- Mediterranean Diet Could Keep Aging Brains Sharp
- Why Is Liver Cancer More Lethal for Black Patients?
- AHA News: Why Experts Say a Good Mood Can Lead to Good Health
- COVID Cases, Deaths Plummet in Nursing Homes After Vaccine Rollout
- Health Highlights: Feb. 25, 2021
- History of Mental Illness Tied to Earlier Onset of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Mental Illness Not a Factor in Most Mass Shootings
- High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy Could Affect Women’s Hearts Long Term
- Modern Medicine Unwraps Mystery of Ancient Mummy’s Death
- Pandemic Is Adding to Teachers’ Stress, and Quit Rates
New Clues for Treating Ulcerative Colitis
WEDNESDAY, June 16A chemical that may trigger remission in people with ulcerative colitis has been identified by Canadian researchers.
The team at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, found that ulcerative colitis patients in long-term remission have elevated levels of prostaglandin D2. Previous research in rats found that this chemical plays an important role in healing and remission of the disease.
“The levels of prostaglandin D2 were only elevated in those patients in long-term remission, and that suggests it is a key factor in preventing new episodes of ulcerative colitis,” John Wallace, director of the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute at McMaster, said in a university news release.
Wallace, a professor of medicine at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, said the finding may help lead to a new treatment for ulcerative colitis and possibly to Crohn’s disease as well.
Ulcerative colitis involves a chronic inflammation of the inner lining of the rectum and colon that can lead to abdominal pain and cramping, diarrhea, bleeding and weight loss. The condition affects millions of people worldwide. Treatment options are still limited, however, and most people are never cured.
The study was published June 14 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about ulcerative colitis.
Source: HealthDay
