Ulcerative colitis is a common inflammatory disease of the colon characterized by inflammation and ulceration of the large bowel and rectum. The condition impairs the ability of the large bowel to absorb water which results in diarrhea, the main symptom of the condition.
Ulcerative colitis is a relapsing and remitting condition, meaning symptoms can die down for long periods but then flare-up from time to time. These flare-ups can be sudden and severe. During a period of relapse, symptoms may include bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain and a sudden urge to defecate. Other symptoms include wind, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever and fatigue.
Currently, there is no cure for the condition apart from surgery. However, certain treatments such as corticosteroids or immunosuppressants may be used to ease symptoms by reducing inflammation. Surgery for severe ulcerative colitis that does not respond to treatment involves completely removing the large bowel and re-routing the small bowel so that waste can still be expelled. This procedure is called a colectomy.
In the UK, the incidence of ulcerative colitis is around 1 in 500 and the condition is equally common among males and females. Symptoms can develop at any age, but onset usually occurs between 15 and 30 years of age.
Salmonella, a leading source of food poisoning, can enter the gut even in the presence of beneficial bacteria, according to a recent study from the University of California Davis Health.
A group of scientists from Charité – Universitätsmedizin and the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology of the Max Delbrück Center have provided fresh insight into the pathophysiology of ulcerative colitis an inflammatory bowel disease that affects an estimated five million people globally and is associated with a higher risk of colon cancer.
Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections often occur in patients with chronic inflammatory intestinal conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, and in patients who have taken antibiotics for a long time. Gram-negative bacteria such as Enterobacteriaceae are a common cause of these infections and have few treatment options. Fecal microbiota transplants have shown promise to curb some of these infections, but their composition varies between batches and they aren't always successful.
Microbiotica, a biopharma company developing a pipeline of oral precision microbiome medicines called live biotherapeutic products (LBPs), is pleased to announce that it has received regulatory approvals to initiate clinical studies for its first two programmes in advanced melanoma (MELODY-1) and ulcerative colitis (COMPOSER-1) in selected EU countries and the UK. Both studies are due to start shortly, with initial data readouts expected by the end of 2025.
A study reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows how the presence of a specific protein called IL-22BP affects the composition of the gut microbiota and the body's response to bacterial infection.
Researchers at the University of Toronto have found naturally occurring compounds in the gut that can be harnessed to reduce inflammation and other symptoms of digestive issues.
As detailed in a recent study, two fungi employed in food production exhibit promising probiotic properties that could help alleviate gut inflammation. This research sheds light on a potential avenue for creating novel probiotics.
A study of the genetic variation that makes mice more susceptible to bowel inflammation after a high-fat diet has identified candidate genes which may drive inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in humans.
Conditions like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which cause inflammation in the body, can be identified or tracked by measuring a protein called calprotectin.
A diverse community of several bacterial species that are crucial to human health constitute the gut microbiome. Changes in the gut microbiota have been linked to a range of diseases recently, most notably colorectal cancer (CRC), according to researchers across a variety of domains.
Fresh insights into how our bodies interact with the microbes living in our guts suggest that a two-drug combination may offer a new way to treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
The severity of immune-mediated intestinal diseases like graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) or inflammatory bowel disease is known to be associated with changes in the gut microbiome, but what causes such disruption in the microbial community is unknown.
Most cells have a pretty normal life: they're born, they grow, they get old, and they die. But the Benjamin Buttons of the cellular world can go from old to young again in the right context.
Long-term consumption of Allura Red food dye can be a potential trigger of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, says McMaster University's Waliul Khan.
There is still a large unmet medical need for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, despite recent improvements in the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of ulcerative colitis.
On July 25th, 2022, a new study perspective called “SLFN11’s surveillance role in protein homeostasis” was published in Volume 9 of Oncoscience.
A team of researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet studied how specific immune cells known as innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), which play a role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), evolve into mature cells.
Research in recent years has demonstrated the diverse roles that gut bacteria can play in health and disease, but what about contributions from viruses, which, like bacteria, perpetually reside within the human intestine?
Bile acids made by the liver have long been known for their critical role in helping to absorb the food we ingest.
Around 500,000 people in the UK live with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a life-long, chronic condition characterized by sporadic bouts of gut inflammation causing debilitating symptoms.
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