Gastroenterology

Researchers from The University of Osaka have found that a specific signaling pathway, the integrin αV–YAP–CTGF axis in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, may be associated with the development of liver fibrosis, portal hypertension, and liver cancer in patients with chronic liver congestion. These findings have important implications for the development of therapies aimed at preventing more severe forms of liver disease.

In a study published in Gastroenterology – Researchers at Osaka City University and The Institute for Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, in collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, report the intestinal bacterial and viral metagenome information from the fecal samples of patients with recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI). This comprehensive analysis reveals the bacteria and phages involved in pathogenesis in rCDI, and their remarkable pathways important for the recovery of intestinal flora function.

Testing for a gene expression pattern could reduce the number of colorectal cancer patients referred for unnecessary radical surgery.

Professor Ronald Ching Wan MA, Professor and Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, and Professor Siew Chien NG, Professor of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics and Associate Director of the Centre for Gut Microbiota Research under the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), have received Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowships 2020 in recognition of their excellent achievements in scientific research in medicine and the support that gives to the next generation of clinician scientists.

Four top research academics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) were presented with prestigious awards from the Croucher Foundation. Professor Jianfang Wang, Professor, Department of Physics received the Croucher Senior Research Fellowship 2020. Two scholars from the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of the Faculty of Medicine, Professor Ronald Ching Wan Ma, Professor and Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, and Professor Siew Chien Ng, Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Associate Director of the Centre for Gut Microbiota Research were awarded the Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowships 2020. Professor Renjie Zhou, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering was awarded the Croucher Innovation Award 2019.

Nine professors of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have earned the honour of being named in the list of “Highly Cited Researchers 2019” as among the world’s top researchers who have demonstrated significant and broad influence reflected in their publication of multiple papers, highly cited by fellow academics.

A new treatment approach that involves blocking a protein has, for the first time, shown promising results in the treatment of fatty liver disease, in a landmark translational research collaboration between Duke-NUS Medical School, National Heart Centre Singapore and biotech company Enleofen Bio

Researchers from University of Malaya discover that herbal supplement (milk thistle) may be useful for improving liver damage in patients with fatty liver disease.

Malaysians should undergo screening for Colon Cancer once they reach the age of 40, says Gastroenterologist specialist Assoc Prof Dr. Raja Affendi Raja Ali of the Tuanku Muhriz Chancellor Hospital (HCTM).

The National University of Malaysia’(UKM)s Faculty of Medicine and Japan's Shiga University of Medical Science (SUMS) are to have closer cooperation on medical research in the near future.

(Kanazawa, Japan, 8 May 2014) Levels of interferon-stimulated genes in the liver and blood could help predict if a patient with hepatitis C will respond to conventional therapy, researchers at Kanazawa University suggest.

Summary of newsworthy article: Increased risk of gastoresophageal reflux disease (GERD) after 9/11

The results show that tropical pancreatitis may represent one end of the wide spectrum of chronic pancreatitis in the tropics, with alcoholic pancreatitis representing the other extreme.

The Indian Journal of Gastroenterology publishes original scientific studies, state-of -the-art special articles, reports and papers commenting on the clinical, scientific and public health factors affecting aspects of gastroenterology.

Based on screening data, 140 children from Avon would be expected to have coeliac disease. However, only 12 of these children have been diagnosed with coeliac disease. This suggests that 90% of children with possible coeliac disease may be being missed.

Endoscopic nodular antritis in children is described to have a high correlation with Helicobater pylori infection. The study was carried out to investigate the accuracy of using antral nodularity as a marker for H. pylori infection in children.

It is perceived that with the continued Westernization of the Japanese diet, colon cancer will become more prevalent and more important for screening in Japan.