Digestive Health Archive

In the journals

Scientists continue to explore the health benefits versus risks of aspirin therapy. One new analysis suggests that taking aspirin may protect against several types of digestive tract cancers. The results were published online April 1, 2020, by Annals of Oncology.

Researchers examined 113 observational studies of cancer in the general population. They found that individuals who took aspirin regularly — at least one or two tablets a week — had significantly lower rates of cancers of the bowel, stomach, gallbladder, esophagus, pancreas, and liver, compared with people who did not take aspirin.

New information may affect your approach to treatment.

Millions of people turn to prescription and over-the-counter medications to cope with heartburn from gastroesophageal reflux disease or other stomach conditions. But navigating the risks of heartburn remedies can leave a sour taste in your mouth, since some have been tied to health concerns. Here's what you need to know about two mainstays of treatment, and how the latest developments may affect you.

H2 blockers

Histamine₂-receptor antagonists, better known as H2 blockers — such as famotidine (Pepcid) and cimetidine (Tagamet) — are available over the counter or by prescription. They block a chemical that signals the stomach to produce acid, and are the go-to drugs when an antacid like calcium carbonate (Tums) or aluminum hydroxide (Maalox) isn't strong enough.

What Is It?

Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder, the small saclike organ located near the liver in the upper right side of the abdomen. It is attached to the main duct that carries bile from the liver into the intestine. Bile helps your body to break down and absorb fats. The gallbladder temporarily stores bile from the liver. When you eat, the gallbladder contracts, and squeezes extra bile into the intestine to aid digestion.

There are two ways to remove the gallbladder:

• Traditional surgery - The surgeon cuts open the abdomen and removes the gallbladder through an incision that is about 6 inches long. The abdomen is then stitched closed again.
• Laparoscopic surgery - The surgeon makes four small (less than an inch) incisions for a laparoscope and instruments. A laparoscope is a tube-like instrument with a camera for viewing, and with it the surgeon can to guide the surgical instruments to remove the gallbladder. The gallbladder is cut away from the liver and the bile duct and removed through one of the small incisions.

Over 90% of the time, laparoscopic surgery is used because it requires a shorter hospital stay, is less painful, and has a shorter recovery time compared to traditional surgery. Traditional surgery is usually used because the person has significant abdominal scarring from prior surgery, severe inflammation, unusual anatomy, or other factors that make surgery with a laparoscope very difficult and riskier.

What Is It?

Endoscopy describes many procedures that look inside the body using some type of endoscope, a flexible tube with a small TV camera and a light on one end and an eyepiece on the other. The endoscope allows doctors to examine the inside of certain tube-like structures in the body. Many endoscopes transmit the doctor's view to a video screen. Most endoscopes have attachments that permit doctors to take fluid or tissue samples for laboratory testing.

Upper endoscopy allows a doctor to see inside the esophagus, stomach and top parts of the small intestine. Bronchoscopy examines the large airways inside the lungs (bronchi). Sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy examine different parts of the lower digestive tract. Each type of endoscopy uses a slightly different endoscope with a different name — an upper endoscope for upper endoscopy, a bronchoscope for bronchoscopy, a sigmoidoscope for sigmoidoscopy and a colonoscope for colonoscopy. Other endoscopes allow doctors to see inside the abdomen and inside joints through small incisions.

Nerve damage might be causing everything from low blood pressure to gastrointestinal distress without your knowing it.

Doctors have long known peripheral neuropathy as a nerve condition that causes reduced sensation, tingling, weakness, or pain in the feet and hands. But those symptoms may be just the tip of the iceberg. Doctors are now learning that neuropathy can cause many more problems.

What is peripheral neuropathy?

Peripheral neuropathy refers to damage to the peripheral nerves throughout the body. These nerves carry messages to and from the brain.

Ask the doctors

Q. I heard that the FDA recently issued a warning related to a specific treatment for Clostridium difficile infections. Can you explain what this warning is about?

A. The FDA issued a warning in June aimed at health care providers who are using fecal transplants to treat Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections that have not responded to traditional treatments, such as antibiotics. Doctors perform fecal transplants (which are still considered investigational by the FDA) by introducing stool from a healthy donor into the gastrointestinal tract of the person infected with C. difficile. The introduction of healthful bacteria can sometimes treat the infection, which typically inflames the colon causing symptoms such as severe diarrhea, cramps, and fever. The FDA issued its warning after two immunocompromised adults developed infections from an antibiotic-resistant strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) following transplants from stool contaminated with the bacteria. Both people got transplants from the same donor. One of the two people died following the infection. To prevent similar problems in the future, the FDA now recommends that doctors performing these transplants follow some new safety measures, including the following:

Excess gas can be annoying, but is it cause for concern?

Gas is a normal — yet embarrassing — part of digestion. "We're all pretty gassy as individuals," says Dr. Kyle Staller, a gastroenterologist with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

In fact, the average person produces between 1/2 and 1 liter of gas every day and passes gas about 10 to 20 times. "While people may not like it when they do it, especially at inappropriate times, it's just a sign of a regular, healthy digestive system at work," says Dr. Staller.