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Have You Taken Biologics?
Welcome to this study on the use of biologics for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
We are interested in understanding the experiences of patients with IBD who have used infusion or injection biologic medications in the last 6 years. The results of the study may contribute to future proposals for new medications to treat IBD in New Zealand. The study is run through the University of Otago, Department of Medicine, Christchurch. The primary investigator is Professor Richard Gearry and co-investigator Dr Angela Forbes.
This study is for people who have been diagnosed with IBD (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis or inflammatory bowel disease unclassified) who have used one or more, biologic medications since 2020. Examples include: infliximab, adalimumab, vedolizumab, ustekinumab, Remicade, Humira, Amgevita, Entyvio, Stelara. The study should take you around 15 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary, anonymous, confidential and will not impact your medical care. The study asks about experiences taking biologic medications for IBD, and if the questions raise concerns for you, we encourage you to talk to your GP or contact your IBD nurse. You may withdraw from the study until the final question of the survey has been submitted by contacting Dr Angela Forbes at Angela.Forbes@otago.ac.nz. After the form has been submitted, withdrawal is not possible as responses are anonymous. This study has been approved by the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee (Health), reference H26/0098.
Fasting and Reduced Caloric Intake can Slow Down Tumor Growth in Aged Mice
Researchers from Kumamoto University in Japan investigated whether reducing the caloric intake for mice from 100% to 70% could slow the growth of colorectal tumors. They found that for young mice, there was no suppression of tumor growth in mice fed 70% of their usual dietary requirement. However, in aged mice, there was a marked difference in tumor growth, showing caloric restricted mice had much slower colorectal tumor growth compared to mice fed 100% of their usual dietary calories. They validated their findings in a melanoma model and received the same results, stating the age-dependent tumor suppression was conserved across cancer types.
They also investigated the mechanism by which tumor growth is slowed down. They stated that the mechanism responsible for this protective effect is enhanced infiltration and activation of CD8+ T cells. These cells are specialised for killing cancer cells and were present at higher numbers in tumors of mice subjected to caloric restriction compared to those on a normal diet, they also had increased expression of markers of cell activation and production of effector molecules. As well as T cell infiltration, they found that the tumors of mice subjected to caloric restriction had more normally structured vasculature. Often in tumors blood vessels become leaky and chaotically arranged, which leads to worse malignancy. Their findings showed that caloric restriction could potentially maintain normal tissue structure and keep tumor tissue functional and non-leaky.
Altogether this paper shows some promising results, but it is a study conducted solely in mice. Further investigation into the impact of caloric restriction or fasting is warranted within human cancers and could provide some impactful information about how metabolism interacts with cancer.
Article link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124726009228?via%3Dihub
Giving T Cells a GPS for Colorectal Cancer
Researchers at the University of Colorado are testing a new CAR-T cell therapy for advanced colorectal cancer. CAR-T therapy works by taking a patient’s own T cells and genetically modifying them so they can better recognise and attack cancer cells. You can think of it like giving the immune system a new GPS system that helps T cells find their target.
In this modern approach, the CAR-T cells are designed to recognise B7-H3, a protein found on many colorectal cancer cells. But the researchers are also targeting IL-8, a molecule in the tumour environment that can help cancer grow and make it harder for immune cells to work effectively. By attacking both the cancer cells and the environment that helps protect them, researchers hope to give CAR-T cells a better chance of fighting colorectal cancer.
Article: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1143707
Photo Source: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/research/car-t-cells
Could AI be your new doctor? Researchers say: “probably not”
Due to the ever-increasing use of large language models like ChatGPT for health consultation, the need for digital literacy is at an all-time high. However, we still have little understanding of the true accuracy of the responses generated by these models. Further, even if the information given is accurate, the ability for individuals to understand the responses is critical, particularly when they pertain to health and nutrition.
A study by Khademi et al. aimed to explore the scientific accuracy and readability of ChatGPT responses to nutritional queries related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Researchers gathered twenty frequently asked questions from Google and posed them in independent sessions to ChatGPT version 3.5. The questions varied in complexity, ranging from “Can I eat rice with Crohn’s?”, to “What nutritional deficiencies are common in inflammatory bowel disease?”. The responses to these questions were then assessed by nutritionists and dietitians specialising in IBD.
The researchers found that overall, responses to these queries were rated 4.2/5 for scientific accuracy, and 4.3/5 for comprehensibility by the the IBD specialists. In terms of readability, responses required an average of about 13 years of education to be understood, though this was highly dependent on the specific question being asked.
Though the responses may have been difficult to read, these findings suggest that for general nutritional queries, ChatGPT may be a source of relatively accurate and comprehensible information for patients with IBD. However, accuracy and readability decreased for more complex queries, so further research is needed to validate these findings and explore more specialised nutrition topics.
To see all the questions that were asked and for a breakdown of the accuracy, comprehensibility, and readability of each query, see the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66091-2
Phase 1 Trial of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii Supports Microbiome Based Therapy in Crohn’s Disease
A new study published in Nature Communications reports the first human clinical evaluation of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii as a live biotherapeutic for Crohn’s Disease. F. prausnitzii is a dominant commensal bacterium in the healthy gut microbiome and is widely recognized for its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Reduced abundance of this organism has been consistently associated with intestinal inflammation, disease severity, and relapse risk in Crohn’s disease. In this Phase 1 trial, patients with mild to moderate Crohn’s disease received an oral formulation of a proprietary F. prausnitzii strain (EXL01), with the primary aim of assessing safety and tolerability.
The therapy was found to be safe and biologically active, with no major treatment-related adverse events reported. Importantly, molecular analyses revealed that treatment was associated with changes in ileal gene expression, including reduced activation of inflammatory and innate immune pathways and enhancement of metabolic pathways linked to epithelial homeostasis. These findings suggest that F. prausnitzii may exert therapeutic effects through modulation of host immune responses and restoration of intestinal epithelial function. Although the study was limited by small sample size and lack of a placebo control, it provides important proof-of-concept evidence supporting microbiome-targeted therapeutics as a novel treatment strategy for Crohn’s disease.
ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT05542355.
Guarino-Vignon, P., Louis, E., Pham, HP. et al. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii EXL01 for the Maintenance of Steroid-induced Clinical Response or Remission in Patients with Crohn’s Disease: a first in human trial. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72375-y
Early Clues to Parkinson’s Disease Found in the Gut
Researchers have identified changes in gut bacteria that may signal the earliest stages of Parkinson’s disease in people who carry a genetic risk factor linked to the condition.
In a study published in Nature Medicine, scientists analysed stool samples and clinical data from people with Parkinson’s disease, healthy individuals, and symptom-free carriers of a variant of the GBA1 gene, which increases the risk of developing the disease.
The team found that more than a quarter of gut microbial species differed between healthy people and those with Parkinson’s disease. Strikingly, many of the same bacterial changes were also present in GBA1 carriers who had not yet developed symptoms. Their gut microbiomes appeared to sit midway between those of healthy individuals and people with Parkinson’s disease, and the extent of these changes was linked to subtle early symptoms.
Parkinson’s disease is usually diagnosed only after significant loss of brain cells has occurred. The discovery that gut microbiome changes may appear before noticeable symptoms raises the possibility of identifying people at higher risk earlier.
However, the researchers caution that the study cannot show whether these microbial changes predict future disease. Long-term studies are needed to determine their role in Parkinson’s development.
Original article: Menozzi, E., Ren, Y., Geiger, M. et al. Microbiome signature of Parkinson’s disease in healthy and genetically at-risk individuals. Nat Med (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04318-5
Could a new ultrasound technique replace colonoscopy for Crohn's disease monitoring?
Colonoscopy is the current gold standard for checking whether Crohn's disease is active or in remission, but it's invasive, uncomfortable, and can't be done repeatedly. While ultrasound techniques exist, they have limitations in accurately detecting disease activity. A recent study by Wang et al. published in Insights into Imaging (2026) tested a new ultrasound technique called super-resolution contrast-enhanced ultrasound (SR-CEUS) as a potential non-invasive alternative. The technique involves injecting tiny harmless gas bubbles into the bloodstream and tracking them individually through the smallest blood vessels in the gut wall, generating detailed maps of blood flow and vessel structure. In active Crohn's disease, these vessels appear disorganised and tortuous, which is characteristic of inflammation-driven changes in the bowel wall. In a study of 52 patients, SR-CEUS performed significantly better than conventional ultrasound methods at distinguishing active from inactive disease. When combined with standard bowel ultrasound, which assesses structural changes in the bowel wall, it detected every case of active disease, suggesting this combination could be a promising non-invasive monitoring tool for Crohn's patients in the future.
Wang, Y., Ge, W., Yu, Y. et al. A novel super-resolution contrast-enhanced ultrasound approach for evaluating inflammatory activity in Crohn’s disease. Insights Imaging 17, 135 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13244-026-02309-1
The Myeloid Makeover: Turning Resistance into Response.
The immune response is one of the most important factors that determines how patients respond to cancer. Immunotherapies represent an exciting opportunity to reinvigorate a patient’s immune system to destroy cancer cells. However, solid tumours such as colorectal cancer show variable outcomes, likely due to complex cell interactions within the tumour microenvironment (area within and surrounding the tumour).
Anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody therapy aims to block the Programmed Death pathway of CD8+ T cells within the tumour and promote the anti-tumour immune response, however myeloid cells such as macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells can promote a continually immunosuppressive environment and therefore promote tumour growth.
A recent study conducted by Mestrallet et al. 2026 has demonstrated that by reprogramming immune cell interactions within the tumour they could overcome immune resistance. The authors targeted TREM2+ macrophages using a combination of anti-LAG3, anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 to reprogram the tumour microenvironment of BALB/c mice and achieve up to 100% tumour clearance in mismatch-repair deficient cancers and >70% win mismatch repair-proficient models.
This study represents an emerging avenue of immunotherapies and highlights the role of myeloid cells in the success or failure of immunotherapy in colorectal cancer.
For more information:
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(26)00203-X
Image credit:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12094-024-03697-w
Bread and IBD: Could your sandwich be making you sick?
A study published by Shakman et al in 2025 shone a light on how the ingredients used to make industrial bread, with varying levels of processing, may contribute to inflammation for people with IBD. The authors screened breads available in supermarkets and health food stores, which were then categorised into: low processed (traditional ingredients), medium processed (contained additives such as fibres and malt), and highly processed (contained additives such as emulsifiers and preservatives). They then did a literature review to ascertain the link between these specific additives and inflammation for people with IBD.
The research team screened 233 breads, of which 12% were low processed, 4% medium processed, and 84% highly processed. They identified 37 different food additives and ingredients used, with 81% of breads containing preservatives and 76% emulsifiers. Their literature review showed that 51% of the food additives used in the bread industry were known to either increase gut inflammation or disrupt the gut microbiome.
These findings emphasise the importance of dietary factors, and consideration should be given to recommending low-processed breads to people with IBD.
Article source:
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17132120
Image source: freepngimg.com
World IBD Day 2026!
Today is World IBD Day!
This year’s theme is Access to Care: The Case for Equitable IBD Care.
Millions of people live with IBD worldwide, yet access to therapies and support still depends too often on geography, resources and health system capacity. Many also continue to face delayed or missed diagnosis, limited access to care, high costs, and gaps in psychosocial support.
Access to IBD care is not a privilege – it’s a right. Quality care should never depend on where someone lives.
Learn more about the campaign here: https://buff.ly/MsygfFs
#IBDHasNoBorders #WorldIBDDay2026 #AccessToIBDCare
Art Credits: crohnsandcolitisnz