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Stomach and Digestion

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Fact File

Peptic ulcer

Health: Library - 25 January 2007
This painful - but treatable condition - is mainly caused by a bacterium in the stomach and duodenum - not all that spicy food you've been eating!

Tags: stomach-and-digestion

Fact File

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Health: Library - 25 September 2006
Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, include constipation, diarrhoea (sometimes alternating), and abdominal pain.

Tags: diet-and-nutrition, irritable-bowel-syndrome, stomach-and-digestion

Fact File

Reflux

Health: Library - 25 September 2006
Reflux is the regurgitation of acid stomach contents back into the oesophagus, and is the cause of heartburn - that unpleasant, burning feeling that wells up from the pit of the stomach, and travels up your chest and into your throat after a rich or fatty meal.

Tags: reflux-heartburn, older-people, stomach-and-digestion

Probiotics: eat your bugs

Health: The Pulse - 06 March 2008
Australian researchers say probiotics can help some common bowel conditions. But how do you know what you're buying?

Tags: alternative-medicine, diet-and-nutrition, stomach-and-digestion

Gastro bug outbreak

Health: The Pulse - 20 September 2007
This year 200,000 Australians will get the highly infectious gastro virus norovirus, but they can stop it spreading with a few simple measures.

Tags: child-health-and-behaviour, infectious-diseases-other, older-people, stomach-and-digestion

Help for oesophageal reflux

Health Minutes - 02 July 2007
A review of the evidence has found that the only things apart from medications which help oesophageal reflux are raising the head of the bed, and weight loss.

Tags: reflux-heartburn, stomach-and-digestion

Coeliac disease: who needs a biopsy?

Health Minutes - 17 April 2007
While people with high-risk symptoms of coeliac disease need biopsies, people with low-risk symptoms can be diagnosed just with a blood test, say researchers.

Tags: diet-and-nutrition, medical-procedures, stomach-and-digestion

The enemy within: Crohn's disease

Health: Your Stories - 08 March 2007
Immunosuppressants, a strict diet, and knowing where the nearest toilet is are essential weapons in Helen Cartwright's daily battle with her gut.

Tags: diet-and-nutrition, stomach-and-digestion

Had a gutful of salad today?

Health: The Pulse - 25 January 2007
For many of us summer salads and fruits seem the epitome of good healthy eating, but you need to eat more than a couple of lettuce leaves to get enough fibre.

Tags: diet-and-nutrition, stomach-and-digestion

Less preparation for bowel surgery?

Health Minutes - 14 November 2006
Research in Scotland has found that common techniques for bowel preparation for surgery dehydrate people and slow their recovery.

Tags: bowel-and-rectal-cancer, irritable-bowel-syndrome, medical-procedures, stomach-and-digestion

Irritable bowel sydrome and fibre

Health Minutes - 23 March 2005
Researchers have found that soluble fibre provides relief for a greater range of symptoms associated with IBS. Insoluble fibre only benefits people suffering from constipation.

Tags: diet-and-nutrition, irritable-bowel-syndrome, stomach-and-digestion

Acid-reducing drugs and pneumonia

Health Minutes - 14 December 2004
Acid-reducing drugs may increase the risk of pneumonia, according to recent research.

Tags: reflux-heartburn, respiratory-diseases, pharmaceuticals, stomach-and-digestion

Benefits of keyhole surgery for bowel cancer

Health Minutes - 03 June 2004
A study shows that laparoscopic surgery for cancer of the colon has benefits over open surgery.

Tags: bowel-and-rectal-cancer, medical-procedures, stomach-and-digestion

Virtual colonoscopy - not fool-proof yet

Health Minutes - 06 May 2004
There are several potential advantages of a virtual colonoscopy including safety and acceptability. But a recent study confirms the procedure is not yet proven.

Tags: bowel-and-rectal-cancer, medical-procedures, stomach-and-digestion

Smell test sniffs out H pylori

Health Minutes - 26 June 2003
Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria found in the gut that causes ulcers and indigestion, can be detected with a machine that can smell H pylori on a person's breath. It's worth doing in those people under 45 with indigestion, because it can save unnecessary endoscopies and treat the indigestion more effectively.

Tags: medical-procedures, stomach-and-digestion

Cutting adhesions doesn't help

Health Minutes - 01 May 2003
One of the causes of chronic abdominal pain is thought to be abdominal adhesions - abnormal fibrous bands that 'glue' parts of the bowel togther. They are often treated by laparoscopic incision - but a recent study shows there's no benefit to the procedure.

Tags: medical-procedures, pain, stomach-and-digestion

Peptic ulcer and bacteria

Health Minutes - 11 December 2002
Recent research suggests there may be more ulcer bacteria than Helicobacter the culprit responsible for peptic ulcers.

Tags: stomach-and-digestion

Importance of the appendix

Health Minutes - 04 December 2002
Your appendix may not be a useless little flap on your bowel after all, suggests new research.

Tags: stomach-and-digestion

Bowel related problems

Health Minutes - 26 September 2002
Dr Michael Levitt, a colorectal surgeon from Western Australia, has written 'The Bowel Book' in which he explains the cause of various bowel conditions, how it affects the body, and the level of threat that it poses to one's health.

Tags: diet-and-nutrition, bowel-and-rectal-cancer, stomach-and-digestion

Autism and intestinal problems

Health Minutes - 26 September 2002
A group of researchers are proposing that intestinal inflammation could cause autism.

Tags: child-health-and-behaviour, stomach-and-digestion

Are new anti-inflammatories safer?

Health Minutes - 18 June 2002
The debate about anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis continues. The theory is that the new selective Cox 2 inhibitors, Celebrex and Vioxx, are more targeted drugs and therefore spare the stomach from potentially serious complications like ulcers. But what does the evidence say?

Tags: arthritis, pain, pharmaceuticals, stomach-and-digestion

H. pylori - the ulcer bug

Health Minutes - 02 April 2002
H.pylori - also known as the ulcer bug - has also been linked to stomach cancer and even lymphoma of the stomach.

Tags: child-health-and-behaviour, infectious-diseases-other, stomach-and-digestion

What works for reflux?

Health Minutes - 11 June 2001
At best, reflux is an uncomfortable nuisance; at worst, it erodes the lining of the oesophagus and seems to be a risk factor for oesophageal cancer. The two main treatments are acid-reducing medications and surgery. Which is better for people with severe disease? And is either better at preventing malignancy?

Tags: cancer, stomach-and-digestion

Travellers' diarrhoea

Health Minutes - 07 May 2001

Tags: irritable-bowel-syndrome, stomach-and-digestion

Reflux and cancer risk

Health Minutes - 02 April 2001
Reflux, a condition affecting one in three adult Australians, is increasingly being associated with oesophageal cancer. This tumour - adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus - is in fact the most rapidly rising cancer of a lining tissue in the western world.

Tags: cancer, stomach-and-digestion

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