Sweets and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Patients Favor Artificial Sweeteners and Diet Foods/Drinks Over Table Sugar and Consume Less Fruits/Vegetables.

Background: While artificial sweeteners are deemed safe, preclinical studies indicate that artificial sweeteners contribute to gastrointestinal inflammation. Little is known about patients' perceptions and consumption of artificial sweeteners in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We surveyed the consumption frequency and beliefs of IBD patients and control participants regarding artificial sweeteners.

The Weissella Genus: Clinically Treatable Bacteria with Antimicrobial/Probiotic Effects on Inflammation and Cancer.

Weissella is a genus earlier considered a member of the family Leuconostocaceae, which was reclassified into the family Lactobacillaceae in 1993. Recently, there have been studies emphasizing the probiotic and anti-inflammatory potential of various species of Weissella, of which W. confusa and W.

Thyroid, Diet, and Alternative Approaches.

Background: Increasingly, patients are asking their physicians about the benefits of dietary and alternative approaches to manage their diseases, including thyroid disease. We seek to review the evidence behind several of the vitamins, minerals, complementary medicines, and elimination diets that patients are most commonly using for the treatment of thyroid disorders.

Summary: Several trace elements are essential to normal thyroid function, and their supplementation has been studied in various capacities.

Role of Apolipoprotein E in the tangled mystery of pain.

Pain is one of the common and debilitating health manifestations associated with the majority of diseased conditions, thus making it a serious health concern worldwide. While trying to decipher the cryptic mechanism of pain in hope to provide better gene-based therapeutics, researchers have concluded pain to be of multigenic origin making it hard to cure. Apolipoprotein E is a protein coded by APOE gene containing 4 exons, located on chromosome 19q13.