Ulcerative Colitis

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School have discovered that a class of diabetes drugs already on the market can virtually cure ulcerative colitis in mice. The findings, which surprised researchers at Penn's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, have prompted the research team to begin a small clinical trial of one of the drugs, called rosiglitazone, in people suffering from ulcerative colitis. If it succeeds, the approach would be a breakthrough for the estimated 500,000 Americans who suffer from ulcerative colitis, which affects the colon, and for another 500,000 with Crohn's disease, which involves the entire gastrointestinal tract.

Horsham-based Janssen Biotech Inc., received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell Remicade for the treatment of children over age six who suffer from moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis and haven't responded to other medicine. Remicade is made at a plant in Malvern. Between 50,000 and 100,000 U.S. children have inflammatory bowel disease, of which 40 percent have ulcerative colitis.    - David Sell  

The health hazards of smoking are well-known, but a new study may have identified the first apparent hazard of kicking the habit - an increased risk of a rare but serious intestinal disease called ulcerative colitis. The study also shows that people who continue to smoke have a somewhat lower risk of the disease than do those who never smoked. However, those who conducted the study cautioned that it does not mean that smokers should keep smoking, because the advantages of quitting still far outweigh this single drawback.

In the Region Giant to shut 2 area stores Two Philadelphia-area supermarkets acquired in 2006 by Giant Food Stores in a sell-off by Clemens Markets will shut down in the next several weeks. The Abington Giant on York Road will close on Oct. 8, and Foodsource on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr is to shut on Oct. 22, Giant Food Stores announced. The Carlisle, Pa.-based chain called the formats of the soon-to-be-decommissioned stores "outmoded" and said employees would be offered positions in nearby newer and brighter stores.

If there's one thing Villanova seems to have gotten used to, it's knowing that it won't have the same starting quarterback an entire season. Redshirt junior Tom Marchese will make his second start today in Storrs, Conn., where Andy Talley's Wildcats (3-2 overall) will be looking to even their Yankee Conference record at 2-2 when they face Skip Holtz's Connecticut Huskies (1-4, 1-1). Villanova has not had the same starting quarterback for an entire season since Tom Colombo went 12 games in 1991.

PROPERTY OWNERS SHOULD PAY TO FIX WATER RUNOFF Stephen Kunz's Nov. 18 letter ("Save our natural resources from special interests"), about lax enforcement of environmental regulations and the sacrifice of natural resources by special interests, was on target. The latest example of such laxity and environmental sacrifice is Cherry Hill Township's proposed Kingston Estates flood-control project. The project will waste $3.4 million in public tax dollars to solve what is largely a private-property problem.

Henry G. "Buddy" Herling, 83, of Somerton, former commissioner of the Department of Licenses and Inspections, died of heart failure Thursday, Dec. 2, at Lafayette-Redeemer Hospice. Mr. Herling spent much of his career serving the city, first as an electrician, then as a firefighter for four years, before becoming a civil engineer and fire-code specialist. In 1980, he was appointed deputy commissioner of L&I, and became commissioner in 1985. After leaving the department in 1988, he was a consultant for 20 years for the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp.

Erik Pearson, Villanova's starting quarterback for the first four games of the season, has returned home to Wilkes-Barre to undergo treatment for a stomach ailment. Pearson underwent tests at Lankenau Hospital last week that showed the disease to be ulcerative colitis, a source at the school said. The sophomore will be gone indefinitely, coach Andy Talley said. Pearson returned home after Tuesday's practice and is now under the care of his family physician. "He was very dizzy at practice Tuesday," Talley said.

Villanova quarterback Erik Pearson, who would have been a redshirt junior this fall, has left the school. Pearson had been demoted from the first team after he gained 35 pounds following a long illness and subsequent treatment. Pearson has enrolled at Misericordia College, near his hometown of Wilkes- Barre, and will pursue a degree in physical therapy. "I won't be playing football again," he said Monday. Wildcats coach Andy Talley said he understood Pearson's decision.

A Spring House start-up that is developing nonantibiotic therapies for gastrointestinal diseases has received a $500,000 investment from BioAdvance, the Philadelphia region's life-sciences "greenhouse. " Midway Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical firm focusing on drugs for GI diseases, including Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, and irritable-bowel syndrome. Midway's experimental compound, the polymer MDY-1001, inhibits bacteria in the GI tract and potentially could create nonantibiotic, nonimmunosuppressive therapies to treat a variety of GI disorders.

Special Events A Night of Urban Farming and Astronomy Tour the Teens 4 Good Farm & learn about the night sky. Teens 4 Good Farm, 800 Poplar St. 4/27. 6 pm. Annual Spring IBD Education Day Health specialists will explore aspects of living with Crohn's disease & ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 111 S. 11th St. 4/29. 9 am-1 pm. Annual Wissahickon Creek Clean Up Help clean the Creek, enjoy a picnic afterward.

In the Region Giant to shut 2 area stores Two Philadelphia-area supermarkets acquired in 2006 by Giant Food Stores in a sell-off by Clemens Markets will shut down in the next several weeks. The Abington Giant on York Road will close on Oct. 8, and Foodsource on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr is to shut on Oct. 22, Giant Food Stores announced. The Carlisle, Pa.-based chain called the formats of the soon-to-be-decommissioned stores "outmoded" and said employees would be offered positions in nearby newer and brighter stores.

Horsham-based Janssen Biotech Inc., received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell Remicade for the treatment of children over age six who suffer from moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis and haven't responded to other medicine. Remicade is made at a plant in Malvern. Between 50,000 and 100,000 U.S. children have inflammatory bowel disease, of which 40 percent have ulcerative colitis.    - David Sell  

Henry G. "Buddy" Herling, 83, of Somerton, former commissioner of the Department of Licenses and Inspections, died of heart failure Thursday, Dec. 2, at Lafayette-Redeemer Hospice. Mr. Herling spent much of his career serving the city, first as an electrician, then as a firefighter for four years, before becoming a civil engineer and fire-code specialist. In 1980, he was appointed deputy commissioner of L&I, and became commissioner in 1985. After leaving the department in 1988, he was a consultant for 20 years for the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp.

Myra Morton told police investigating her husband's shooting death early Sunday in Whitpain Township that he had recently taken a second wife in Morocco and was to have traveled there that very day, according to court papers released yesterday. In documents that painted a sad portrait of their marriage, Myra Morton said her husband, Jereleigh Morton, had persuaded her to approve the marriage, as required by her Muslim religion. "I go give him the permission because he argues with me when I protest this marriage," read a handwritten note found by detectives at the Morton home.

WHEN THE U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development told the city in 2005 that it had violated federal relocation law in dealing with Ed and Debbie Munoz, the city told the feds to take a hike. The Munozes, whose Juniata Park business was in the path of a planned housing development, complained that they'd lost their business, home and savings in part because the city had kept them in the dark for two years about plans to take their property. And they said the city had failed to apprise them of their legal rights to relocation expenses and business counseling at a time when it would have made a difference.

A Spring House start-up that is developing nonantibiotic therapies for gastrointestinal diseases has received a $500,000 investment from BioAdvance, the Philadelphia region's life-sciences "greenhouse. " Midway Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical firm focusing on drugs for GI diseases, including Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, and irritable-bowel syndrome. Midway's experimental compound, the polymer MDY-1001, inhibits bacteria in the GI tract and potentially could create nonantibiotic, nonimmunosuppressive therapies to treat a variety of GI disorders.

It didn't feel so much like an instant replay. It felt more like some surreal, 20-year-old replay. Sitting there again in another doctor's office, suddenly very much alone, all the terrible fear rushing back through his body, all the familiar doubts swirling inside his head, his chest tightening like some defensive lineman was squeezing it in a viselike grip, Rolf Benirschke could not move. He could not talk. "I felt," he said, "like somebody had kicked me in the stomach. " It could not happen again, could it?

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School have discovered that a class of diabetes drugs already on the market can virtually cure ulcerative colitis in mice. The findings, which surprised researchers at Penn's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, have prompted the research team to begin a small clinical trial of one of the drugs, called rosiglitazone, in people suffering from ulcerative colitis. If it succeeds, the approach would be a breakthrough for the estimated 500,000 Americans who suffer from ulcerative colitis, which affects the colon, and for another 500,000 with Crohn's disease, which involves the entire gastrointestinal tract.

A former Villanova University quarterback lost his case against the school and several of its athletic officials yesterday when a jury found Villanova was not liable for his medical problems and thwarted career. The Delaware County Court jury held that the university and its officials were not careless or negligent in their treatment of Erik Brett Pearson, whose football career was cut short when he fell ill with an intestinal disorder during his sophomore year. Pearson, now 25, sued the university in 1996.