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A parasite that attacks, kills and eats human immune cells in the colon may be controllable through a protein.

The parasite is called entamoeba histolytica, an amoeba that causes inflammation of the colon (colitis) mainly in children. Globally, the infection affects 50 million people annually causing diarrhea, malfunction and death.

The parasite attacks human immune cells then hides the evidence by eating the cell corpses. Without the cell corpses, the immune system doesn’t know there are damaged cells and the disease spreads.

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The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is colonized by bacteria immediately after birth; Escherichia coli, Streptococci and Clostridi are the first bacteria harboured by the colon, followed by anaerobic Enterococci, Lattobacilli and Bacteroidi. These commensal bacteria inhabiting the human intestine (i.e., intestinal microflora) participate in the development and maintenance of gut sensory and motor functions, including the promotion of intestinal propulsive activity; on the other hand, intestinal motility represents one of the major control systems of gut microflora, though the sweeping of excessive bacteria from the lumen. There is emerging evidence indicating that changes in this bi-directional interplay contribute to the pathogenesis of gut diseases, such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). 

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Nearly three out of four patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) consider feeling unwell to be a normal part of life, while gastroenterologists estimate this to be true for only 37 percent of their UC patients, according to results from a nationwide series of surveys presented today at the 2007 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s 6th Annual Advances in the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases conference.  

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Researchers have found a potential new and improved avenue for treating defective bile acid absorption, a primary contributor to chronic diarrhea.

Liver-produced bile acids are intestinal detergents that break apart fats for easier absorption. Normally, most of the bile acids also reabsorb, but during certain conditions (e.g. infection or short bowel syndrome) excess bile acids enter the colon and impair water absorption, leading to diarrhea.

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While chronic inflammation is a known risk factor for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heart disease, researchers have now shown that the sporadic but recurrent inflammation caused by Crohn’s disease also poses serious cardiovascular risk.

Sander van Leuven and his colleagues imaged 60 Crohn’s patients and 122 healthy controls for signs of arterial hardening; they found that the thickness of the carotid artery, a common marker for plaque buildup, was increased in Crohn’s disease.

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A pilot study from researchers at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, found that narrow band imaging (NBI) colonoscopy used in cancer surveillance for ulcerative colitis patients can identify flat dysplastic lesions. The research appears in the November issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. 

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Social, environmental and dietary changes are associated with the changes of disease spectrum in a country. Ulcerative colitis has become a commonly seen disease in China, probably due to extensive consumption of Western foods in recent years. Unfortunately, the etiology and pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis have not been clarified yet. Therefore, no effective etiological treatment is available at present. But a recent study published in issue 44 of the World Journal of Gastroenterology may offer new insight into this difficult-to-treat disease. 

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Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic-relapsing diseases, the clinical courses of which are characterized by periods of remission and periods of acute flare up, determining clinical symptoms which have a strong impact on the quality of life for patients. For many years, corticosteroids have represented the cornerstone of therapy for induction of remission in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD); however, the side-effects emerging with long-term use exceeded the clinical benefits. Recently, Infliximab (IFX) has become an alternative choice in the treatment strategies for CD and UC. Some safety issues are associated with IFX use, mostly related to the development of adverse events (e.g. opportunistic infections, autoimmune disorders and infusion reactions). Major concerns are related to the reactivation of latent tuberculosis and development of malignancy, even if there is no clear evidence the use of IFX increases the incidence of solid cancers. The research published on issue 39 of World Journal of Gastroenterology and led by Renato Caviglia at University Campus Biomedico in Italy aimed to retrospectively evaluate the safety and efficacy of long-term therapy with IFX, reviewing the medical charts of 41 IBD patients who received, after a loading dose of 3 IFX infusions, scheduled retreatment every 8 weeks as maintenance protocol. 

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