Whole Body Health

The discovery has yet to be confirmed by clinical trials, but it raises hopes for the estimated 170,000 Canadians with either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

Canada has one of the highest reported rates in the world for Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder that usually affects the lower small intestine.”Our data suggests for the first time that Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to Crohn’s disease,” said John White, an endocrinologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.

White noted that people who live in northern climates — which receive less sunshine that is essential for the fabrication of Vitamin D by the human body — are especially vulnerable to Crohn’s disease.

White and his colleagues treated cancer cells in the lab with Vitamin D, and then carried out a micro-array or genetic analysis of those cells. They found that Vitamin D switched on two genes that are important in preventing or fighting Crohn’s disease.

“It’s reasonable to think that Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to the frequency of the disease,” White said. “Siblings of patients with Crohn’s disease that haven’t yet developed the disease might be well advised to make sure they’re Vitamin D sufficient.”

As for whether taking Vitamin D could be an effective treatment for Crohn’s, White was cautious, saying that would have to be demonstrated in a clinical trial.

The White study was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Chemicals found in cannabis could prove an effective treatment for the inflammatory bowel diseases Ulcerative Colitis Disease and Crohn’s Disease, say scientists.

Laboratory tests have shown that two compounds found in the cannabis plant — the cannabinoids THC and cannabidiol — interact with the body’s system that controls gut function.

Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, which affect about one in every 250 people in Northern Europe, are caused by both genetic and environmental factors. The researchers believe that a genetic susceptibility coupled with other triggers, such as diet, stress or bacterial imbalance, leads to a defective immune response.

Dr Karen Wright, Peel Trust Lecturer in Biomedicine at Lancaster University, presented her soon-to-be published work at The British Pharmacological Society’s Winter Meeting in London.

She said: “The lining of the intestines provides a barrier against the contents of the gut but in people with Crohn’s Disease this barrier leaks and bacteria can escape into the intestinal tissue leading to an inappropriate immune response.

“If we could find a way to restore barrier integrity in patients we may be able to curb the inflammatory immune response that causes these chronic conditions.”

Dr Wright, working with colleagues at the School of Graduate Entry Medicine and Health in Derby, has shown that cells that react to cannabinoid compounds play an important role in normal gut function as well as the immune system’s inflammatory response.

“The body produces its own cannabinoid molecules, called endocannabinoids, which we have shown increase the permeability of the epithelium during inflammation, implying that overproduction may be detrimental,” said Dr Wright.

“However, we were able to reverse this process using plant-derived cannabinoids, which appeared to allow the epithelial cells to form tighter bonds with each other and restore the membrane barrier.”

The research was carried out using cell cultures in a dish but, interestingly, when the team attempted to mimic the conditions of the gut by reducing the amount of oxygen in the cells’ environment, much lower concentrations of cannabinoid were needed to produce the same effect.

Dr Wright added: “What is also encouraging is that while THC has psychoactive properties and is responsible for the ‘high’ people experience when using cannabis, cannabidiol, which has also proved effective in restoring membrane integrity, does not possess such properties.”

Source:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091220175502.htm
The time or date displayed reflects when an article was added to Google News Dec.20, 2009

People who eat lots of red meat, cook with certain types of oil, and use some kinds of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-heavy margarines may be increasing their risk of a painful inflammatory bowel disease.

These foods are high in linoleic acid and people who are the heaviest consumers of this omega-6 PUFA are more than twice as likely to develop ulcerative colitis as those who consume the least.

Researchers have found that eating more eicosapentaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish and fish oils, is associated with a lower risk of the disease. While people need a certain amount of linoleic acid to survive, excess amounts are taken up into the lining of the colon, and if they’re released, they can promote inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acid does the opposite. It basically dampens down inflammation.

To investigate the role of fatty acids and ulcerative colitis, a life-long disease characterised by inflammation of the lining of the large intestine, researchers looked at data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) trial, which included over half a million people from 10 European countries. Their analysis included 203,193 men and women 30 to 74 years old. During follow-up, which ranged from about 2 to 11 years, 126 people developed ulcerative colitis.

It was found that people in the top quartile of linoleic acid intake (they were consuming around 13 to 38 grams a day) were 2.5 times more likely to have developed the disease than people who consumed the least, about 2 to 8 grams daily.

There’s currently no proven dietary treatment for ulcerative colitis but the current findings raise the possibility that eating a diet low in linoleic acid could be helpful. While a Western-style, red-meat-heavy diet is high in this fatty acid and low in omega-3s, a more Mediterranean style eating pattern – with plenty of fruits and vegetables, fish, and nut oils – would be low in linoleic acid and high in omega-3. If omega-3s do help prevent ulcerative colitis, eating a couple of servings of fish a week would probably be protective, the researchers concluded.

Source:
http://doctor.ndtv.com/storypage/ndtv/id/4118/Fatty_acids_affect_ulcerative_colitis_risk.html
The time or date displayed reflects when an article was added to Google News Dec.4, 2009

Often, arthritis can appear before the symptoms of IBD, especially in children with Crohn’s disease. If your child develops arthritis, Crohn’s should be considered, even if your child isn’t yet experiencing any intestinal symptoms and occult stool tests are negative.

Another form of arthritis called “spinal arthritis” – or spondylitis – can occur years before the onset of more common IBD symptoms, such as bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain. Spondylitis produces pain and stiffness in the lower spine and sacroiliac joints. A more sinister and rare form of spinal arthritis called “ankylosing spondylitis” can lead to inflammation of the eyes, lungs and heart valves. Both forms of spondylitis are serious illnesses that can severely limit your quality of life and lead to serious complications. It’s important to seek timely treatment or better yet, try to prevent the onset of arthritis if you’re at risk because you suffer from IBD.

Prevention is key for IBD sufferers.

If you suffer from IBD – be it either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease - it’s important to talk to a doctor about preventative measures you can take to avoid arthritis. As the saying goes – and it’s particularly true in this case – the best offense is defense.

Clearly, people suffering from colitis and arthritis need to address both diseases. Otherwise, you’ll be simply relieving symptoms rather than treating the underlying cause. For example, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen) along with steroid injections are often used to treat arthritis and lessen pain associated with it. But if you’re an IBD sufferer – beware! NSAIDs can irritate your intestinal lining and lead to more inflammation. It’s important that your treatment plan considers all aspects of both conditions.

If you’re overweight, try to lose weight. Your diet should be modified according to your body neeeds, avoiding specific triggers that lead to your symptoms. Although you need to follow a special diet (i.e. gluten-free in celiac disease or meat-free in gout and other arthitic pain), it is important to keep all the essential nutrients, especially protein, in balance with proper quantity and quality of minerals and vitamins. Controlling your nutrition will be the most important tool on your road to wellness.

For more information about arthritis treatment

 A new study has found a possible ulcerative colitis treatment. Researchers say mice that were given the probiotic. Bacillus polyfermenticus during the non-inflammatory stage of the disease showed reduced rectal bleeding, less inflamed tissue and gained more weight than the mice that did not receive it.

The study also found that the colon tissue of the treated mice had greater angiogenesis, a process that is necessary for wounds to heal.

Colitis is a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in which the inner tissue of the colon becomes inflamed and damaged and can result in painful sores. It’s estimated that as many as 3.3 million Americans suffer from the disease.

Healthcare practitioners have recommended probiotics, or beneficial bacteria, as an alternative treatment for the disease. Researchers involved with this study say further studies are necessary before it is known whether these results can be applied to humans.

According to the Mayo Clinic, other alternative therapies believed to help treat colitis include probiotics, acupuncture and nutritional supplements containing fish oil and aloe vera. Reducing stress and avoiding foods that trigger symptoms from the diet is also believed to be beneficial.

For more information on alternative supplements containing aloe mucilaginous polysaccharides and probiotics, please visit us at www.serovera.com

Long-term use of thiopurines bears further study, researchers say

The use of thiopurine drugs to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) increases the risk of cancers related to viral infection, according to a new study.

IBD includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Thiopurine drugs are used to suppress the immune system in order to maintain remission in IBD patients.

For this study, French researchers analyzed data on 19,486 IBD patients (60 percent with Crohn’s and 40 percent with ulcerative colitis or unclassified IBD) who were followed for a median of 35 months.

At the start of the study, 30 percent of patients were taking thiopurines, 14 percent had discontinued them, and 56 percent had never received thiopurines. During the study, 23 patients developed malignant lymphoproliferative disorders (LD) — cancers that are associated with viral infection, particularly those linked to Epstein Barr virus (EBV) infection.

Of the 23 patients with LD, 22 had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and one had Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Incidence rates of LD were 0.90 per 1,000 patient-years in those receiving thiopurines, 0.20 per 1,000 patient-years in those who’d discontinued the drugs, and 0.26 per 1,000 patient-years in those who’d never taken thiopurines.

The researchers calculated that IBD patients taking thiopurines had a more-than-five-fold increased risk compared to those who’d never received the drugs. Older patients, men, and those who’d had IBD for longer were also at increased risk of LD.

“Extrapolating our results, the absolute cumulative risk of (LD) in young patients receiving a 10-year course of thiopurines remains low (less than 1 percent) and does not undermine the positive risk-benefit ratio of these drugs. For elderly patients and unlimited treatment periods, the question should be addressed in dedicated studies,” wrote Laurent Beaugerie, a professor at Hospital Saint-Antoine, Paris, and colleagues.

The study appeared online Monday and in an upcoming print issue of The Lancet.

“Although we recognize the slightly increased risk of lymphoma, these agents will probably remain one of the cornerstones of treatment. Nonetheless, physicians should be cautious when prolonged combined and deep immunosuppression is needed to achieve disease control,” Dr. Geert D’Haens, of the Imelda GI Clinical Research Centre and University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Belgium, and Dr. Paul Rutgeerts, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, wrote in an accompanying editorial.