The HCPLive Gastroenterology condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on digestive and GI conditions. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for C difficile, IBS and IBD, Crohn's disease, and more.
May 10th 2024
A Veterans Affairs study finds low alpha-1 antitrypsin phenotyping rates, indicating the need for improved healthcare provider education on AATD.
Medical Specialists Mount International Effort to Restore Critical Epilepsy Services in Haiti
The international community of epilepsy specialists is providing financial support and specialized medical equipment contributed by its manufacturer to help re-establish services to epilepsy patients in Haiti halted by the devastating earthquake.
Medical Marijuana: Smoke & Mirrors?
February 2nd 2010When our home state of New Jersey became the 14th state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana, OBTN decided to take a closer look at the herbal remedy. With help from oncologists on our advisory board, we sought to filter through the smoke and examine the realities of medical marijuana.
New Ways to Use Social Networking Sites
USA Today has published an interesting opinion piece by Kevin Pho, MD, encouraging physicians to embrace social networking tools as a way to interact with patients. For me, the comments on the article were as interesting as the article itself.
Apple's iPad an Impressive Product in Need of Tweaking for Healthcare Success
January 28th 2010Apple's iPad is sleek, innovative, and should change the landscape of the tablet computer market going forward. But for all the things they got right, Apple has a few things to learn if it wants to become the the healthcare industry's tablet leader.
Politics = Inertia (Let the patient be damned!)
There's a concept in healthcare insurance where all risks in a community of interest, a market, are pooled - community rating; and then there's experience rating where the healthy are advantaged in more ways then one and the sick are marginalized, paying disproportionately more into the pool just to have a seat at the table.
Endovascular Repair of Splenic Artery Aneurysm
January 25th 2010Splenic artery aneurysm is the most common form of visceral artery aneurysm. Most present asymptomatically with incidental findings on CT or ultrasound which are diagnostic, although about 20% present with vague left upper quadrant abdominal pain. Treatment should be aimed at preserving splenic function whenever possible and endovascular treatments offer a less invasive option to patients than open surgical ligation or resection.
Monoclonal Antibodies may Be New Treatment for C. Difficile Infection
January 22nd 2010A recently completed clinical trial has demonstrated that a combination of two fully human monoclonal antibodies, when administered with standard antibiotics, significantly reduced the recurrence of C difficile-related diarrhea.