Top stories in gastroenterology: New association supports health care providers on social media, proton pump inhibitors not linked to long-term adverse events

Among the top stories in gastroenterology last week were a guest commentary where the chief medical social media officer at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia discussed goals and visions for the newly established Association for Healthcare Social Media and a study that found Protonix had an extremely positive safety profile through 3 years of use.

Other highlights included two studies presented at Digestive Disease Week that indicated adding thiopurines to Humira did not provide benefit in Crohn’s maintenance and that orally delivered fecal microbiota transplantation did not help reduce symptoms in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome regardless of whether they were pre-treated with antibiotics.

Another popular item of the week was a video focusing on stem cell therapy for inflammatory bowel disease.

New association ‘overdue’ to support health care providers on social media

In this guest commentary, Austin Chiang, MD, MPH, director of the endoscopic bariatric program and chief medical social media officer at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, discusses his latest role as President and founding member of the newly established Association for Healthcare Social Media. Chiang shares the ongoing vision for the organization in addition to the reason for its conception and goals. Read more.

‘Welcomed news’ of proton pump inhibitors 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. Read more.

Thiopurines offer no clear benefit over Humira monotherapy in Crohn’s maintenance

SAN DIEGO — Patients with Crohn’s disease who continued thiopurines in addition to scheduled Humira maintenance therapy experienced no clear benefit over those who received Humira alone, according to findings from the DIAMOND2 study presented at Digestive Disease Week. Read more.

Oral fecal microbiota transplantation with antibiotics does not improve symptoms of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome

SAN DIEGO — Orally delivered fecal microbiota transplantation did not help reduce symptoms in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome whether or not they were pre-treated with antibiotics, a speaker said. Read more.

VIDEO: Stem cell therapy for inflammatory bowel disease 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. Read more.