Gut Microbes

Background Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are widely used as functional readouts of gut microbial activity in vivo. The growing adoption of decentralised study designs and self-collection protocols has amplified the need for reliable room-temperature storage and shipment strategies. However, SCFAs volatility and the persistence of post-collection microbial metabolism raise concerns regarding pre-analytical stability and the interpretability of measured concentrations. Methods We assessed the te...

BackgroundGestational exposures may contribute to the newborns lifetime risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While gestational influences are associated with IBD onset, the causality and confounding of such exposures are difficult to ascertain. The neonatal metabolome provides a metabolic snapshot of gestational influences. ObjectiveWe tested the neonatal metabolomes ability to predict future IBD, to assess whether gestational exposures are reflected in early molecular precursors of the di...

ObjectivesTo characterize ultra-processed food (UPF) circulating metabolic signatures associated with Crohns disease (CD) and to localize key metabolic mediators linking UPF intake to CD risk. DesignProspective cohort study. SettingTwo large multi-center cohorts (UK Biobank [UKB] and Whitehall II [WHII] study) across the UK and an Eastern multi-center cohort ONE-IBD Study from China. ParticipantsUK Biobank discovery cohort (n=10,229) for signature derivation, internal validation cohort (n=91,...

Background and ObjectiveThe dysbiosis of human gut microbiome has been increasingly seen to have a relation in the development of autoimmune diseases, with specific microbial signatures having causative association with specific conditions. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is one such autoimmune ailment. This paper proposes a predictive tool that can identify the IBD status of an individual based on the composition of the gut microbiome using machine learning and AI agents driven techniques. The...

PurposeHirschsprung-associated enterocolitis remains a major postoperative complication of Hirschsprungs disease (HD), and impaired epithelial barrier integrity has been proposed as a contributing factor. In this study, we investigated whether 12-hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid (12-HHT), an endogenous leukotriene B4 receptor 2 (BLT-2) agonist, enhances the epithelial barrier and exerts anti-inflammatory effects in patient-derived colonic organoids. MethodsNormoganglionic specimens from rectal/rec...

BackgroundCurrent British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) guidelines misclassify metachronous lesion risk after polypectomy in approximately 40% of patients. Building on evidence that immune exclusion drives progression of adenomas to colorectal cancer, this study examined immune profiles in screen-detected adenomas as a predictive biomarker for metachronous lesion risk. MethodsPatients undergoing polypectomy within the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme, with surveillance colonoscopy between...

Chronic constipation is highly prevalent, and cases refractory to treatment are particularly challenging to manage. High-resolution colonic manometry (HRM) is used to further evaluate these patients to identify cases of intrinsic motor dysfunction (underlying myopathy or neuropathy). However, HRM is invasive and resource-intensive, limiting uptake and clinical utility. This study presents Body Surface Colonic Mapping (BSCM), a non-invasive cutaneous electrical recording technique, as a clinical ...

BackgroundEndoscopic resection is the standard treatment for rectal neuroendocrine tumors (r-NETs) [≤]10 mm, yet the optimal technique remains controversial. Modified endoscopic mucosal resection (m-EMR) has emerged as a potential alternative compared to endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), but existing evidence is largely retrospective and the results of recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are inconclusive. AimsTo compare the efficacy and safety of m-EMR versus ESD for r-NETs [&le...

Background and AimMASLD affects 30-38% of Indian adults, yet the contribution of genetic risk variants to disease susceptibility and fibrosis progression remains poorly characterised. We investigated the association of 12 candidate SNPs with MASLD susceptibility and fibrosis severity in North Indian patients, benchmarking allele frequencies against IndiGenomes and global populations. MethodsSixty-nine MASLD patients (75.4% male; median BMI 29.8 kg/m{superscript 2}) from a tertiary care liver cl...

Introduction Vonoprazan, a new oral potassium-competitive acid blocker (PCAB), has shown promise in terms of superior acid suppression when compared to Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). We evaluated the efficacy of PCABs versus PPIs in preventing rebleeding in high-risk peptic ulcer patients after endoscopic hemostasis. Methods Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive search for relevant studies across Medline...

BackgroundComprehensive data on the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and its associated risk factors among patients with gastrointestinal symptoms remain limited. Generating this evidence would help inform clinical management and improve antibiotic stewardship. H. pylori infection affects a substantial proportion of the global population, with prevalence varying widely across regions. In Uganda, previous studies have documented the presence of H. pylori infection. However, data specif...

Background and AimsAvoidance of symptom-related situations is common in chronic gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, contributing to greater symptom severity, psychological distress, and reduced quality of life. However, no validated measure exists to comprehensively assess GI-specific avoidance. We developed and validated the GI-specific Avoidance Scale (GIAS), a self-report instrument measuring behavioral and cognitive avoidance specific to GI symptoms. MethodsFollowing literature review and mul...

Background and AimsCholedocholithiasis (CDL) is a common condition that can lead to serious complications, requiring effective risk stratification for timely intervention. While current guidelines use clinical predictors, imaging, and laboratory markers for risk assessment, the role of glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) in CDL remains poorly understood. This study aims to evaluate its potential as a clinical biomarker for identifying patients with CDL. MethodsThis single-center cohort study identif...

This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of quantitative analysis of {superscript 1}F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) metabolic parameters in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical and imaging data of 44 patients with pathologically confirmed PDAC who received NACT. All patients completed standard chemotherapy regimens and underwent {superscript 1}...

Background and aimsPopulation screening for liver disease in high-risk groups is recommended. Community diagnosis of liver disease is a challenge due to the asymptomatic nature of disease until very advanced stages. Moreover, regional variation in testing availability can result in people with clinically significant liver disease being missed. Machine learning (ML) has been proposed as a method to reduce diagnostic error and automate screening. We present a novel machine learning derived algorit...

Accurate polyp segmentation from colonoscopy images is critical for colorectal cancer prevention, yet the generalization of deep learning models under domain shift remains insufficiently explored. We propose Boundary-Explicit Guided Attention U-Net (BEGA-UNet), a boundary-aware segmentation architecture that introduces explicit edge modeling as a structural inductive bias to enhance both segmentation accuracy and cross-domain robustness. The framework integrates three components: an Edge-Guided ...

BackgroundMetformin is the cornerstone therapy for type 2 diabetes, but gastrointestinal intolerance commonly limits dose escalation and long-term adherence. In the ProGasMet trial, multi-strain probiotic supplementation improved metformin tolerability. However, the underlying microbiome-metabolome mechanisms remain unclear. Methods and analysisWe performed an exploratory multi-omics analysis using Period 1 of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Participants with metformin int...

ObjectiveAs cannabis use has increased in the United States, so has cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), a disorder characterized by severe nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain among heavy cannabis users. We previously showed that CHS symptoms are associated with several behavioral and psychological characteristics linked to psychosocial impairment. We examined links between CHS symptoms and suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and proximal suicide risk factors. MethodsWe used data from the Nationa...

The gut microbiota has been implicated in regulating body composition, insulin resistance, and energy metabolism through microbial metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and amino acids. However, evidence in adolescents, particularly regarding sex-specific differences and lifestyle such as alcohol intake, remains limited. Characterizing sex-specific metabolic signatures in adolescence may improve early identification of metabolic risk. To address this gap, we investigated associ...

ObjectivePreterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, with India alone contributing nearly 27% of the global PTB burden. Although alterations in the vaginal microbiome have been implicated in PTB, its association in the Indian context is underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association of vaginal microbiome and PTB in Indian women at the time of delivery. Study designThe vaginal swabs were collected at the time of delivery from 72 women (31...