Top stories in June: Chronic constipation, ILC, DDW
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Healio Gastroenterology presents the following report on the top peer-tested stories in June.
These stories include reports on chronic constipation management, inflammatory bowel disease treatment and research presented at the International Liver Conference as well as Digestive Disease Week.
Kiwi fruit effectively relieves symptoms in chronic constipation
Patients with chronic constipation who received kiwi fruit, prunes and psyllium reported relief in symptoms, according to a study published in American Journal of Gastroenterology.
“Patients are increasingly seeking evidence-based natural treatments for many medical conditions, including [chronic constipation (CC)],” Samuel W. Chey, MPH, from the University of Michigan and colleagues wrote. “Many patients believe that natural products are safer and less costly than prescription medications. Along these lines, so called ‘functional foods’ are growing in popularity. This study confirms the benefits of prunes and psyllium and offer the first U.S. data for green kiwifruit as a safe, effective and well-tolerated treatment for a subset of patients with CC.” READ MORE.
Combination therapy commonly used with Entyvio, Stelara
Entyvio and Stelara were commonly used in combination therapy for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, according to research at Digestive Disease Week.
“When used with an immunomodulator (ie, azathioprine, methotrexate), anti-TNFs are associated with lower rates of anti-drug antibodies and increased rates of clinical remission but also with increased rates of infections,” Megan Lutz, MD, fellow at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, told Healio Gastroenterology. “[Entyvio (vedolizumab, Takeda)] and [Stelara (ustekinumab, Janssen)] are newer biologic therapies that do not seem to carry the same risk for infection as anti-TNFs or immunomodulators. A growing body of evidence also suggests that these newer biologics have lower rates of immunogenicity and are not necessarily more effective when used with an immunomodulator. Further prospective data are needed to determine efficacy and minimize risk for patients initiating combination therapy with vedolizumab or ustekinumab for IBD.” READ MORE.
Low-carb high-fat, intermittent fasting diets reduce more hepatic steatosis in NAFLD
Researchers saw higher reduction in steatosis and body weight with the low-carb high-fat and 5:2 diets compared with the standard of care in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to a presentation at the International Liver Congress.
“5:2 and [low-carb high-fat (LCHF)] diets were equally effective for short-term reduction of liver steatosis, body weight and measured insulin resistance in NAFLD,” Magnus Holmer, MD, from the department of medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, said during his presentation. “From the strong correlation between reduction of liver steatosis and body weight, we conclude that weight reduction itself and not the composition of macronutrients that is crucial for successful diet treatment in NAFLD.” READ MORE.
Monthly average in hospital admission for alcoholic hepatitis increases 9% post COVID-19
Although pre- and post-COVID-19 monthly admission rates were stable for non-alcoholic and alcoholic cirrhosis; alcoholic hepatitis admissions increased, according to a presentation at the International Liver Congress.
“Our results actually show that an increase in alcohol sales post pandemic will impact significantly the natural history of alcohol liver disease in Canada and probably most of the Western world,” Abdel-Aziz Shaheen, MD, from the Cumming School of Medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology division, department of medicine University of Calgary, in Canada, said during his presentation. READ MORE.
Younger age at screening links to lower CRC incidence
Endoscopy in patients aged younger than 50 years decreased the incidence of colorectal cancer, according to study estimates reported at Digestive Disease Week.
“In contrast to an overall decline in CRC incidence in the U.S., there has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of CRC among younger adults. ... Recently, the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated recommendations to initiate CRC screening at age 45 years, primarily based on modeling studies accounting for the growing CRC incidence among younger adults,” Wenjie Ma, D.Sc., clinical and translational epidemiology unit and division of gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues wrote. “However, to date, there is little empirical evidence evaluating the potential benefits of screening in younger populations.” READ MORE.
Q&A: Trulance improves quality of life in chronic constipation, IBS-C
Researchers observed clinically and statistically meaningful improvements with Trulance in patients with chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation with reduced quality of life.
The results were presented at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners National Conference. READ MORE.
SARS-CoV-2 impacts brain-gut axis long-term
SARS-CoV-2 may have a lasting impact on the brain-gut axis, according to a presentation at Digestive Disease Week.
“It is known that bacterial, protozoa and viral infections of the GI tract represent a risk factor for the development of functional GI disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia, as well as chronic fatigue and other extra-intestinal symptoms like somatoform disorders,” Daniele Noviello, MD, University of Milan, said. “In February 2020, a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak occurred in Italy with extreme severity in Milan; this provided us a unique opportunity to assess the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2, a previously unknown viral infection, on the burden of both GI and extra-intestinal symptoms.” READ MORE.
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