What’s new in gastroenterology? Insights from BMC Medicine at DDW 2015

You rarely get the chance to meet 15,000 gastroenterologists, all together in one place. So, when BMC Medicine joined Digestive Disease Week 2015 in Washington DC last month, we got a glimpse into what’s new in the fields of gastroenterology and hepatology.

Gastroenterology is a vast discipline, and from 16 – 19 May, around 15,000 delegates from across the globe met at DDW 2015 to discuss the latest research in the field.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) was just one of the diseases discussed at large during the conference. This is a group of idiopathic chronic inflammatory intestinal conditions, and its incidence is increasing worldwide with no cure currently available.

The first session on 16 May addressed whether living in a rural or urban environment could affect the risk of developing IBD. Eric Benchimol presented the results of a Population-based and Birth Cohort study from the Canadian Gastro-Intestinal Epidemiology Consortium (CanGIEC).

IBD incidence in Canada is one of the highest in the world, but the risk is not uniform among its provinces. Spending childhood in a rural environment appears to protect against adult IBD, and the effect is stronger in children than adults. Importantly, socioeconomic status is not linked to the incidence of IBD, but given the heterogeneity of the data and the conditions, this will require further studies.


via What’s new in gastroenterology? Insights from BMC Medicine at DDW 2015

Dr. Wes: Practicing Physicians of America: Taking the Stick

Shuzan, a Buddhist monk of the tenth century, once held up a bamboo stick before his disciples. "Call this a stick," he bellowed, "and you assert; call this not a stick, and you negate. Now, do not assert or negate, what would you call this stick? Speak! Speak!"

From out the ranks, a young monk ventured forth, grabbed the bamboo, and, breaking it in two, exclaimed to Shuzan, "What is this?"*

Wonder where I've been for the past several weeks?

Welcome to Practicing Physicians of America.

Thanks to everyone who has collaborated to make this dream become a reality in a remarkably short 12 days. We hope the momentum continues to grow. We have strong advisors and are commited to ending unproven bureaucratic intrusions that threaten our ability to practice our trade. There is still plenty to do as we work to create a new 501(c)(3) by practicing physicians for practicing physicians. This is a voluntary, grassroots effort.

There is strength in numbers and we're in Washington DC to kick it all off tomorrow (press release here). I hope EVERY practicing physician, irrespective of political loyalty, will join us in the work to end the bureaucratic intrusions that are threatening our ability to care for patients.  Please join us in this David vs Goliath fight.

We will have more in the coming days.

-Wes

* From: An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, by D.T. Suzuki (Grove Press, 1964).



Dr. Wes: Practicing Physicians of America: Taking the Stick

Crohn’s Disease – Topic Overview, Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment

Crohn’s disease is one of the two types of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD); the other type is Ulcerative Colitis. Crohn’s disease is a chronic condition in which any part of the digestive tract, starting from mouth to the anus, gets inflamed and swollen while deep sores called ulcers develop in the tissues lining that underlying part. The disease affects different parts of gastrointestinal tract (GI) in different people, but it mostly occurs in the last part of small intestine and the large intestine (colon). The disease can become mild or less painful for some patients while it can even lead to life-threatening complications for others, but early diagnosis and proper treatment plan can help to avoid these severe complications.

Here, we briefly explain the basics of Crohn’s disease which gives you a broader understanding of different aspects of the condition:

What are the symptoms of the disease?

HOW YOU CAN PREVENT CONSTIPATION?

We usually not like to talk about this problem while thinking twice before talking about it with friends or loved ones. In fact, no one likes to think or talk about Constipation, but every one of us has it at least for one time. If you are dealing with trouble in passing hard, dry bowel movements then you’re not alone, as more than 40 million of Americans are struggling with this problem. Most of the time, it doesn’t take long and can be controlled with some simple lifestyle changes and some modifications in your diet. There are number of measures that you can adopt to control constipation and to prevent from this unpleasant condition. Here, we give you some helpful yet simple preventive measures that help to relieve the symptoms of constipation and to prevent this condition:

FOLLOW 8 SIMPLE PREVENTIVE MEASURES

PriceCheck: How Much Does A Colonoscopy Cost?

The colonoscopy: it may be the most dreaded screening test out there, and it’s the next procedure we’re covering as part of PriceCheck.

On PriceCheck, we’re crowdsourcing prices of common health tests and procedures. KQED, along with our colleagues at KPCC in LA, and ClearHealthCosts.com, a health cost transparency start up in New York, are shining a light on health care costs by asking you –members of our community — to share what you’ve paid for various health care procedures.

We turned to crowdsourcing because health care prices are wildly variable and opaque. It sometimes stuns people to find out there is no central database of prices. Gag clauses in contracts between doctors and insurers forbid both parties to disclose prices.

Read More @ ww2.kqed.org

Barrett’s Esophagus: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & iRelation with GERD

Barrett’s Esophagus is a condition in which the normal tissue in the lining of esophagus, a tube connecting the mouth and the stomach, is abnormally replaced with different tissue, which is similar to the tissue lining the stomach or intestine. Barrett’s Esophagus is a rare condition not known to majority of people and it affects only 1.6 to 3 percent of the individuals. The people suffering from Barrett’s Esophagus are at a slightly increased risk of developing Esophageal Adenocarcinoma, which is a serious, potentially fatal and rare form of the cancer affecting esophagus. According to National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the Esophageal Cancer affects only 0.5 percent of people having Barrett’s Esophagus each year. However, if you have been diagnosed with Barrett’s Esophagus then it’s very important to have routine examinations of your esophagus which help the doctor to discover precancerous and cancer cells at early stage and can be easily treated.

Barrett’s Esophagus is most commonly seen in people having long-term GERD, which stands for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, a condition in which the stomach acid repeatedly escapes to lower part of the esophagus causing abnormality, infection and pain.
Here, we give you a brief overview of Barrett’s Esophagus: its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment and how it relates to the condition called GERD.

How does GERD relate to Barrett’s Esophagus?