Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Cell-based therapies for the treatment of perianal Crohn’s disease have well-established safety profiles and improved efficacy compared with conventional therapy. However, stem cells are not a homogeneous product and questions remain before we can optimize clinical trials of these treatments and achieve best patient outcomes.
Work during the past two decades has highlighted how HIV contributes to hepatic inflammation and fibrosis, leading to changes in the timing of antiretroviral therapy initiation and to improved diagnosis and management of liver disease in patients with HIV. As this population ages, clinician vigilance with early detection of emerging liver disease will be critical.
Obesity is an established risk factor for gastrointestinal cancers. Interventions that reduce the burden of obesity at both the societal and individual level and targeted interventions among those at higher risk of cancer should be developed, supported by advances in understanding of the biology that underpins the obesity–cancer link.
Bariatric surgery-induced weight loss is associated with reduced overall cancer incidence; however, some data suggest that risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) actually increases. Here, we suggest a need to fully characterise CRC (and colorectal adenoma) risk after bariatric surgery given that preventive measures (early diagnosis and polypectomy) can mitigate risk.
Biomedical ‘big data’ has opened opportunities for data repurposing to reveal new insights into complex diseases. Public data on IBD have been repurposed for novel diagnostics and therapeutics, and these datasets continue to grow. Here, we discuss the practicalities and implications of open data informatics for IBD.
More than 250 million people worldwide are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). In this Comment, members of the International Coalition to Eliminate HBV appraise the current policy environment and the need for appropriate cure research and preparedness to complement the WHO global elimination strategy, the HBV vaccine and the well-tolerated but poorly accessed therapy.
According to a meta-analysis of twin research studies, only a minority addressed gastrointestinal diseases, and mainly IBD and IBS. Here, we discuss similarities and differences between twin research in IBD and IBS, using these diseases as an example of the potential benefits that twin studies can offer gastroenterology.
Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), a highly effective treatment for Clostridium difficile infection, is now being explored for complex diseases, but innovative trial design and collaborative approaches are essential for unlocking its therapeutic potential. If ‘superstool’ capable of treating a complex disease exists, then FMT trials should aim to find and use it.
CRISPR–Cas9 has revolutionized biomedical research. Studies in the past few years have achieved notable successes in hepatology, such as correction of genetic disease genes and generation of liver cancer animal models. Where does this technology stand at the frontier of basic and translational liver research?
Alcohol use and 'social' drinking are increasing among the young and particularly in women. However, gender equity does not extend to the risk of alcohol-associated liver disease and alcoholic hepatitis, which are increased and often caused by as little as half as much cumulative alcohol consumption in women compared with men.
