Gastroenterology

Proton pump inhibitors (PPI), the drugs commonly prescribed to combat indigestion and heartburn troubles, actually increase the risk of osteoporosis - the “brittle bone” disease - if taken regularly, a new Canadian study warns.

Researchers at Houston’s University of Texas Health Science Center have come across a new compound that could provide the breakthrough for cheap and easy diarrhea treatment. The compound has been identified as a derivative of pyridopyrimidine and works on enterotoxigenic bacteria strains like E. coli.

Washington Researchers have found a gene variant that raises a child’s risk of Crohn’s disease, which is a chronic and painful condition attributed to inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

The study has reinforced earlier results of a German study that identified the same gene variant associated with the adult form of the disease.

Crohn’s disease is a chronic and painful condition attributed to inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

Dresden -- Accidents involving bicycles or scooters often lead to infection of the pancreasdefine in children, according to a study published in the German medical journal Aerzte Zeitung.

The study was carried out by the University of Dresden and found that two-thirds of all cases of an abdomendefine trauma result in infection of the pancreas in children.

New Delhi -- Hepatitis is proving to be a silent killer worldwide and it is imperative to make people aware of the symptoms of the disease and the precautions that need to be taken, say medical experts.

Now in its third year, World Hepatitis Awareness Day, which is observed Oct 1, aims to increase awareness about hepatitis B and C. The theme for this year is "Get Tested".

"Hepatitis C is a silent disease. Most of the people are unaware that they have hepatitis C. Only a blood test can detect the virus," says S. Broor, senior gastroenterologist at the Apollo Hospital here.

Two Singaporean doctors from Parkway Group Healthcare Singapore recently held discussions in a public lecture on healthcare.

Dr Ng Tay Ming presented a gastroenterology lecture on "Advance in Endoscopy" while Dr Chris Chong presented a gynaecology talk on "Incontinence and Common Women Problems".

Physicians have for millennia dreamed of having a magic wand that could be passed over patients' bodies to discover what, if anything, is wrong with them. Witch doctors, sorcerers, "energy healers" and others with unproven powers have made such claims. The advent of computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging has brought the goal of non-invasive diagnostics closer, but even these expensive technologies won't pick up every abnormality, and can't be used for routine screening.