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Chronic HCV infection is a leading cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality. In 2011, treatment options for patients infected with HCV genotype 1 changed dramatically with the approval of two nonstructural protein 3 protease inhibitors—boceprevir and telaprevir—by the FDA and the European Medicines Agency.
Interest in the gut microbiota has escalated with growing appreciation of the role of indigenous microbes in the health of the host and in the pathogenesis of several intestinal and extraintestinal disorders. The microbiota has become a plausible target for drug and dietary therapy and a repository from which bioactive agents or new drugs can be mined.
Neurogastroenterology encompasses intrinsic and extrinsic neural processes that regulate gut functions, sensation and related behaviors such as ingestion. In 2011, key advances were made in understanding gut–brain interactions, visceral sensation, serotonin signaling, neurogenesis and neuromuscular transmission.
Pancreatic cancer is usually detected at an advanced stage and responds poorly to treatment. In 2010 new insights were gained into understanding the complex biology of pancreatic cancer. Importantly, these insights offer novel opportunities for early diagnosis and treatment of this disease.
IBS is a chronic, fluctuating disorder that continues to be the subject of considerable research. 2010 saw some key advances across all aspects of IBS, including further advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of this condition.
The results of various studies from 2010 have underlined the importance of the careful diagnostic assessment of GERD. Recent studies have also provided further evidence of the complex pathogenesis of GERD, and promising agents targeting the underlying factors in the pathogenesis of this condition are in the pipeline, especially for treatment-refractory GERD.
The management of IBD remains a challenge, with the main issue being to combine therapeutic efficiency with minimal side effects and optimal quality of life. Efforts towards achieving this objective continued in 2010—we discuss some of the most relevant publications and their potential impact on daily practice in the future.
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) publications have advanced in 2010 at a pace paralleling the increased frequency and severity of clinical infection. Both toxins A and B are essential virulence factors, PCR diagnostic testing is rapid, sensitive and specific, and recurrent CDI can be prevented using monoclonal antibodies to toxins A and B.
Although several antiviral treatments for HBV infection have recently reached the market, no direct acting antiviral drugs to treat infection with HCV have been licensed in the 20 years since its identification. Excitingly, recent publications herald several small revolutions in antiviral treatment of HCV that have considerable relevance for prospective HCV therapies.
