Digestive Disorders News & Features

Traveler's diarrhea is the most common travel-related illness, the FDA says, affecting up to 40% of travelers worldwide annually.

In a recent study, every person out of the group of 8 had small bits of plastics in their stool, researchers said. More than 95 percent of the particles came from plastics used in food packaging and storage.

A Stanford University study of 30 patients with bloodstream infections showed that the infections mostly started in patients' own bodies -- often in the large intestine.

Because of the decreasing diversity of microscopic organisms that live on human bodies, scientists say we need to capture and preserve many germs that exist around the world, a “Noah's Ark" of beneficial human microbes.

Most appendicitis cases are uncomplicated, which means the organ hasn't ruptured, so they can be treated with antibiotics. Only when the appendix looks like it may burst immediately is an operation necessary, according to a new study.

According to new research involving nearly 5,000 people with chronic kidney disease, a hike in daily caffeine intake appeared to lower their odds of an early death.

The Israeli researchers found that some people's digestive systems held on to the probiotics given in a supplement. But in others, the body expelled the good bacteria.

Researchers have found strong evidence that if a kidney transplant doesn’t work, it may be due to the “wear and tear” on the organ before it’s donated.

Eating crickets may help improve the natural bacteria in your gut (microbiome) and reduce inflammation in your body, according to a small new study at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

In most cases, persistent hiccups (two days or more) and intractable hiccups (a month or more) are associated with underlying medical conditions, two neurologists write in a new journal article.

Fecal transplants are one of the hottest areas of new medical research, as scientists have come to understand the role the microbiome -- the billions of bacteria that live in and on the body -- plays in health.

A growing number of Americans are dying from liver disease and liver cancer.The increase among 25- to 34-year-olds is especially troubling because the deaths are due to cirrhosis, a disease caused by excessive drinking, the authors of a new study said. The researchers suspect the economic downturn in 2008 prompted people to comfort themselves with alcohol.

Jury Still Out on Probiotics By Dennis ThompsonHealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, July 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Probiotics have become a trendy dietary supplement, with more and more people popping bacteria-laden capsules to try to improve their gut health.But these supplements could harm some patients, and researchers have done a poor job tracking their safety, a new review argues.Reporting of side effects is often "missing, insufficient or inadequate" in clinical trials aimed at assessing the value of probiotics, according to findings published July 16 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.In fact, one-third of probiotics studies provided no information

Hidden Blood in Feces May Signal More Than Cancer By Steven ReinbergHealthDay Reporter MONDAY, July 16, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Even if it's not visible to the naked eye, blood in the stool can be serious -- a sign of a potentially fatal disease other than colon cancer, new research suggests.This could include circulatory, respiratory, digestive, blood, hormonal or neuropsychological diseases, the Scottish scientists said.A test that picks up unseen blood in feces, called a fecal occult blood test, is commonly used to screen for colon cancer. However, positive test results may also point to other serious

The study drew on data from a major national heart disease study. Participants filled out food questionnaires that included a question on coffee intake, and their medical records were followed over 26 years.

Fecal microbiota transplant involves transplanting purified fecal matter from a healthy donor, to help establish colonies of healthy bacteria in the guts of sick patients.

As of mid-2017, the scientists had analyzed data from thousands of samples provided anonymously by people from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and 42 other countries or territories.

The study showed those who received both organs or just a liver had fewer immune cells that respond to foreign invaders than those who only received a new kidney.

The researchers also found that changes in protein and carbohydrate levels in the diet had similar effects on the gut microbiomes of dogs as on humans.

The researchers also looked at how meats were cooked. They found that cooking meat at high temperatures for a long time -- such as grilling, broiling or frying -- was associated with about double the risk of insulin resistance.

The living kidney donation rate among men dropped by 25 percent between 2005 and 2015, but remained stable among women, the researchers found.

Korean health officials announced the virus had infected dozens more as well.

Because opioid abusers are using the drug in greater numbers, the FDA is requesting that makers "change the way they label and package these drugs, to stem abuse and misuse," Gottlieb said.

More than 19,000 kidney donations were performed in the United States in 2016, the latest figures available, according to U.S. Government Information on Organ Donation and Transplantation. About 1 in 5 donations of all organs is from a living donor.

Consumer Reports also found that some gluten-free foods have more fat, sugar and/or salt than their regular counterparts, and are short on nutrients like iron and folic acid -- found in foods with enriched-wheat flour.