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Add a lower risk of Crohn's disease to the many benefits of having a dog during childhood, a new study suggests.

Sorry, cat lovers, researchers didn't find a similar benefit for you.

"We did not see the same results with cats, though we are still trying to determine why," said senior author Williams Turpin, a research associate with Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and the University...

For some children with autism, there's a connection between gastrointestinal problems and stress, anxiety and social withdrawal, a new study suggests.

The findings could help efforts to develop personalized treatments for autism patients with gastrointestinal problems such as stomach pain and constipation, the University of Missouri researchers suggested.

Such problems tend to occur...

COVID-19 is mainly known as a respiratory ailment, but a new study suggests the coronavirus can infect your intestinal tract for weeks and months after you've cleared the bug from your lungs.

In the study about 1 out of 7 COVID patients continued to shed the virus' genetic remnants in their feces at least four months after their initial diagnosis, long after they've stopped shedding the v...

New research suggests that doctors should be cautious about giving newborns antibiotics because they can upset a baby's gut microbiome -- the balance of bacteria in their digestive systems.

"We were surprised with the magnitude and duration of the effects of broad spectrum anti...

A robot performed challenging keyhole surgery on pigs without any human help in what could be a major step toward fully automated surgery on people.

"Our findings show that we can automate one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in surgery: the reconnection of two ends of an intestine," said senior study author Axel Krieger. He is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at J...

Like Mr. Grinch, heartburn can crush your holiday, but there are easy ways to prevent it.

"Heartburn is caused by acidic stomach content moving into the esophagus, or gullet, which is much less resistant to acid," said Dr. James East, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic Healthcare in London. "This results in irritation and damage to the lining of the esophagus, literally a burn, that caus...

What do all the microbes living rent-free in your gut have to do with disease risk? Perhaps a lot.

A groundbreaking analysis of decades-old stool and blood samples from the early AIDS epidemic suggests that men who had high levels of inflammation-causing bacteria in their intestin...

When a woman's periods begin to slow down and finally stop, digestive problems often pick up -- and new research suggests race and ethnicity play a role.

With menopause, levels of estrogen decrease, while cortisol levels increase, triggering an adrenaline boost that changes digestive function. It can set off symptoms such as bloating, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, indige...

Younger patients with advanced colon cancer don't live longer than older patients, but it's unclear why, researchers say.

The authors of the new study said they were surprised by the findings, which come as colon cancer rates are on the rise among young Americans.

"As a group, younger patients are more physically active and have higher performance status and are better able to perfo...

Antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a mainstay of depression treatment, but a new study warns that taking common painkillers alongside SSRIs may raise the chances for intestinal bleeding.

In a review of 10 published studies involving 6,000 patients, researchers found that those taking SSRIs (such as Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft) and pain medicati...

If you often have a stomachache after eating, you're not alone, a new survey finds. One in 10 people experience frequent meal-related pain.

This includes 13% of women and 9% of men, and is most common in 18- to 28-year-olds (15%), according to an online survey of more than 54,000 people in 26 countries.

"The take home message from this study is that people who experience meal-relate...

Children with autism differ socially and developmentally from their typically developing peers. Now, researchers say there are also differences in their array of healthy gut bacteria or "microbiome."

The findings may lead to earlier treatment for kids with an autism spectrum disorder, suggested the authors of a new small study.

The gut microbiome can vary according to where people l...

Fermented foods may seem like just another health fad, but a small trial suggests they can help strike a healthier balance in the body's gut bacteria.

In a study of 36 people, researchers found that those randomly assigned to eat plenty of fermented foods, such as yogurt, kimchi and kombucha, showed an increase in their gut "microbiome" diversity.

The microbiome refers to the vast c...

Some people severely ill with COVID-19 may struggle to regain lost weight for months afterward, a new study shows.

While COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory illness, it's become clear that the infection can wreak havoc on the body in many ways. Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms -- like nausea, diarrhea and even bleeding in the digestive tract -- are among the manifestations.

In some ca...

An experimental drug can prevent intestinal damage caused by celiac disease, an early trial has found -- raising hopes that it could become the first medication for the serious digestive disorder.

With celiac disease, the immune system attacks the lining of the small intestine when a genetically susceptible person eats gluten -- a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

The symptoms...

People who have Crohn's disease often seek to ease their symptoms by changing what they eat, and new research suggests the Mediterranean diet may be their best bet.

The study evaluated one of the commonly used diets for Crohn's disease, known as the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD), comparing it with the Mediterranean diet, which is sometimes recommended by doctors for its heart health be...

Many people drank more to cope with the stress of the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions it placed on daily life, and now a new study suggests that all of this drinking is causing a serious spike in alcohol-related diseases.

"Incidence of hospitalizations for alcohol-related gastrointestinal (GI) and liver disease increased quite dramatically since the beginning of the COVID-19 loc...

For people who've suffered through a bout of COVID-19, their misery is too often not over. New research shows that a wide variety of "long-haul" symptoms are common, and the risk rises along with the severity of their case of COVID-19.

In what may be the largest such study to date, "the findings show that beyond the first 30 days of illness, substantial burden of health loss -- spanning ...

People who eat plenty of vegetables, fish and fiber may have more inflammation-fighting bacteria in their guts, but fast-food lovers may be feeding inflammatory microbes.

That's the conclusion of a new study that looked at people's diet habits and the makeup of their gut "microbiome."

The term refers to the vast collection of bacteria and other microbes that naturally dwell in the g...

A new tissue infection has been identified in Crohn's disease patients, and researchers say their finding could ultimately lead to better treatment of the common inflammatory bowel disease.

Areas of unhealed wounds in the intestines of Crohn's patients have elevated levels of a type of yeast widely found in cheese and processed meat, the new study found.

The researchers discovered t...

Researchers have identified more than 140,000 viruses that live in the human gut, including half that were previously unknown.

The number and variety of viruses found in more than 28,000 gut microbiome samples gathered from different parts of the world are surprisingly high, according to the study authors.

The researchers added that their findings will lead to new research to learn ...

People with chronic heartburn may face increased risks of several rare types of cancer, a large U.S. government study shows.

Researchers found that among more than 490,000 Americans aged 50 and up, those with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) had about twice the risk of developing cancers of the esophagus or larynx (also known as the voice box).

GERD, or acid reflux, occurs whe...

What can poop from ancient Neanderthals tell us?

It turns out that it harbors valuable information about modern-day gut health.

An international research group led by the University of Bologna in Italy analyzed ancient DNA samples extracted from 50,000-year-old sedimentary feces, the oldest sample of fecal material available. They collected the matter in El Salt (Spain), a site wher...