The World Health Organization has issued first-of-its-kind guidance recognizing obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease requiring lifelong care — and endorsing GLP-1 therapies as part of long-term treatment for adults with obesity. With 1+ billion people affected and 3.7 million deaths in 2024, the WHO says medication-supported care could dramatically reduce cardiometabolic and cancer risks — but warns of rising costs, limited long-term data, and widening access gaps. Even by 2030, fewer than 10% of eligible patients may receive GLP-1 treatment. The new guidelines call for:• GLP-1 therapies paired with structured nutrition & activity programs• Earlier screening and chronic-care follow-up•…
Author: Abhay Panchal
Washington University and Emory researchers have secured nearly $3.2M from the Helmsley Charitable Trust to tackle one of IBD’s toughest challenges: perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease, which affects up to 40% of patients and remains notoriously difficult to treat. The 3-year project will develop AI and deep-learning tools to interpret MRI scans, define fistula healing more precisely, and predict which patients will respond to therapy — paving the way for more personalized and effective care.
Three powerhouse GI platforms continue to dominate physician-practice acquisitions and ASC expansion nationwide: GI Alliance (TX) ~1,000 physicians | 400+ sites | 20 statesNow partially owned by Cardinal Health ($2.8B deal in 2024), GI Alliance is accelerating outpatient expansion with new ASCs in Missouri and Arkansas and partnerships to boost admin efficiency and GI clinical trial access. Gastro Health (FL) 400+ physicians | 150+ locationsBacked by OMERS Private Equity, Gastro Health is leaning heavily on ASC-focused JV strategy in major metro markets and recently strengthened its clinical leadership team to fuel growth. United Digestive (GA) 129 physicians | 80+ sitesPowered…
Swan EndoSurgical has named longtime Stryker executive Erik Todd as CEO, signaling a major push to commercialize its flexible endoluminal surgical robotics platform. Backed by Revival Healthcare Capital and Olympus, the company aims to reshape advanced GI intervention with fully integrated robotic technology — targeting procedures that today remain complex, invasive, and costly. Todd’s arrival brings 25+ years of robotics leadership as Swan prepares for its next scale phase.
University of Miami researchers report that a customized large language model achieved ~95% accuracy in recommending guideline-based follow-up colonoscopy intervals — matching GI physicians in most cases. The tool, validated in 1,000 patient colonoscopy datasets and published in AJG, could reduce errors and save clinicians time, though experts stress a human-in-the-loop remains essential as hallucination and complex cases still challenge current models.
November was a pivotal month in gastroenterology, marked by the first-ever FDA-approved treatment for pediatric IBS-C, updated AGA guidelines pushing for early use of high-efficacy therapies in Crohn’s disease, and new safety data supporting that shift. Yet progress brought new pressure points: research highlighted worsening geographic disparities in GI access, and AI tools—despite hype—failed to meet clinical standards for IBS dietary guidance, reinforcing the continued need for human expertise in digestive care.
A novel, blood-based test developed using fragmentomic features of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) detects colorectal cancer (CRC) with a 90.4% sensitivity and shows consistent performance across stages and tumor locations. METHODOLOGY:
The Dietitians in Gastrointestinal Disorders (DIGID), a practice group within Dietitians in Medical Nutrition Therapy (DMNT) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, have announced the launch of the Board Certified Specialist in Digestive Health (CSDH) credential, now available through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). This new specialty certification recognizes registered dietitians with advanced training and experience in digestive health and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases.
A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that while large language models can outperform medical students on multiple-choice exams, they continue to struggle with real-time clinical reasoning. Researchers from the University of Alberta, Harvard and MIT found that popular AI systems often fail to update diagnoses when new information emerges and have difficulty recognizing irrelevant details. Using a validated “script concordance” testing framework — designed to evaluate how clinicians weigh uncertain and evolving data — AI models performed at the level of junior trainees. None matched senior resident or attending physician expertise. The study also…
Obesity treatment is entering a transformative era — and few therapies have garnered more attention or raised more questions than GLP-1 receptor agonists. In a featured session at Becker’s Fall 2025 Payer Issues Roundtable, Lia Gass Rodriguez, MD, chief medical officer at CVS Healthspire Payor Solutions, explored the complex terrain of GLP-1 drugs, outlining a strategy grounded in clinical science, care integration and fiscal responsibility.