Researchers at Sinai Health have uncovered evidence that the immune system may signal Crohn’s disease long before diagnosis — quietly, invisibly, and well ahead of clinical symptoms. A simple blood test, they suggest, may be able to identify this risk in otherwise healthy individuals. The clue lies in how the immune system reacts to flagellin, a protein found on common gut bacteria. In a large, long-running cohort study of people with a family history of Crohn’s, elevated immune responses to this bacterial protein appeared years before disease onset. That timing challenges a long-held assumption: that immune dysfunction follows inflammation, rather…
Author: Abhay Panchal
In a deeply personal reflection spanning three generations of gastroenterologists, Dr. Sameer Berry argues that today’s GI practice bears little resemblance to what many physicians trained for. What once felt relational and manageable has evolved into a daily exercise in capacity constraints, reimbursement pressure, and administrative overload. Physician shortages are no longer a future risk — they are actively reshaping access, burnout, referral networks, and practice economics. Recruitment is slowing just as patient demand and clinical complexity accelerate, forcing practices into reactive modes that quietly erode growth and continuity of care. Technology alone, Berry suggests, won’t break this cycle. Instead,…
Watch this recap of The Scope Forward Show 2025 (Season 5) — a collection of the most in-depth conversations shaping the future of gastroenterology. To our guests: thank you for your honesty, generosity, and leadership. Your willingness to speak openly has helped make The Scope Forward Show a defining voice in GI over the last five years. Watch it here. Featured guests:Dr. Michael Dragutsky (Chairman, OneGI), Dr. Brennan Spiegel (Author, VRx), Bill Snyder (Founder and CEO, Cylinder), Asaf Kraus (Founder, Dieta Health), Dr. Casey Chapman (CMO, GI Alliance), Dr. Jonathan Ng (Founder, Iterative Health), Dr. Neil Parekh (CIO, GI Alliance), Matt Schwartz (Founder, Virgo), Leo Grady, PhD…
This edition of Sharma’s Endoscopy Insights highlights two key findings in colonoscopy practice. First, augmented reality (AR)–assisted endoscopy shows promise in improving procedural efficiency and reducing ergonomic injuries, as AR headsets can help endoscopists maintain a neutral posture during procedures. Second, a U.S. study found that patients with a positive stool-based screening test (FIT or multitarget stool DNA/Cologuard) have a higher prevalence of advanced adenomas throughout the colon, including a notably increased rate of right-sided advanced serrated polyps, reinforcing the importance of thorough colonoscopic evaluation after positive stool tests.
Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) has transformed gastroenterology since the early 2000s by enabling noninvasive visualization of the gastrointestinal tract, particularly the small intestine—an area traditionally difficult to examine with conventional endoscopy. Conceptualized in the 1980s by Gavriel Iddan and Eitan Scapa in Israel and advanced in parallel by Paul Swain in the UK, WCE brought Richard Feynman’s idea of “swallowing the surgeon” closer to reality. The first FDA-approved capsule, PillCam SB1 (2001), demonstrated the feasibility of complete small-bowel imaging and rapidly expanded clinical use beyond obscure GI bleeding to include Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, small-bowel tumors, and iron deficiency anemia.…
A single-center study suggests that a saline-immersion/irrigation technique (SITE) combined with the pocket-creation method (PCM) can significantly improve outcomes in colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Key findings: Why it matters:SITE-ESD improves visualization and procedural stability by replacing intraluminal gas with saline irrigation, enabling safer and more effective en bloc resection of complex lesions. The approach may reduce the need for general anesthesia and surgery while maintaining high curative outcomes. Limitations:Results are from a single center, follow-up was available for only 58.8% of patients, and resection speed was modest due to lesion complexity. Bottom line:SITE-ESD appears to be a safe, effective,…
OpenAI announced the launch of ChatGPT Health, a new platform designed to help users navigate healthcare and answer everyday health and wellness questions by combining ChatGPT’s capabilities with a person’s personal health information. The company also announced a partnership with b.well, which will serve as the technical backend to securely access and unify users’ medical records. ChatGPT Health allows users to upload and connect medical records such as lab results, visit summaries, clinical history, and data from wellness apps including Apple Health. OpenAI stated that the platform was developed in collaboration with physicians globally and includes additional protections beyond standard…
Freenome reported improved clinical performance of an updated version of its SimpleScreen™ colorectal cancer (CRC) blood test, with data presented at the 2026 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. In a large case-control validation study of 966 average-risk samples, the updated test detected 85% of CRC cases and 22% of advanced precancerous lesions (APLs) at 90% specificity. The improved performance reflects assay upgrades, including optimized reagents, workflow enhancements, and increased automation. The updated test was compared head-to-head with the original version—currently under FDA review—using the same study subjects, controlling for biological and cohort variation. Performance results for both CRC and APL were…
Ro, the leading direct-to-patient healthcare company, announced today that it is working with Novo Nordisk on the nationwide launch of the new Wegovy® pill. Patients today can come to Ro.co for the easiest way to access the first and only oral GLP-1 weight loss medication at the lowest available cash pay price. Ro first integrated directly with Novo Nordisk in April 2025 and has been a key part of the manufacturer’s direct-to-patient expansion to date. “The Wegovy pill is the most recent example of Novo Nordisk’s decades-long commitment to obesity treatment. Now more than ever, it is critically important to…
A national shortage of gastroenterologists is beginning to show measurable downstream effects on physician workload and patient care, according to a Medscape report published Dec. 12. Most respondents reported at least a moderate negative impact from the shortage, with the greatest strain appearing in physicians’ day-to-day time demands. More than two-thirds of respondents rated the shortage’s impact on their time per patient at a 3 or 4 on a five-point scale, and 8% said it has had a “considerable negative impact.” When asked about patient care, respondents similarly clustered around moderate effects, both within their own practices and in their…