Angiodysplasia is a colon disease that is characterize by a vascular malformation of the large intestine or colon. It is a common cause of otherwise unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia. Lesions are often multiple, and frequently involve the ascending colon, although they can occur at other places. Treatment may be with endoscopic interventions, medication, or occasionally surgery.

Signs and symptoms of Angiodysplasia

Although some cases of angiodysplasia results in a black-colored or tarry stool (melena) due to bleeding, the blood loss can be subtle, with the anemia symptoms predominating. Fecal occult blood testing is positive when bleeding is active. If bleeding is intermittent the test may be negative at times.

How does this disease diagnosed?

Although the lessions can be notoriously hard to find, the patient usually is diagnosed by endoscopy. A new technique, pill enteroscopy, has been a major advance in diagnosis, especially in the small bowel which is difficult to reach with traditional endoscopy. With this technique a pill that contains a video camera and radio transmitter is swallowed, and pictures of the small intestine are sent to a receiver worn by the patient.

Endoscopic image of argon plasma coagulation of colonic angiodysplasia with argon plasma coagulation.

If the case is severe, a blood transfusion is usually required. In lighter cases, a laser treatment of the lession through endoscopy is administered.

If the bleeding is from multiple sources and lesions  is inaccessable, a systemic therapy with medication is necessary. First-line options include the antifibrinolytics tranexamic acid or aminocaproic acid. Estrogens can be used to stop bleeding from angiodysplasia. Estrogens cause mild hypercoaguability of the blood. Estrogen side effects can be dangerous and unpleasant in both sexes.

In severe cases or cases not responsive to either endoscopic or medical treatment, surgery may be necessary to arrest the bleeding.

Bayer HealthCare, the makers of regorafenib, said it would seek Food and Drug Administration approval of the medication this year.

A medication for people with advanced colorectal cancer who have exhausted all other treatment options appears to slow tumor growth and extend life, according to new data.

Bayer HealthCare, the makers of regorafenib, said it would seek Food and Drug Administration approval of the medication this year. If approved, regorafenib would be the first new treatment for colorectal cancer in more than five years.

Although chemotherapy and other medications can extend life in people with metastatic cancer (cancer that has spread throughout the body), alternatives are needed when those drugs stop working, said Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz, a professor at USC Keck School of Medicine and an investigator in the regorafenib trial.

“I think this is a new tool in the armamentarium for patients with this disease,” Lenz said of the findings, reported Tuesday. “In colon cancers, we’ve seen significant changes. Patients who have been treated for years are in good shape, and when they fail one treatment they demand more treatment.”

The new data are from a phase-three study of 760 patients with advanced, metastasized colorectal cancer who had failed on all other therapies. The patients were randomized to receive regorafenib or a placebo along with medications to maintain comfort.

The patients were not taking any other cancer medications. Most colorectal cancer patients with advanced disease who receive only supportive care die in a few months.

Patients receiving regorafenib survived for 6.4 months on average compared with five months for those who were given the placebo. Moreover, 44% of patients on regorafenib had prolonged periods in which the cancer was not growing.

There was a lot of variability: Some patients had dramatic responses, such as one year of survival, while others did not benefit, said lead investigator Dr. Axel Grothey, a professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Grothey is presenting the data this week at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in San Francisco.

Regorafenib is a type of medication called an angiogenesis inhibitor. It shuts down the process by which tumors induce the growth of new blood vessels in order to survive. The drug appears to block a number of different molecular pathways that affect angiogenesis.

“For colon cancer patients, this is an important step,” Lenz said. “This shows if you continue to inhibit angiogenesis in different ways, patients have a significant overall survival benefit.”

Early symptoms can include nausea, vomiting (sometimes bile stained (green color), pulling legs to the chest area, and intermittent moderate to severe cramping abdominal pain. Pain is intermittent not because the intussusception temporarily resolves, but because the intussuscepted bowel segment transiently stops contracting. Later signs include rectal bleeding, often with “red currant jelly” stool (stool mixed with blood and mucus), and lethargy. Physical examination may reveal a “sausage-shaped” mass felt upon palpation of the abdomen.
In children or those too young to communicate their symptoms verbally, they may cry, draw their knees up to their chest or experience dyspnea (difficult or painful breathing) with paroxysms of pain.

Fever is not a symptom of intussusception. However, intussusception can cause a loop of bowel to become necrotic, secondary to ischemia due to compression to arterial blood supply. This leads to perforation and sepsis, which causes fever.

The condition is not usually immediately life-threatening. The intussusception can be treated with either a barium or water-soluble contrast enema or an air-contrast enema, which both confirms the diagnosis of intussusception, and in most cases successfully reduces it. The success rate is over 80%. However, approximately 5–10% of these recur within 24 hours, some experts say.

If it cannot be reduced by an enema or if the intestine is damaged, then a surgical reduction is necessary. In a surgical reduction, the abdomen is opened and the part that has telescoped in is squeezed out (rather than pulled out) manually by the surgeon or if the surgeon is unable to successfully reduce it or the bowel is damaged, the affected section will be resected. More often, the intussusception can be reduced by laparoscopy, whereby the segments of intestine are pulled apart by forceps.

1. Foods with high fiber contents can prevent colon cancer – Although it is a fact that high fiber foods can thwart diabetes and can regulate cholesterol levels as well, it has nothing to do with preventing colon cancer.  Fiber does allow for a better passing of stool, normal mucus formation, and better overall colon health.
2. A detox diet is very beneficial– Detox diet is having an extremely limited intake of foods known to have fats and cholesterol and consumes mostly on water or juice. This type of diet was claimed to eliminate the toxins inside our body through urine, feces, skin and breath. Nevertheless, doctors, scientists and dietitians never approved of this diet. In fact, this could only lead to more detrimental results and one of those is vitamin deficiencies.
3. Foods with low-fat contents can decrease your weight and improve fecal elimination – Studies have shown that consuming fewer amounts of calories is the only way to impede your weight from increasing. Never be reliant on eating foods with no calories and low amount of fats since most of them contain unhealthy ingredients such as sugar which in turn makes it unhealthy for your colon.
4. Fruits and vegetables in juice form are better than eating them in whole – The information that juicing fruits and vegetables can allow us to have better absorption of nutrients is indeed factual. It also does good to having better fecal elimination and over all colon health. Nonetheless, doing this can have a downside. Compared to eating fruits and vegetables, their juice forms have limited fiber contents. Therefore, it is recommended to limit juiced fruits and vegetables to only one to two servings.

Here is one of the many vegetables that is very colon health friendly. I usually have this in my diet on a regular basis. Whenever I suffer constipation or when celebrations comes like the Yuletide season where there are plenty of food to eat and there is a need to detoxify.

What makes this veggie so popular source of dietary fiber and constant presence on the table all over the world?

Jute leaves have been a staple Egyptian food since the time of the Pharaohs and it is from there that it gains its recognition and popularity. Varieties of mallow-leaves stew with rice is a well known Middle Eastern cuisine. The leaves of Corchorus are rich in betacarotene, iron, calcium, and vitamin C. The plant has an antioxidant activity with a significant α-tocopherol equivalent vitamin E.

Jute (Corchorus olitorius) is used mainly in the cuisines of southern Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, Corchorus capsularis in Japan and China. It has a mucilaginous (somewhat “slimy”) texture, similar to okra, when cooked. The seeds are used as a flavouring, and a herbal tea is made from the dried leaves.

In North Africa and the Middle East, the young leaves of Corchorus species are known in Arabic as malukhiyah and are used as green leafy vegetables . Malukhiyah is eaten widely in Egypt and some consider it the Egyptian national dish. It is featured in cuisines from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Tunisia. In Turkey and Cyprus, the plant is known as molohiya and is usually cooked into a kind of chicken stew.

In Nigerian cuisine, especially amongst the Yorubas, it is commonly used in a stew known as ewedu, a condiment to other starch-based foods such as amala. In Sierra Leone it is known as krain krain (or crain crain) and is cooked as stew. The stew is usually eaten with rice or foofoo (a traditional food made from cassava).

In India, it is locally known as nalta sag. It is a favorite food during the summer months, especially in Sambalpur and the western part of Orissa. Usually it is lightly sauteed and eaten along with rice or rice gruel.

In the Philippines, Jute is known as saluyot. It is commonly consumed as a leafy vegetable together with bamboo shoots.

In Kenya, it is used as a leafy vegetable consumed as a traditional (non-fried) stew in accompaniment with starchy foods like ugali, and is called murere or murenda.

Jute leaves is high in fiber, which can sweep toxins from the body. It is high in antioxidants (Vitamins) A,C, and E. These nutriesnts contribute to younger, better looking skin and help stave off diseases associated with aging like colon concer and other related ailments like constipation, excessive mucus on stool, etc.

Cooking Jute Leaves Suggestions

The leavers should be cooked in a very little water or simply put in last in a dish after the stove is turned off.

Boil the water, once water is boiling put in the leaves. Turn off the fire/stove immediately. Cover the pan for 1 minute. Serve. This will prevent the leaves to become very slimy.

At least three servings a week of Jute leaves would be a good start for those planning to consume this regularly.

Say goodbye to toxins. Look better and younger your age with this natural anti-oxidant. Eat judiciously this Christmas season! Happy and Blessed Holidays to All!

As the Christmas season approaches, if you are like me, you will be devouring food with gusto. There will be time when we suffer indigestion and other sort of ailments in our digestive tract, especially the large intestine or colon, such as constipation and other similar condition. Most of the time we seek a fast immediatel relief, LAXATIVES, of this condition. I believe it is necessary and important at this time to write this article on the use of laxatives and the danger it brings to our colon health with regular use..

Laxatives are designed to stimulate the bowel in the efforts to excrete more mucous materials. In actuality, laxatives do not correct the real problem… but instead they make it worse. By irritating the bowels to expel materials, they are not promoting the natural function of the colon muscles – but are instead assisting in the deterioration of the sensitive intestinal membranes. Laxatives can be extremely habit-forming, and over time will cause the colon to become weaker and lazy.

YOu may also check resource and information on colon diseases here.

• Having diarrhea for more than three consecutive days.
• Experiencing pain in the abdomen or the rectum area

This observable fact can be prevented by eating the right food. Having a low fat and plant based diet. They say that the body needs protein to develop, and our foundation on food is that meat is a good source of protein. Meat is not the only sole foundation of protein. Plant protein, which allows for slow but steady production of new proteins, is the healthiest type of protein. Unlike the protein that comes from meat, we can see that there is lower calorie content on the plant protein. Plant protein has amino acids which is the building blocks of protein. Proteins have a function in our metabolism and synthesize new tissues in our body.  There are many sources of proteins in plants soy and nuts are good examples. As a replacement for heavy breakfast with egg bacon and hotdog, Why not have a cup of oatmeal and soymilk? Whole wheat bread, peanut butter and beans are fine source of proteins too. Eating the right way not only prevents disease but furthermore generates health and a sense of well-being, both physically and mentally.

By embracing this revolutionary information, we could collectively defeat the most dangerous disease. It is time for a transformation. It is a necessity that we assiduously choose our food especially what we feed to our children. Ads of the fast foods may be tempting, but with the accurate giving out the knowledge to them, as they grow up they will know the importance of a right diet and its benefits meant for our health. Why not give them the knowledge of right food instead of giving them those in food yet detrimental to their health. Disease initiate on the food we eat let us eat the right foods nowadays. It is difficult to start but what we eat today will impinge on what we are in our old age. Better start it today for a supplementary enjoyable and