Researchers at Tel Aviv University, in Israel, focus on the positive in this small study. (more…)

Researchers in Winnipeg, Manitoba surveyed the prevalence of CAM use in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. (more…)

Researchers at Tel Aviv University, in Ramat Aviv, Israel, describe the effects of cannabis use in patients suffering from Crohn’s disease. (more…)

Diverticular disease occurs when pouches (diverticula) in the intestine become inflamed.

Researchers at University of Oxford, in the UK, examined the associations of a vegetarian diet and fiber intake with the risk of diverticular disease. (more…)

Prof. Ernst and colleagues report, “Several studies have reported that moxibustion is effective in ulcerative colitis.”

But, is that enough? (more…)

Are chiropractic treatments effective for gastrointestinal disorders?

Prof. Ernst has reviewed the evidence. (more…)

Getting more oleic acids from olive or peanut oils for instance, might lower the risk of this inflammatory disease of the colon and rectum by as much as 90%, reported researchers at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, during Digestive Disease Week. (more…)

Most of patients with moderate-to-severe disease are in a constant catabolic state resulting in poor weight gain and growth failure.

Researchers at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, in New York City studied whether an exclusion diet combined with nutraceutical therapy could induce sustained remission of disease with weight gain, and enhance the ability for growth hormone to reverse growth failure. (more…)

Maintenance therapy for Crohn’s disease includes immunosuppressive drugs, with an associated risk of infection.

Might omega-3 fatty acids be an alternative? (more…)

Researchers from the University of Otago Medical School in Dunedin, New Zealand summarize the state-of-the-art. (more…)

 That’s the conclusion from this Cochrane review. (more…)

Here’s what the Cochrane Review reports. (more…)

Researchers at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Australia report the emerging importance of rice — a food commonly thought to be “hypoallergenic” — as a significant trigger of food protein induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES). (more…)

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia have reviewed treatment options.

Intestinal bacteria play an important role in the disease process of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Here’s what they say about probiotics. (more…)

Omega-3 fatty acids, of course

There’s so much good stuff it’s hard to know where to start. (more…)

Earlier study results have been inconsistent. In this study, researchers from Nippon Medical School in Tokyo use higher doses to treat active Crohn’s disease (CD). (more…)

OK. Stay with me on this.

Kevin Tracey, MD is director and CEO of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York. A well-respected researcher, Dr. Tracey discovered that the brain controls the immune system via the vagus nerve. Now he’s investigating the role of a molecule called tumor necrosis factor (TNF) as part of the immune system’s weapons against foreign invaders. TNF can cause pain and redness to an injury or infection. In excessive amounts, it can also cause shock and death.

What’s this got to do with CAM?

(more…)

Radiation therapy can disturb bacterial colonies in the intestines and cause radiation-induced enteritis and colitis, leading to diarrhea in cancer patients.

In this study, researchers at the San Camillo Hospital in Rome, Italy used probiotics to reduce this complication. (more…)

Necrotizing enterocolitis is a serious intestinal disorder. It affects 7% to 15% of very low-birth-weight (less than 1500-gram; 3.3 pound) infants. Death occurs in about 12 per 100,000 affected babies.

A review published in The Lancet concludes, “Probiotics might reduce the risk.” Although important questions remain. (more…)

Complications of Crohn’s disease (CD) lead to surgery in 70% to 90% of patients, and most of them experience a relapse.

Synbiotic 2000 consists of a mixture of probiotics and prebiotics. The rationale for its use in this study was to alter the bacteria in the colon and hopefully lower the CD relapse rate after surgery. (more…)