An Intestinal Transplant First; 4-Year Stelara Data in UC; Lymphoma After Anti-TNF

A 1-year-old girl from Spain is the world’s first successful recipient of a multi-visceral intestinal transplant from a controlled donor in asystole. (Reuters)

Although probiotics containing the strain Bifidobacterium longum BB536 failed to top placebo for reducing chronic constipation severity in elderly Japanese adults, they appeared to help improve stool frequency. (American Journal of Gastroenterology)

Gastroenterologist Shawn Khodadadian, MD, is suing Mount Sinai Heart Institute in New York City for $596,000 in alleged unpaid rent. Khodadadian owns the three-story building that houses the institute, which he purchased for $10.6 million in 2020. (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)

At nearly 4 years, more than half of patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) on maintenance ustekinumab (Stelara) were still in symptomatic remission, and 96.4% of them without use of corticosteroids, according to updated findings from the phase III UNIFI study announced by Janssen.

In a randomized trial against standard colonoscopy, detection of advanced adenomas was only significantly improved when computer-aided detection and endocuff-assisted colonoscopy were used in combination. (Gastrointestinal Endoscopy)

In a similar trial also published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, use of Olympus’ artificial intelligence-based computer-aid detection device, aptly named ENDO-AID, increased both adenoma detection rate and the number of adenomas found per colonoscopy.

A closer look at the phase III BERGAMOT trial of etrolizumab in Crohn’s disease shows why developer Roche threw in the towel for its once-promising drug candidate. (The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Fierce Biotech)

With nearly 30,000 patient-years of follow-up, incidence of lymphoma was fairly low for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients on tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor monotherapy, reinforcing the safety of this treatment. (American Journal of Gastroenterology)

During a surveillance colonoscopy, 65.1% of patients with traditional serrated adenomas were found to have high-risk neoplasia, according to a Veterans Affairs cohort study. (Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology)

Vedolizumab (Entyvio) and ustekinumab came out even at 52 weeks when it came to extraintestinal manifestations of IBD such as arthralgia. (Digestive and Liver Disease)

A recent survey revealed that many patients at risk for Barrett’s esophagus worry about developing esophageal adenocarcinoma, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, but few say they’ve been properly screened. (American Journal of Gastroenterology)