Tea leftovers are often tossed aside, but they're packed with dietary fibre. Most of this fibre is insoluble, but soluble fibre is known to be better for health. A recent study used a specific fungus, Eurotium cristatum, to turn tea leftovers into soluble dietary fibre. The results were impressive. The fermented fibre had a higher yield and a looser structure, which ...
The search for a reliable way to predict the onset of ulcerative colitis (UC) has been a challenge. Scientists have been exploring the use of serum autoantibodies as potential indicators. These are proteins that the body's immune system produces in response to its own tissues. The idea is that certain autoantibodies might signal the development of UC before symptoms ...
Etrasimod is a medication designed to treat moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. It is taken once a day by mouth and works by targeting specific receptors in the body. The effectiveness and safety of this drug can vary depending on the patient's age. This is important because ulcerative colitis can affect people of all ages, from children to the elderly. Ulcerativ...
Mold is a common household issue, but for one teenager, it sparked a two-year health nightmare. At 14, Ava was hit with a series of health problems that left doctors baffled. It all started with Covid in 2020, but her symptoms didn't stop there. She was soon diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a rare autoimmune condition. Her hair started falling out, and she became s...
Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is a tricky condition to treat. Doctors often use anti-TNF drugs to help patients. But why do some people respond well, while others don't? Recent research points to a surprising culprit: mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses inside our cells. Scientists have been digging into this idea. They looked at genes in colon samples to see if mitoch...
Scientists are exploring a unique way to diagnose ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease. They're studying an antibody called anti-integrin αvβ6. Imagine you're playing with magnets. This antibody acts like a special kind of magnet that sticks only to certain cells. When too many of these cells are present, it indicates inflammation in the gut, spec...
Ever wondered why some people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) feel less abdominal pain? Scientists have been puzzling over this for a while now. It turns out that a specific gene variation might play a key role. This gene is linked to Na v 1. 8, a protein that helps detect pain signals in our body. A study looked into whether this gene variation affects both ty...
Managing ulcerative colitis (UC) often involves using a drug called infliximab (IFX). But should doctors track the drug's levels in the body (a process known as therapeutic drug monitoring, or TDM) to improve outcomes? The answer isn't clear-cut; TDM might provide better results, but is it cost-effective? Let's take a deep dive into this question. First, what is TDM...
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a tenacious disease that targets the rectum and colon. But here's a surprising fact: the rectal environment plays a crucial role in triggering relapses. So, why is this the case? Researchers dived into this question in a two-step study. They compared gene activities in the rectum and colon and hunted for sneaky factors causing relapses. Sur...
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a tough-to-treat gut disorder. Enter Gegen Qinlian Decoction (GQD), an oldie-but-goodie Chinese medicine mix. It's been shown to help, but how? Scientists combined metabolomics and network pharmacology to find out. First, they spotted metabolites that changed in mice with UC, then traced the metabolic paths. Next, they built a protein netw...