News Related to Digestive Disorders
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Tainted Tap Water Sickens 1.1 Million Each Year
Sept. 14, 2012 – The pipes that ferry drinking water from public wells to home taps may let in viruses that cause more than a million cases of stomach illness every year, two new studies show. “This is a really big deal,” says Jeffrey Griffiths, MD, MPH&TM, a professor at Tufts University and chair
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New IBS Drug Linzess Approved
Aug. 30, 2012 -- The FDA today approved Linzess, a new kind of drug that relieves constipation and pain for some adults with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In drug trials, people with IBS with constipation (a subtype of IBS called IBS-C) had more frequent and better bowel movements and less abdomin
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Do You Need a Gluten-Free Diet? Probably Not
Aug. 1, 2012 -- For a lot of people, gluten-free diets are more trend than treatment, a new study shows. The study estimates that 1.8 million Americans have celiac disease. Another 1.6 million are on gluten-free diets, the recommended treatment for celiac disease. Yet there's almost no overlap betwe
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Some Dietary Supplements Linked to Liver Damage
May 23, 2012 -- Bodybuilding and weight loss supplements may help you look better, but with some of these supplements there's an ugly tradeoff: a very real risk of liver damage. Using data from a national registry, researchers found that herbal and dietary supplements were implicated in 18% of liver
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The Laxative-Free 'Virtual Colonoscopy'
May 14, 2012-- For many people, preparing for a colonoscopy is sometimes more daunting than the procedure itself. You typically stop eating solid food for at least a day, and then drink what seems like gallons of liquid to clean out your bowel. You need to stay close to a bathroom, because you will
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Probiotics Reduce Antibiotic Diarrhea
May 8, 2012 -- Diarrhea is a common side effect of antibiotic use, occurring in almost 1 in 3 people who take the drugs. But new research suggests that probiotics may help lower the risk of that unwanted side effect. By affecting good bacteria, as well as bad, antibiotics can disrupt the delicate mi
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Deaths From Stomach Bugs Have Risen Since 1999
March 16, 2012 -- The number of Americans who died from gastroenteritis, most commonly caused by stomach bugs, more than doubled between 1999 and 2007, a new study from the CDC shows. Researchers found that people aged 65 and older were the hardest hit: They accounted for 83% of all deaths from gast
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Norovirus Causes Most Hospital Infection Outbreaks
Feb. 2, 2012 -- Norovirus is the leading cause of infection outbreaks in hospitals throughout the country, a new study reveals. The virus, which causes a "stomach flu" known as gastroenteritis, was the culprit in some 18% of all outbreaks in U.S. hospitals during a two-year period. It also was respo
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Heartburn Drugs Linked to Hip Fractures in Women
Jan. 31, 2012 -- Postmenopausal women with a history of smoking who take heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for two years or longer may be more likely to sustain a hip fracture. And the longer women take PPIs, the greater their risk. That said, the risk does disappear after women
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Fiber May Not Prevent Diverticular Disease
Jan. 23, 2012 -- A new study challenges the long-held belief that a high-fiber diet prevents the formation of small pouches in the colon wall that can lead to diverticular disease. For decades, doctors have recommended high-fiber diets to patients at risk for developing the intestinal pouches, known
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