There's something about digestive difficulties that makes them hard to discuss in polite company — which leaves many of us suffering one problem or another in silence. Yet fixes can be as simple as making informed lifestyle changes or taking over-the-counter remedies. WUSTL gastroenterology professor Themos Dassopoulos, codirector of inflammatory bowel diseases, comments.

References:

1. Dec. 1, 2008 — Bringing Bellyaching to an End in the U.S. News & World Report

Vaccines for people and for cattle are just two approaches under development to prevent or treat food poisoning by the strain E. coli O157:H7.
Right now, scientists can do little medically to fight the pathogen, which was responsible for two severe outbreaks last fall.
WUSTL pediatrics professor Phillip Tarr, a gastroenterology specialist, comments on the difficulty of treatment.

References:

1. May 1, 2007 — Scientists Look to Vaccines in the War on E. Coli in the The New York Times

and 1 others.

Federal health officials said Thursday that more explicit labeling was just one proposal under consideration for allowing fresh spinach back on the market. Others include stepped-up regulation of how spinach is grown and processed.
WUSTL pediatrics gastroenterology professor Phillip Tarr describes the illness and what people should do if they think they have the illness.

References:

1. Sept. 22, 2006 — Officials consider spinach labeling plan in the Associated Press

and 32 others.

The type of ulcer for which Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor has been diagnosed is likely caused by bacteria, not stress, according to doctors.
Normally, the gastrointestinal system protects itself against acid imbalance, but bacteria can cause an infection that interferes with acid regulation, said WUSTL gastroenterologist Matthew Ciorba.
It was long thought that stress or diet caused ulcers, but that's no longer the case.

References:

1. July 8, 2006 — Duodenal ulcers like mayor's likely due to bacteria, not stress in the Associated Press State & Local Wire

and 6 others.

Crohn's disease is marked by inflammation that can occur anywhere from the mouth to the anus and is characterized by bloody diarrhea, severe cramping and intestinal blockages - fistulas - that require doctors to surgically remove portions of the intestines. Reporting a year ago in the New England Journal of Medicine, Korzenik and co-theorist Dr. Brian Dieckgraefe, a gastroenterologist at Washington University in St. Louis, found that after one Leukine injection a day for 56 days, patients' quality of life improved and Crohn's symptoms dramatically retreated. Korzenik said additional studies are planned.

References:

1. May 16, 2006 — Bucking the mainstream on Crohns in the Newsday (NY)

James W. Fleshman, professor of surgery at the School of Medicine, participated in a trial program for a minimally invasive colon cancer procedure in the United States. Patients who had the less-invasive operation spent an average of five days in the hospital, compared to six days for those who had conventional surgery. And laparoscopic patients needed injected narcotic painkillers for three days and oral painkillers for one day, compared to four days and two days, respectively, for those who had conventional surgery.

References:

1. May 12, 2004 — Effective and safe minimally invasive surgery in the Forbes

and 15 others.