Article • Endoculus
Robotic ‘mini-tank’ to enhance colonoscopy techniques
A miniature colonoscopy robot on tank-like treads, which carries a camera and uses other small surgical tools, could have clear benefits for both patients and endoscopists.
Gastrointestinal tract
News • Tissue regeneration
Repairing intestinal damage with 3D cell transplants
Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) develop a protocol to transplant 3D cellular structures that could regenerate damaged intestine.
News • Colorectal cancer study
Covid-19 pandemic slashes CRC diagnoses by over 40%
The number of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases diagnosed fell dramatically by 40% in a year during the Covid-19 pandemic, new research presented at United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week Virtual 2021 has shown. The research, which was conducted across multiple hospitals in Spain, compared data from the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic with data from the previous year. Of 1,385 cases of CRC…
News • Altered bacterial function
Accumulation of drugs in the gut may reduce their effectiveness
Common medications can accumulate in gut bacteria, a new study has found, altering bacterial function and potentially reducing the medications’ effectiveness. These interactions - seen for many drugs including those used to treat depression, diabetes, and asthma - could help researchers to better understand how drug effectiveness and side-effects differ between individuals. The study is…
News • Anatomy research
Why the appendix might not be so useless after all
Long considered an unnecessary organ, the appendix is now the focus of several studies that aim to better understand its role. Present in many mammals, including humans, it appears to have developed at least 16 times over the course of the evolutionary history of mammals, suggesting that its function must confer a positive selective advantage on those that have it. A new study carried out by…
News • CADU vs cancer
Detecting oesophageal cancer with AI
Experts at University College London (UCL) and spinout company Odin Vision working with clinicians at UCLH have used artificial intelligence (AI) to help detect early signs of oesophageal cancer. The first procedure in the world using the AI technology was performed at University College Hospital by UCLH consultant gastroenterologist Dr Rehan Haidry. The system, called CADU, uses AI to support…
News • Kirigami
Stents can deliver drugs to the GI tract
Inspired by kirigami, the Japanese art of folding and cutting paper to create three-dimensional structures, MIT engineers and their collaborators have designed a new type of stent that could be used to deliver drugs to the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, or other tubular organs in the body.
News • More targeted treatment
AI could improve outcomes for bowel cancer patients
A test which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to measure proteins present in some patients with advanced bowel cancer could hold the key to more targeted treatment, according to new research. A team at the University of Leeds collaborated with researchers at Roche Diagnostics to develop the technique, which will help doctors and patients to decide on the best treatment options.
News • Esophagitis
Lung cancer: Tailoring radiation therapy to reduce complications
For many patients with localized lung cancer (non-small-cell lung carcinoma and small cell lung carcinoma), high-dose radiation with concurrent chemotherapy is a potential cure. Yet this treatment can cause severe, acute inflammation of the esophagus (esophagitis) in about one in five patients, requiring hospitalization and placement of a feeding tube. A team of radiation oncologists at Mass…
News • Stopping the spread
Research sheds new light on pancreatic cancer metastasis
With an overall survival rate of 9% for those diagnosed, pancreatic cancer remains exceedingly difficult to treat. However, the patient's primary tumor typically isn't what leads to death - it is the cancer's ability to evade detection and metastasize to other organs. A team of researchers at the College of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma has published a new study in the journal…
'GI Genius'
FDA authorizes marketing of first AI device to help colon cancer early detection
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized marketing of the GI Genius, the first device that uses artificial intelligence (AI) based on machine learning to assist clinicians in detecting lesions (such as polyps or suspected tumors) in the colon in real time during a colonoscopy. “Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform health care to better assist health care providers and…
News • Biochemistry
Potential trigger of Crohn’s disease found
Potentially game-changing research led by McMaster University scientists may finally bring relief to millions of people worldwide living with Crohn’s disease. Investigator Brian Coombes said his team identified a strain of adherent-invasive E-coli (AIEC) that is strongly implicated in the condition and is often found in the intestines of people with Crohn’s disease. “If you examine the gut…
News • Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
A new approach for treating bile duct cancer
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) develops within the liver. With one to two cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany, ICC is one of the rare diseases overall, but it is the second most common liver cancer. The aggressive bile duct tumour remains clinically inconspicuous for a long time, so that it is often only detected late. Because the tumour also only responds to chemotherapy to a limited…
News • Gastroenterology
Capsule cameras to test for cancer and diseases
Miniature cameras which patients can swallow to get checked for cancer are being trialled across the NHS. The imaging technology, in a capsule no bigger than a pill, can provide a diagnosis within hours. Known as a colon capsule endoscopy, the cameras are the latest NHS innovation to help patients access cancer checks at home. Traditional endoscopies mean patients need to attend hospital and have…
News • Microbiome research
'Organs-on-a-chip' system sheds light on interactions between gut and brain
In many ways, our brain and our digestive tract are deeply connected. Feeling nervous may lead to physical pain in the stomach, while hunger signals from the gut make us feel irritable. Recent studies have even suggested that the bacteria living in our gut can influence some neurological diseases. Modeling these complex interactions in animals such as mice is difficult to do, because their…
News • Genome study reveals
Blood group affects composition of intestinal microbiome
For several years, scientists worldwide have been investigating the extent to which microorganisms living in and on the human body influence central life processes and thus health and disease. Today they assume that there is a connection between the totality of the microbial colonization in the human body, called the microbiome, and the development of diseases. Chronic inflammatory bowel disease…
News • RNA editing
New mechanism of cancer formation discovered
A team of scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) led by Dr Polly Leilei Chen from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine has discovered a previously unknown mechanism of cancer formation, the understanding of which may lead to more effective treatment. Their findings concern a process called RNA editing. The DNA code of a gene gets…
News • Eating disorders and the microbiome
Causes for anorexia: not just in the head (but also in the gut)
Anorexia is a debilitating eating disorder, and was long thought to be purely psychological. New research is challenging this by revealing that gut microbes may have a significant role in anorexia. A recent review examines the evidence that gut microbes can contribute to anorexia and may provide a new method to treat it.
News • Influence of gut bacteria
How our gut microbiome affects Covid-19 severity
The variety and volume of bacteria in the gut, known as the microbiome, may influence the severity of Covid-19 as well as the magnitude of the immune system response to the infection, suggests research published online in the journal Gut. Imbalances in the make-up of the microbiome may also be implicated in persisting inflammatory symptoms, dubbed ‘long Covid’, the findings suggest. Covid-19…
News • Toxins in the gut
Connecting our microbiome to breast cancer development
A microbe found in the colon and commonly associated with the development of colitis and colon cancer also may play a role in the development of some breast cancers, according to new research from investigators with the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. Breast tissue cells exposed to this toxin retain a long-term memory, increasing the…
Sponsored • AI assistance for colonoscopy
Ensuring Patient Safety in Endoscopy
Patient safety in endoscopy must be approached from a holistic perspective, through solutions which increase detection rates of abnormalities, increase confidence in the safety of the reprocessing outcome, and control the risk of infection and cross-contamination. With these important benefits in mind, manufacturers should be continuously working to innovate products to establish solutions that…
News • Computer-aided detection
Olympus launches AI-powered endoscopy platform
Olympus Corporation announced the launch of Endo-Aid, a platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that includes the endoscopy application Endo-Aid CADe (computer-aided detection) for the colon. This new AI platform enables real-time display of automatically detected suspicious lesions and works in combination with Olympus’ recently introduced EVIS X1, its most advanced endoscopy system…
News • Helpful housemates
Our gut microbiome could unlock the secret to healthy ageing
Bacteria and other microorganisms in the digestive tract are linked with dozens of health conditions including high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and body mass index (BMI) according to research presented at ESC Congress 2020. “Our study indicates that microbiota might have an important role in maintaining health and could help us develop novel treatments,” said study author Dr. Hilde…
News • New tool discovered
Gut microbiome: Crohn’s disease bacteria grown in the lab
Several thousand strains of bacteria live in the human gut. Some of these are associated with disease, while others have beneficial effects on human health. Figuring out the precise role of each of these bacteria can be difficult, because many of them can’t be grown in lab studies using human tissue. This difficulty is especially pronounced for species that cannot live in oxygen-rich…
News • Cytosponge research
‘Pill on a string’ test could transform oesophageal cancer diagnosis
A ‘pill on a string’ test can identify ten times more people with Barrett’s oesophagus than the usual GP route, a new study shows. The test, which can be carried out by a nurse in a GP surgery, is also better at picking up abnormal cells and potentially early-stage cancer. Barrett’s oesophagus is a condition that can lead to oesophageal cancer in a small number of people. It’s usually…