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5 stories you may have missed in June
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Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease has compiled a list of some of the top stories we reported in June.
Our readers were most interested in stem cell therapy for IBD and results of study looking at the long-term safety of PPIs.
FDA clears EsoCheck device
The FDA has given 510(k) clearance to the EsoCheck Cell Collection Device, a non-invasive device that assists in the collection of cells to test for Barrett's esophagus, according to a press release from the manufacturer, Lucid Diagnostics.
Amitabh Chak, MD, of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, said the device allows for the collection of cells from the esophagus using a small inflatable encapsulated balloon attached to a small catheter. The device protects the sampled cells inside the capsule as it is withdrawn, helping to avoid contamination. READ MORE.
Viberzi controls gut symptoms in patients with IBS-D
Patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome who previously had an inadequate response to loperamide therapy were able to achieve symptom control with Viberzi, according to data presented at Digestive Disease Week.
“A significant percentage of individuals try or are prescribed over-the-counter loperamide,” Darren M. Brenner, MD, of Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, said in his presentation. “I think we’d concede or grant that loperamide will work for improving stool form or stool frequency, but it doesn’t do anything for the gut symptoms of IBS, the abdominal pain, discomfort, bloating and distention.” READ MORE.
VIDEO: Stem cell therapy for IBD safe, effective but faces costly limitations
In this exclusive video from the Cleveland Clinic IBD Master Class, Amy Lightner, MD, associate professor of colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, discusses her presentation on stem cell therapy for inflammatory bowel disease including perianal Crohn’s disease, other indications, and the limitations of cell-based therapy.
“What’s exciting about mesenchymal stem cell therapy is that there have now been a large number of clinical trials ... that show this therapy is safe and that it’s effective for Crohn’s patients,” Lightner told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease. READ MORE.
‘Welcomed news’ of PPIs long-term safety reported
In a large, placebo-controlled trial, researchers found that Protonix was not linked with any adverse event — other than a possible association with enteric infections — for at least 3 years, according to data published in Gastroenterology.
Paul Moayyedi, MBChB, PhD, of the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences in Canada hopes that the findings will help quell some fears about long-term use of proton pump inhibitors. READ MORE.
Oral vancomycin induces, maintains remission of UC in patients with UC-PSC
Oral vancomycin safely induced and maintained remission of ulcerative colitis among a subset of patients with ulcerative colitis and associated primary sclerosing cholangitis, including those who had undergone liver transplantation, according to a study presented at Digestive Disease Week.
“About half to three-quarters of patients with PSC have coexisting IBD, most of [whom] are actually patients with UC,” Alexander Dao, MD, second year resident in internal medicine at Georgetown University Hospital, said during his presentation. “The pathogenesis for both PSC and UC [is] thought to be related to an immune reaction to the gut microbiome. There are currently no consensus standard therapies for PSC at this time.” READ MORE.