The Weight Loss Genie

The use of low-dose aspirin in the prevention of cardiovascular disease is frequently associated with the development of dyspeptic symptoms and erosions or ulcerations in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Eradication of Helicobacter pylori and long-term maintenance therapy with proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are effective in the prevention of aspirin-induced gastrointestinal lesions and symptoms in patients [...]

When President Obama signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act into law last October 22, it allowed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the first time to plan its budget one year in advance.

A new Commonwealth Fund report released on October 23rd, 2009, analyzes the similarities, differences, potential impacts, and costs of current bills passed by the 5 committees of jurisdiction in the United States Congress: Finance Committee and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees in the Senate and the US House of Representatives’ Ways and Means, Education [...]

Acute cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection () has been previously shown to exacerbate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Recently, new research suggests that latent CMV infection may also exacerbate the disease.

The 16th International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus and Related Viruses took place in Nice, France, on October 3–7, 2009, almost exactly 20 years after Michael Houghton and colleagues reported discovery of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). At that time, the disease was known as “non-A, non-B hepatitis,” and its prevalence was underestimated. Now, approximately [...]

The survival rates of patients with Barrett’s esophagus are no different than the survival rates for the general population, according to a recent study. The Mayo Clinic study examined survival rates of Barrett’s esophagus patients from Olmsted County, Minnesota, over the past 3 decades, compared with a control group of patients. Of the 366 patients [...]

The number of underrepresented minorities (URMs; black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander) among US medical school faculty is markedly low when compared with their respective percent representation of the US population. Women URMs are doubly underrepresented, particularly as the academic rank advances from [...]

Major molecular pathways affecting gastrointestinal (GI) smooth muscle contractility include Ca2+/calmodulin/myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), the protein kinase C (PKC)/CPI-17, and RhoA/Rho-kinase (ROCK)/myosin light chain phosphatase (MLCP). Among these, RhoA/ROCK is emerging as an important mediator of smooth muscle contraction and dysfunction that cannot be explained on the basis of previously known bioenergetics. The role [...]

See “Utilization of surveillance colonoscopy in community practice,” by Schoen RE, Pinsky PF, Weissfeld JL, et al, on page 73.