diagnosed. It is not known why there should be such a large difference in the increase in rates between men and women. Rising rates of bowel cancer may be linked to obesity and diets high in red and processed meat and low in fibre, as well as the increasing age of the population.

The disease is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK after lung cancer. Cases of bowel cancer for men have increased from 45 per 100,000 in 1975-77 to 58 per 100,000 in 2008-10, a rise of 29%. The figures for women were 35 per 100,000 rising to 37 per 100,000 in the same timescale. The age group with the biggest rise is those in their 60s and 70s, who experience 23,000 new cases a year.

'Starring role'

Professor Matthew Seymour, of Leeds University, who is director of the National Cancer Research Network, said: "We know the risk of bowel cancer increases as we get older and, since we're all living longer, it's no surprise to see that the number of people getting the disease is rising. "But when we look at these figures and take people's age into account, we still see that the risk of bowel cancer has gone up in men in the last 35 years. "It's important to find out what's behind the rise and what we can do about it. The figures are released to mark bowel cancer awareness month and the launch of a new campaign by the Bobby Moore Fund charity.

The Make Bobby Proud campaign aims to spread the word about the disease, especially among men involved in the football community. Stephanie Moore, whose footballer husband Bobby Moore died of bowel cancer in 1993, said it was encouraging that bowel cancer survival rates were improving. But she added: "However, it's vital we continue to fund research to fight this disease as these new statistics show." Dr Julie Sharp, senior science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said the charity's researchers had played a "starring role" in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

BBC News - Male bowel cancer on the increase, says Cancer Research

 

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Well now, ain't dat a turn of events - Eat sh*t an' live...

Pills made from poop cure serious gut infections
3 Oct.`13 ~ Hold your nose and don't spit out your coffee: Doctors have found a way to put healthy people's poop into pills that can cure serious gut infections — a less yucky way to do "fecal transplants." Canadian researchers tried this on 27 patients and cured them all after strong antibiotics failed to help.

It's a gross topic but a serious problem. Half a million Americans get Clostridium difficile, or C-diff, infections each year, and about 14,000 die. The germ causes nausea, cramping and diarrhea so bad it is often disabling. A very potent and pricey antibiotic can kill C-diff but also destroys good bacteria that live in the gut, leaving it more susceptible to future infections. Recently, studies have shown that fecal transplants — giving infected people stool from a healthy donor — can restore that balance. But they're given through expensive, invasive procedures like colonoscopies or throat tubes. Doctors also have tried giving the stool through enemas but the treatment doesn't always take hold. There even are YouTube videos on how to do a similar treatment at home via an enema. A study in a medical journal of a small number of these "do-it-yourself" cases suggests the approach is safe and effective.

Dr. Thomas Louie, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Calgary, devised a better way — a one-time treatment custom-made for each patient. Donor stool, usually from a relative, is processed in the lab to take out food and extract the bacteria and clean it. It is packed into triple-coated gel capsules so they won't dissolve until they reach the intestines. "There's no stool left — just stool bugs. These people are not eating poop," and there are no smelly burps because the contents aren't released until they're well past the stomach, Louie said. Days before starting the treatment, patients are given an antibiotic to kill the C-diff. On the morning of the treatment, they have an enema so "the new bacteria coming in have a clean slate," Louie said.

It takes 24 to 34 capsules to fit the bacteria needed for a treatment, and patients down them in one sitting. The pills make their way to the colon and seed it with the normal variety of bacteria. Louie described 27 patients treated this way on Thursday at IDWeek, an infectious diseases conference in San Francisco. All had suffered at least four C-diff infections and relapses, but none had a recurrence after taking the poop pills. Margaret Corbin, 69, a retired nurse's aide from Calgary, told of the misery of C-diff. "It lasted for two years. It was horrible. I thought I was dying. I couldn't eat. Every time I ate anything or drank water I was into the bathroom," she said. "I never went anywhere, I stayed home all the time." With her daughter as the donor, she took pills made by Louie two years ago, and "I've been perfectly fine since," Corbin said.

Dr. Curtis Donskey of the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, who has done fecal transplants through colonoscopies, praised the work. "The approach that Dr. Louie has is completely novel — no one else has done this," he said. "I am optimistic that this type of preparation will make these procedures much easier for patients and for physicians." The treatment now must be made fresh for each patient so the pills don't start to dissolve at room temperature, because their water content would break down the gel coating. Minnesota doctors are testing freezing stool, which doesn't kill the bacteria, so it could be stored and shipped anywhere a patient needed it. "You could have a universal donor in Minnesota provide a transplant for someone in Florida. That's where we're heading," Donskey said.

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Non-Antibiotic Treatment for C. diff. shuts down the disease...

Non-Antibiotic Treatment Successful in Fighting Difficult Infection
eptember 26, 2015 - The bacterium C. difficile lives harmlessly in the intestines of many people, but, it can strike those whose immune systems are weakened, particularly those in hospital settings and nursing homes.

If the bacterium infects and overwhelms a patient, it can cause serious illness. In the United States alone, C. difficile costs more than $4 billion per year to treat. Approximately 15,000 of the quarter-million people who are stricken annually die. Antibiotics, which are used to disarm the bacterial infection, can also kill off beneficial microbes in the gut that normally keep C. difficile in check.

A drug called ebselen doesn’t actually kill C. difficile, but it prevents the release of toxins that cause tissue inflammation as well as life-threatening dehydration and diarrhea, said Matthew Bogyo, a pathology and microbiology professor at Stanford University in California. “Basically, it shuts down the disease,” he said.

Multiple antibiotic-resistant strains of Clostridium difficile have recently emerged. Researchers have found a non-antibiotic drug that could help combat C. difficile infection.

In experiments with mice, reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine, animals received C. difficile toxins treated with ebselen or plain, untreated toxins. All of the rodents injected with the treated solution lived, while those in the untreated group died within two days.

The good news, Bogyo said, is that the compound appears to be safe in humans. “It turned out to be an interesting lead compound, because it’s already in humans and it’s safe," he said. "And even though it’s not a drug approved by the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] yet, the fact that we know it can be put into humans without causing toxic side effects means it has a high chance of being a useful agent.” Clinical trials of ebselen approved by the FDA are under way in the treatment of stroke and bipolar disorder.

Non-Antibiotic Treatment Successful in Fighting Difficult Infection

 

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Processed meats bad fer ya...

Data Visualizations: Red Meat and Colon Cancer
26 Oct.`15 - The World Health Organization reported today that processed and red meat consumption can lead to colon cancer. The new report places processed meat in the highest category of agents classified as carcinogenic to humans, alongside cigarettes, alcohol and asbestos. Red meat is classified in the second-highest category of known carcinogens. The WHO's study was published in the UK Medical Journal The Lancet.[/i]

Below you'll find visualizations that chart red meat consumption and the incidence and mortality of colon cancer over the years. Also included is a list detailing the nutritional content of the unhealthiest red meats.

Data is curated by HealthGrove.com and sourced from the National Chicken Council, the National Cancer Institute, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Bureau for Labor Statistics and ESHA Research.

Charts

 

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Mebbe vinegar kills C. diff?...

Vinegar may help treat ulcerative colitis
Feb. 10, 2016 - Researchers think changes to bacteria in the gut, caused by vinegar, were responsible for fewer ulcerative colitis symptoms among mice in a recent study.

Vinegar suppressed inflammation-inducing proteins linked to ulcerative colitis and improved gut bacteria in the gut, easing the condition in a study with mice. Researchers in China report that vinegar altered the population of bacteria in the gut microbiome, leading to reduced ulcerative colitis symptoms in the rodents.

Previous studies have shown vinegar could affect bacteria in the gut responsible for inflammation in ulcerative colitis.​

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic form of inflammatory bowel disease causing inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract, large intestine and rectum. Previous studies have shown the microbiome is involved with the inflammation, and vinegar has been thought to have some effect on the condition, which researchers said in a press release led them to test its effects in an animal model. For the study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers tested vinegar, as well as its main ingredient, acetic acid, in mice with ulcerative colitis by adding small amounts of either substance to their water.

Both vinegar and acetic acid lowered levels of proteins that promote inflammation in the gut and reduced the animals' symptoms, researchers said. Stool samples from rats who received the substances also showed higher levels of bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria, and Enterococcus faecalis, which are beneficial to mice with colitis symptoms, and lower levels inflammation-causing bacteria such as E. coli. A further understanding of how vinegar works in the gut is necessary, but researchers said the study suggests a dietary strategy to reduce or prevent ulcerative colitis in patients.

Vinegar may help treat ulcerative colitis

 

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Colon Cancer Clues from 18th Century Mummies...

18th Century Mummies Reveal Clues to Colon Cancer
March 15, 2016 - Researchers sequenced genetic material from 22 mummies in hunt for mutations, eventually pinpointing one that today is tied to development of the disease

Mummies are providing clues to the evolution of colon cancer. In 1995, more than 265 mummies were excavated from sealed crypts in the Dominican church in Vac, Hungary. The bodies, identified from their dress as priests and townsfolk, had mummified in the cool and dry conditions for more than 250 years. An archive of their tissue samples has attracted researchers worldwide, including a team from Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, which has turned to the mummies to study the history of colon cancer.

Hungarian mummies excavated from a church crypt in Hungary in 1995 are providing clues to the causes of colorectal cancer.​

Colon cancer is associated with obesity, physical inactivity and processed foods. Scientists have also identified genetic mutations connected with the disease. The research was led by Tel Aviv University microbiologist Rina Arbesfeld of the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology. The scientists hoped the mummies' DNA could shed light on whether the increase in the "incidence of cancer today is the result of man's manipulation of nature alone," Arbesfeld said.

Mummies preserved naturally

The church mummies presented a rare opportunity for the biologists. The naturally desiccated Hungarian mummies had lost their body fluids slowly and naturally, which is quite different from the method used by Egyptians, who deployed special embalmers to carry out the task quickly over a period of two or three months. The Hungarian mummies retained tissue that could be better analyzed for evidence of disease. "It presents an ideal opportunity to carry out a detailed genetic analysis and test for a wide variety of pathogens," said research team member Israel Hershkovitz of Tel Aviv University's Department of Anatomy and Anthropology.

Microbiologist Rina Rosin-Arbesfeld in her lab in the medical school at Tel Aviv University researches a possible ancestral link to colorectal cancer.​

Arbesfeld and colleagues took DNA samples from 22 mummies and sequenced the genetic material in the hunt for mutations. The genetic material, however, was not easy to work with. "But eventually, after quite a lot of tries, we were able to find one specific mutation in a gene called APC that we know these days is involved with the development of cancer," Arbesfeld said.

Precursor cancer gene

 

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Chinamen usin' worms to fight IBD???...

Study: Worm infection counters inflammatory bowel disease
April 15, 2016 - Worm infection influences greater numbers of certain bacteria in the gut that help reduce inflammation.

Worm infection may protect against inflammatory bowel diseases, according to a recent study, leading researchers to suggest a lack of exposure to worms in the overly-sanitized modern world is increasing cases of the conditions. Researchers at New York University suggest exposure to worms, or at least to immune chemicals produced when worms are present in the gut, could prevent IBD in some people.

The worms trigger reactions in the gut microbiome -- the production of specific bacteria, clostridia, which help counter inflammation -- but in their absence, the researchers found inflammation occurs, leading to IBD. The researchers say the findings support the hygiene hypothesis, a theory that too-clean homes, pervasive overuse of hand sanitizers and a general avoidance of "germs," has contributed to changes in the collection of bacteria in the gut essential to bodily function. "Our study could change how scientists and physicians think about treating IBD," Dr. Ken Cadwell, an assistant professor at the New York University's Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, said in a press release. "Patient testimonials and anecdotes lead many to think that worms directly cure IBD, while in reality, they act on the gut bacteria thought to cause the disease."

For the study, published in the journal Science, researchers found mice with intestinal worms had a thousand-fold decrease in a group of bacterial species called bacteroides linked in previous studies to higher risk for IBD. Clostridia, at the same time, were found to have 10 times the presence in worm-infected mice. The clostridia compete with bacteroides for nutrients, or kill them by releasing toxins, further decreasing their number in the intestine and counteracting their inflammatory effects.

Cadwell said the findings support the hygiene hypothesis, as have studies in countries where worm infestation remains more common because of a lower emphasis on sterilizing every environment. "Our findings are among the first to link parasites and bacteria to the origin of IBD, supporting the hygiene hypothesis," said Dr. P'ng Loke, an associate professor at NYU, who said the study may also lead to a greater understanding of the role the gut microbiome plays in other inflammatory conditions and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes.

Study: Worm infection counters inflammatory bowel disease

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Only half of rectal cancer patients get recommended treatment: Study
April 15, 2016 -- Despite the increasing use of a standard therapy for rectal cancer in the United States, only slightly more than half of patients receive it, a new study finds.

Chemoradiation therapy followed by surgery is recognized as the standard of care for locally advanced rectal cancer because it offers patients the best outcomes, according to the researchers. The new analysis of national data found the use of this standard treatment regimen among these patients rose from almost 43 percent in 2004-2006, to 50 percent in 2007-2009, and to 55 percent in 2010-2012.

While the increase is positive, nearly half of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer still do not receive the standard therapy as recommended by national guidelines, the study authors said. The investigators identified several factors associated with a lower chance of patients receiving the treatment: lack of private insurance; being treated at a facility with a low or medium volume of such cases; being non-white; and living in a neighborhood with low levels of education.

The report, by Dr. Helmneh Sineshaw, director of treatment patterns and outcomes research at the American Cancer Society, and colleagues was published online April 13 in the journal Cancer. "Unfortunately, with only 55 percent of U.S. patients with locally advanced rectal cancer receiving the standard of treatment in the recent years, one must address the gap between the guidelines and the variable penetrance into routine clinical practice," the study authors wrote.

About 39,000 new cases of rectal cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, and rates are rising among younger Americans, the researchers said in a journal news release.

Only half of rectal cancer patients get recommended treatment: Study

 

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Stent 'may help bowel cancer treatment'...

Bowel cancer: Stents 'may prevent need for colostomy bags'
Sun, 05 Jun 2016 - A expandable tube, or stent, inserted into the bowels of cancer patients can cut the odds of them needing a colostomy bag, cancer doctors say.

Bowel cancer patients may avoid the need for colostomy bags if they are first treated by having an expandable tube inserted at the site of their blockage, cancer doctors have said. The new approach, presented at the world's biggest cancer conference, showed that the tube, or stent, cut the risk of complications from surgery. Experts said colostomy bags, to collect faeces, often frightened patients. Globally, nearly 1.4 million cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed each year.

In the UK, more than a fifth of the cancers go undetected until the tumour blocks the intestines, leaving patients needing emergency surgery. This unplanned surgery has a much higher risk of complications compared with routine surgery. The patient is often in worse health, the swelling caused by the blockage can mean keyhole surgery is not possible so more invasive surgery is needed and there may not be a colorectal specialist surgeon on hand. The death rate goes up from 2% for planned surgery to 12% in emergency bowel cancer surgery.

Distended

After removing the tumour and surrounding bowel, surgeons are also less likely to be able to re-plumb the bowels. One part of the colon is often hugely distended and the other collapsing in on itself. If it cannot be put back together properly, the risk of needing a colostomy bag soars. A trial on 250 patients was organised by Cancer Research UK. Half were treated with conventional surgery, but the others had a novel procedure to unblock the bowels. Surgeons used an endoscope to find the precise location of the blockage and then positioned a stent at the site of obstruction. When inserted, the tube is just 3mm in diameter. But over 48 hours it expands in response to body heat until it reaches 2.5cm in diameter, creating a new clear passageway through the intestines.

The tumour is then removed once the bowels have healed and the patient has recovered from the blockage. There was no difference in survival rates between the procedures, but the difference in the need for a colostomy bag was stark. In the emergency patients, 69% needed a bag to rid their bodies of faeces. In those treated with the stent, the figure was 45%, according to data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago.

'Huge improvement'

 

[waltky]

Cookbook for fighting inflammatory diseases...

'Anti-inflammation Cookbook' Offers Recipes for Better Health
July 28, 2016 - People have long known about the importance of food in promoting good health. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, said, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

Today’s research confirms that certain foods have the potential to cure, prevent or aggravate diseases. That’s the focus of The Anti Inflammation Cookbook by chef Amanda Haas. To understand why we should avoid inflammation, we need to understand what it is. Neil Bernard, associate professor of medicine at George Washington University's medical school, said inflammation is a natural response of our immune system. “It’s our body’s way of attacking invaders," he said. "So if bacteria or viruses enter the body, inflammation is a way of knocking them out.”

Amanda Haas wrote "The Anti-Inflammation Cookbook" at the suggestion of her doctor, who noted that her ailments were all forms of inflammation in her body​

However, inflammation can also contribute to illness, from asthma and arthritis to cancer and diabetes. When inflammation becomes chronic, the body turns against its own tissue. “It’s a biological equivalent of friendly fire,” Bernard said. “For example, in rheumatoid arthritis, the joints are inflamed, and that’s not a bacterium that’s being attacked, it’s the lining of our joint. That’s when the inflammation becomes a problem.”

All in the kitchen

Haas suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, as well as "things like chronic heartburn and stomach pain, back problems." "I had an allergist who said to me, ‘Amanda, these are just all different forms of inflammation in your body. I think it’s something that you’re eating. Since you cook for a living, why don’t you go and figure out what’s going to make you feel great and share it with other people?’ ”

Country Captain’s Chicken — with lots of curry and turmeric — is one of the author's favorite recipes.​

Haas examined ingredients she often used in her recipes, “things we all probably know we shouldn’t have too much of — things like refined sugars, too much caffeine,” she said. “A lot of people [know that] if you have joint and arthritic issues, you can be sensitive to peppers and eggplants and tomatoes. "I had too much to work with. I wanted people to understand that eating an anti-inflammatory diet can be delicious [but] you’re going to be using a lot of green, leafy vegetables," she said. "I use a lot of spices, fresh herbs as well. You’ll see me use a lot of citrus and natural sweeteners, like a little bit of honey, maple syrup. You wouldn’t see me using a lot of refined sugar at all.”

All kinds of recipes

 

[waltky]

Bowel cancer tests 'failing' in the UK...

Hospitals 'failing' on genetic bowel cancer test
27 March 2018 - More than 80% of NHS hospitals in England are failing to test bowel cancer patients for the genetic condition Lynch syndrome, according to the charity Bowel Cancer UK.

The condition increases the risk of bowel and other cancers. Bowel Cancer UK estimates that 166,000 people in the UK are unaware that they have the condition. An NHS England spokeswoman said there are clear guidelines about when it is appropriate to test for Lynch syndrome. Testing for the syndrome can guide the treatment of the patient and indicates whether their families are at risk. Children of people with the condition have a 50/50 chance of developing it.

The charity says it is important to find out whether patients have Lynch syndrome, because some chemotherapy drugs are ineffective for them. And if other family members find they have the syndrome then it enables them to take steps to reduce their risk of bowel cancer, or be diagnosed at an earlier stage when it is easier to treat. Teenage cancer fundraiser Stephen Sutton, who died of bowel cancer at 19, had Lynch syndrome. His father had twice battled bowel cancer. When Stephen presented with similar symptoms he was told he was too young to get the disease, delaying his diagnosis for six months.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend testing all bowel cancer patients for Lynch syndrome at the time of their diagnosis. A Freedom of Information request by the charity found that 83% of NHS hospitals in England are not testing for the condition. They said that 91% of those hospitals cited financial reasons as the main barrier and 61% said staff resources were a problem. One hospital trust said: "The main barriers have been, and remain, financial and staff resources. NICE produce guidance but the government do not provide the funding for the implementation of the guidance. It is a recurring theme and, with the increasing use of genomic medicine, is a major problem for pathology departments."

But the charity says the cost of the test is small compared to the cost of treating patients for bowel cancer, which they say is around £25,000. Deborah Alsina, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer, said: "The price of testing for Lynch syndrome is peanuts - only £200 per patient. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) need to loosen the purse strings as the price of testing for Lynch syndrome far outweighs the cost of treating bowel cancer patients. "A lack of funding and resources from CCGs means that hospitals' hands are tied. Until these issues are being addressed, generations of families will continue to be devastated by cancer and lives will be needlessly lost."

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[initforme]

Just had a colonoscopy last July. All clear. It's really not that bad and there's no better way to have things examined. Do it.