As reported by Medscape, according to research presented at the Digestive Disease Week meeting, “patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) might benefit more from transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) than from continued treatment with proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs).” The study’s lead author Karim Trad, MD, said, “In this study, transoral incisionless fundoplication was superior to maximal-dose PPIs in eliminating daily troublesome typical and atypical symptoms in selected patients.” Dr. Trad added that the findings “establish for the first time that, for some patients, the procedure is better than maximal-dose PPI therapy for controlling a range of GERD symptoms.”

Women Smokers More Likely to Get Colon Cancer Than Men: Study

Just a few cigarettes a day raises their risk, researchers say
By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter 

As published in Reuters Health News, diet may help heal anal fissures. 

Washington Post article, published here, brings to light that making healthier choices in food does not have to be labeled. 

"Gluten" has come to be a pariah word in our society. But, should it be avoided entirely? What are the symptoms of celiac disease? What about a gluten sensitivity? The following article, published on WebMD, provides an interesting perspective.

Celiac disease has numerous symptoms. According to some experts, there are about 300 possible symptoms of the disease.
Different people will experience the disease in different ways because the symptoms vary greatly from one person to the next.
Often, symptoms of celiac disease are confused with other disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome and lactose intolerance.

Symptoms for Children:

Infants and children with celiac disease tend to have digestive problems. Common symptoms for infants and children include:

ColoRectal Cancer Awareness Month

Study Finds Colonoscopy Safe and Effective- Read on:

Is a colonoscopy really safe?

If your 50 years of age or above, your doctor has probably advised it’s time for a colonoscopy. But concern about safety of colorectal cancer screening might prevent some people from having the test. To put the public’s fears to rest, German researchers studied adverse events linked to the procedure, finding very few safety concerns.

USA Today reports that while hemorrhoids aren't a popular topic of conversation, they are a popular search topic online. Read on:

The loss of bowel control, also called fecal incontinence, is more common than you may think. Unfortunately, millions of people suffer every day from accidents and leaks. Some people may also experience feelings of sadness and depression and may not want to leave the house for fear of having an accident.

So, you think you have acid reflux?  What is acid reflux?  Why is it called acid reflux?

A new laparoscopic therapy for reflux has been recently approved for the treat of reflux.  The procedure requires laparoscopic surgery (small incisions in the abdomen) in order to place this new device at the level of the lower esophageal sphincter.  Certain limitations will occur as the result of this procedure as will be discussed.