The latest developments in gastroenterology come to you direct from the floor of the 2008 Digestive Disease Week (DDW) conference, held May 17-22 in San Diego. Highlights include several avenues of pancreatic cancer research into screening measures and markers which may enable earlier detection and improve long-term prognosis. Probiotics, also a hot topic at DDW, are being touted as a means to relieve post-operative digestive problems associated with gastric bypass surgery, by limiting bacterial overgrowth and reducing levels of fasting insulin, lipoprotein A and triglycerides. Separately, research is demonstrating that confocal laser endoscopy can efficiently pare down the process of accurate diagnosis and safe treatment of Barrett’s esophagus.

ReachMD speaks with the primary investigators for each of these exciting research endeavors. Tune in to learn more about the groundbreaking news from Digestive Disease Week!