Merck Serono: Study Published In JCO Shows Erbitux Enhances Efficacy In MCRC Patients With KRAS Wild-Type Tumors In 1st-Line Setting
A study published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology demonstrates that the addition of Erbitux® (cetuximab) to standard oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy (FOLFOX-4) in previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with KRAS wild-type tumors results in significantly higher efficacy than chemotherapy alone.

Antioxidants Offer Pain Relief In Patients With Chronic Pancreatitis
Antioxidant supplementation was found to be effective in relieving pain and reducing levels of oxidative stress in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), reports a new study in Gastroenterology. CP is a progressive inflammatory disease of the pancreas in which patients experience abdominal pain (in early stage) and diabetes and maldigestion (in late stage).

Discovery Could Improve Understanding Of Ulcerative Colitis, Lead To New Therapies
An international team led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers has identified genetic markers associated with risk for ulcerative colitis. The findings, which appear as an advance online publication of the journal Nature Genetics, bring researchers closer to understanding the biological pathways involved in the disease and may lead to the development of new treatments that specifically target them.

Diseases To Watch For In 2009 Include Hantavirus
The Iowa Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) urges Iowans to take steps to stay healthy in 2009. Influenza season is entering its most active months; in addition, recent cases of norovirus, shigellosis and hantavirus offer opportunities to remind Iowans that good hygiene and disease prevention are the best ways to avoid illness. The best prevention against influenza is receiving a yearly flu shot. The flu is a respiratory illness caused by viruses.

A New Light On The Anti-tumor Mechanisms Of Scutellaria Barbata
Medicinal plants have been used as traditional remedies for hundreds of years. Among them, S. barbata has been traditionally used in treatment of hepatitis, inflammation, osteomyelitis and gynecological diseases in China. Studies indicate that extracts from S. barbata have growth inhibitory effects on a number of human cancers. Reports are available on the treatment of lung, breast and digestive system cancer, hepatoma, and chorioepithelioma with S. barbata extracts.

Mild-to-moderate Active Ulcerative Colitis - Salix Receives FDA Complete Response Letter For Balsalazide Tablet
Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP) today announced that the Company has received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its New Drug Application (NDA) for balsalazide tablet studied as a treatment of mild-to-moderate active ulcerative colitis in patients 18 years and older.

New Candidate To Prevent Inflammation
Dr. Sonia Oliani and colleagues at São Paulo State University have identified a potential new molecule that inhibits inflammation, receptor for formylated peptides-2 (FPR-2). These findings are presented in the January 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. Inflammation of the peritoneum is characterized by severe abdominal pain.

Inflammation Contributes To Colon Cancer
Researchers led by Dr. Brian Iritani at The University of Washington found that mice that lack the immune inhibitory molecule Smad3 are acutely sensitive to both bacterially-induced inflammation and cancer. They report these findings in the January 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. Bacteria contribute to the development of certain cancers, in some measure, by stimulating chronic inflammation.

The Prevalence Of Gluten-sensitive Enteropathy In Iron-deficient Anemia Patients
Gluten sensitive enteropathy (GSE) is an autoimmune enteropathy due to food gluten intolerance in genetically predisposed people. While GSE was thought to be a rare disease in the past and was believed to be essentially a disease of Europeans, recent screening studies showed that GSE is one of the most frequent genetically based diseases occured worldwide.

Is Bismuth A Safe Medicine For The Treatment Peptic Ulcer Disease?
Bismuth compounds have been used for centuries in medicine. The discovery of H. pylori in 1983 led to renewed interest in bismuth compounds, because these were found to successfully treat the infection in combination with antibiotics. However, in the 1970s bismuth salts, used at high doses for prolonged periods, were found to lead to neurotoxicity. There has been no summary of evidence for the toxicity of bismuth when used for short periods as part of H.

What Is The Pathogenesis Of C. Jejuni-related Disease?
Campylobacters are small Gram-negative spiral rods. Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni), a foodborne organism contracted from untreated water, milk and meat, especially chicken, is one of the most important causes of bacterial diarrhea worldwide. However, its mode of pathogenesis is not clear. A research article to be published on December 28, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question.

How To Enhance Non-thermal Effects Of Ultrasound
In recent years HIFU has been widely used for the treatment of solid tumors, such as liver tumor, bone tumor, and breast cancer. The mechanism for therapeutic actions of HIFU includes thermal effects and non-thermal effects with the latter dominated by cavitational effects. Adjusting acoustic parameters of pulsed high intensity focused ultrasound (PHIFU) can control thermal effects and non-thermal effects; short duty cycle and high intensity favors the occurrence of cavitation.

Acute Gastric Injury Due To High-dose Analgesics?
Analgesics, NSAIDs and acetaminophen, are commonly used for the relief of fever, headaches, and other minor aches and pains. The gastrointestinal side effects of NSAIDs are well documented and acetaminophen is accepted to be a safe drug for the gastrointestinal system. Acute effects of short-term, especially high-dose NSAID and acetaminophen use have not been studied adequately.

A New Screening Test For Chronic Abdominal Pain
Evaluation of chronic abdominal pain of luminal etiology is a challenging problem for the primary care physicians and gastroenterologists. The exact localization of lesion to either small or large bowel remains an elusive identity in many subjects. In tropical countries, where most of the population is of low socioeconomic status, one needs an imaging modality which screens small and large bowel lesions simultaneously at a reasonable cost with good sensitivity and specificity.

Stem Cells May 'ignite' Bowel Cancer Development
Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered for the first time that stem cells could be the root cause of bowel cancer, according to a study published in Nature* today (Wednesday). Scientists at Cancer Research UK's Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow, Cardiff University and the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands - isolated stem cells in the bowels of mice and 'knocked out' a gene called APC from them.