Daily Archives: January 18, 2018

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) who have experienced failure of TNF antagonist (aTNF) therapy are a difficult-to-treat population with a notable unmet medical need. Centrally read endoscopy demonstrates reduced placebo remission rates as low as 0… Continue reading →

The AGA, RMEI (CME company), and RealCME (technology company), designed and implemented a phased CME continuum in IBD, directed at 17,000 AGA members and a national sample of GI clinicians. The design was driven by the recognition of shortcomings in pr… Continue reading →

TGF-β1 is a central pro-fibrotic cytokine in stricturing Crohn’s disease. Its affects are normally inhibited by increased Smad7 expression. We have shown that Smad7 is silenced in stricturing Crohn’s disease by TGF-β1 activated, Smad3-dependent e… Continue reading →

The clinical effectiveness of vedolizumab (VDZ), a gut-selective anti-integrin antibody used to treat patients with moderately-to-severely active IBD, was compared with that of the tumor necrosis factor antagonist infliximab (IFX). Continue reading →

Epicertin (EPT) is a new ulcerative colitis (UC) drug candidate derived from the nontoxic component of Vibrio cholerae cholera toxin. We have recently shown that oral administration of EPT in mice induces mucosal healing in the colon mediated by transf… Continue reading →

IBD patients (pts) are at increased risk of vaccination-preventable infections. It is not clear whether the gastroenterologists (GI) or primary care providers (PP) assume responsibility for vaccination. We anonymously surveyed 94 internists (IM) & 50 GI who are affiliates or trainees of St. Louis University, using electronic or paper self-administered instruments. 50 GI & 87 IM responded. GI & IM were similar in indicating that PP (64 vs 74%) or GIs (34 vs 23%) should order vaccines & in being comfortable providing activated (58 vs 56%) or inactivated vaccines (92 vs 84%). Continue reading →

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is intrinsic to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and controls essential gut functions such as motility, blood flow and secretions. Injury to the ENS contributes to the pathophysiology of common GI disorders including irr… Continue reading →

Immuno-checkpoint inhibitor induced colitis (ICI-C) is a serious adverse event (AE) and can persist months after stopping the triggering ICI. Clinical symptoms resolution does not always correlate with endoscopic/histological findings. We report a case… Continue reading →

Previous work has established that extracellular adenosine signaling is protective in mucosal inflammation and promotes the resolution of ongoing inflammation. The sources of extracellular adenosine include enzymatic processing from nucleotides, such a… Continue reading →

The role of vitamin D in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) expression is uncertain. However, there has been speculation that vitamin D deficiency can influence exacerbations. This study evaluated vitamin D levels and IBD exacerbations in patients at a u… Continue reading →