This year was the 2nd year that I had the opportunity to give a lecture to our group that reviewed much of the important advances that happened in 2025. All of the slides are based on studies or lectures that were reviewed on my blog, gutsandgrowth. Here are some of the slides:
This year was the 2nd year that I had the opportunity to give a lecture to our group that reviewed much of the important advances that happened in 2025. All of the slides are based on studies or lectures that were reviewed on my blog, gutsandgrowth. Here are some of the slides:
Disclaimer: This blog, gutsandgrowth, assumes no responsibility for any use or operation of any method, product, instruction, concept or idea contained in the material herein or for any injury or damage to persons or property (whether products liability, negligence or otherwise) resulting from such use or operation. These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications (along with potential adverse effects) should be confirmed by prescribing physician. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, the gutsandgrowth blog cautions that independent verification should be made of diagnosis and drug dosages. The reader is solely responsible for the conduct of any suggested test or procedure. This content is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a condition.
This year was the 2nd year that I had the opportunity to give a lecture to our group that reviewed much of the important advances that happened in 2025. All of the slides are based on studies or lectures that were reviewed on my blog, gutsandgrowth. Here are some of the slides:
Disclaimer: This blog, gutsandgrowth, assumes no responsibility for any use or operation of any method, product, instruction, concept or idea contained in the material herein or for any injury or damage to persons or property (whether products liability, negligence or otherwise) resulting from such use or operation. These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications (along with potential adverse effects) should be confirmed by prescribing physician. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, the gutsandgrowth blog cautions that independent verification should be made of diagnosis and drug dosages. The reader is solely responsible for the conduct of any suggested test or procedure. This content is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a condition.
This year was the 2nd year that I had the opportunity to give a lecture to our group that reviewed much of the important advances that happened in 2025. All of the slides are based on studies or lectures that were reviewed on my blog, gutsandgrowth. Here are some of the slides:
P Hartmann et al. Hepatology 2025; 82: 1341-1351. Call to action—Pediatric MASLD requires immediate attention to curb health crisis
R Schenker et al. JPGN Reports. 2025;1–6. Open Access! Preliminary evidence of improved liver biomarkers in adolescents with obesity and suspected metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease treated with semaglutide: A case series
This was a retrospective study with 5 Latino adolescents obesity and MASLD who received semaglutide for at least 3 months. The range of BMI at the start of treatment was between 51 and 68.
Key findings:
My take: This small study is consistent with others that show GLP1 RAs are likely to be an important tool for patients with MASLD. Current recommendations support use mainly in patients with comorbidities including obesity and T2DM.
Other pediatric studies:
Related blog posts:
D Turner et al. . Gut 2025;0:1–7. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2025-336368. Preclinical stages of Crohn’s disease defined by faecal calprotectin in asymptomatic first-degree relatives: screening framework for prevention trial
Methods: “Faecal calprotectin was measured in asymptomatic FDRs aged 6–38 years; those with persistent elevation, defined as >70 µg/g in at least two separate tests, were offered panenteric video capsule endoscopy or ileocolonoscopy”
Population: 331 (35%) first-degree relatives (FDRs) (from a group of 950) agreed to be screened: 63 (19%) had persistently elevated calprotectin, of whom 42 underwent further evaluation
Key findings:
Discussion Points:
My take (borrowed in part from the authors):
Related blog posts:
DC Deza et al. AJG 2025. 120:p 2644-2659. Probiotics Prescribed With Helicobacter pylori Eradication Therapy in Europe: Usage Pattern, Effectiveness, and Safety. Results From the European Registry on Helicobacter pylori Management (Hp-EuReg) Thanks to Ben Gold for this reference.
Methods: Prospective European registry with 36,699 treatments were recorded, where 8,233 (22%) were prescribed with probiotics. The analysis of the effectiveness of probiotics was restricted to those receiving first-line therapy.
Key findings:
Discussion Points:
My take: In highly-motivated families, probiotics may be worthwhile as part of an H pylori eradication regimen. This could, of course, necessitate changes in nomenclature. Would quadruple therapy with probiotics be called 5-drug (quintuple) treatment?
Related blog posts:
H pylori:
Probiotics:
P Feuerstadt et al. AJG 2025; 120: 2468-2470. Treatment of Clostridioides difficile: The Times They Are Changing
This article summarizes the recent changes in the treatment options for Clostridioides difficile (C diff).
Key points:
My take: I have been seeing less C diff cases recently. This may be due to better antibiotic stewardship, changes in C diff strains, or improved testing approaches.. My observation is supported by recent reports:
AY Guh et al. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2025. 39:567-580. Changes in the Epidemiology of Clostridioides difficile Infection
Related blog posts:
Disclaimer: This blog, gutsandgrowth, assumes no responsibility for any use or operation of any method, product, instruction, concept or idea contained in the material herein or for any injury or damage to persons or property (whether products liability, negligence or otherwise) resulting from such use or operation. These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications (along with potential adverse effects) should be confirmed by prescribing physician. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, the gutsandgrowth blog cautions that independent verification should be made of diagnosis and drug dosages. The reader is solely responsible for the conduct of any suggested test or procedure. This content is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a condition.
A Yerushalmy-Feler et al. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 2025, 31, 3320–3326. Real-World Experience with Upadacitinib for Pediatric Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis: An International Multicenter Retrospective Study from the Pediatric IBD Porto Group of ESPGHAN
In this study of 22 pediatric patients with ASUC refractory to infliximab, key findings:
My take: It is good to see more pediatric data. The availability of upadacitinib will likely lead to lower colectomy rates.
Related blog post: IBD Briefs: Upadacitinib in Children, Predicting Crohn’s Disease, and Autoimmune Diseases Associated with IBD
L Bertani et al. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 2025, 31, 3363–3369. When to Switch to Subcutaneous Infliximab? The RE-WATCH Multicenter Study
Methods: The RE-WATCH study was an observational, multicenter, retrospective study performed in four IBD referral centers. Inclusion criteria meant that only patients receiving on label SC-IFX at a dosage of 120 mg every other week were included in the study. The initiation of IFX therapy as the baseline timepoint.
Key findings:
My take: These results indicate that outcomes are similar between patients switching from to IFX SC at both early (after induction) and late (after 6 months).
It is worth noting that prior studies have shown that home-based therapies (eg. home infusion), compared to office-based therapies, have been “associated with suboptimal outcomes including higher rates of nonadherence and discontinuation of infliximab.” This is a concern for SC biologics as well.
Related blog posts:
Last week, the following article explained why the newest changes, announced yesterday (see link below), to the vaccine schedule recommendations are not a good idea:
J Interlandi. NY Times 12/30/25: This Is the Damage Kennedy Has Done in Less Than a Year
An excerpt:
“Proponents of the push to align U.S. recommendations with those of so-called peer nations such as Denmark, Japan and Germany — all of which recommend fewer shots than the United States — have billed it as a common-sense corrective. But, as innumerable doctors and scientists have explained, when it comes to public health, countries with fewer shots on their must-have list are not actually our peers.
In Denmark, to take the administration’s favorite example, prenatal care is free and universal. More than 95 percent of pregnant women are screened for hepatitis B, and those who test positive are promptly treated and duly monitored…
None of this is true in the United States.
Here, nearly a quarter of pregnant women lack adequate prenatal care, and those who face the highest risk of contracting and spreading vaccine-preventable diseases are often the least likely to have access to doctors or pharmacies. When U.S. health officials tried to stamp out hepatitis B through vaccination programs aimed at high-risk groups, they failed miserably. It was not until they carried out a universal, at-birth vaccination policy in 1991 that hepatitis B infections finally plummeted — by about 99 percent.
In fact, if the U.S. public health system has one thing going for it relative to other nations, it’s probably vaccines. As the C.D.C.’s own data indicates, routine childhood vaccination has prevented hundreds of millions of illnesses and tens of millions of hospitalizations here. It has also saved half a trillion dollars in medical costs, a figure that jumps into the multitrillions once you factor in indirect, societal costs like lost productivity and lost wages.
The United States tends to have higher rates of measles vaccination than Europe, and fewer measles cases as a result. Compared with Denmark, we also tend to have lower hospitalization rates for rotavirus (which causes diarrhea and can be fatal in infants and children) and respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V. (which is a leading cause of hospitalization among children). The reason for those disparities is not in dispute: We vaccinate routinely against both viruses. Denmark does not…
In the meantime, the Food and Drug Administration is angling to make an even bigger and more enduring impact on Americans’ access to vaccines…top officials at the agency have proposed a roster of new requirements for the shots, including several that critics say would be logistically impossible and could leave us with no F.D.A.-approved Covid or flu vaccines…
We don’t have to wonder what that future will look like. We can glimpse it already in communities across the country where measles and whooping cough are resurgent and where infants and young children have already died from both. We can also see it foretold in the current flu season: This year’s flu vaccine has proved an imperfect match to the currently circulating strains. New shots, based on mRNA technology, would have one day enabled us to avoid this kind of misfire. But the nation’s leaders have imperiled that future with the decisions they made this year…
Mr. Kennedy has brought us to this precipice by aggressively subverting nearly every process and protocol that previously governed our public health institutions. He has granted political appointees enormous sway over agency scientists. He has excluded people with meaningful expertise from his planning and deliberations. And he has fired dissenters all the way up to the C.D.C. director and replaced them with lackeys, sycophants and wellness grifters.”
My take: RFK Jr and this administration has already done great damage to our health care and the toll will be evident for a long time. But, they are not done yet.
Link to yesterday’s announcement: NY Times 1/05/25: Kennedy Scales Back the Number of Vaccines Recommended for Children“Public health experts expressed outrage at the sweeping revisions, saying federal officials did not present evidence to support the changes or incorporate input from vaccine experts…and will endanger the health of children in the United States…The C.D.C.’s new schedule continues to recommend vaccines against some diseases, including measles, polio and whooping cough, for all children. Immunization against six other illnesses — hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, rotavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, the leading cause of hospitalization in American infants — will be recommended for only some high-risk groups or after consultation with a health care provider.”
Related blog posts:
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