Gastroenterology & nutrition

Fayez K. Ghishan, MD, Director of the Steele Center and Pawel Kiela, PhD, are exploring how curcumin, a commonly used spice in many Indian foods, may be an effective treatment for IBD.

Understanding how children grow and develop and the diseases that affect growth and development are important to the researchers at the Steele Center.

One of the areas of study is phosphate absorption. Fayez Ghishan, MD, pediatric gastroenterologist and director of the Steele Center, began his research in phosphate absorption in children years ago to find answers to a clinical problem --children with Vitamin D resistant rickets. But what he is learning in his lab has applications far beyond this childhood disease and may eventually help develop a treatment for osteoporosis. Dr. Ghishan has identified the gene responsible for phosphate absorption, which may pave the way for a treatment for children with Vitamin D resistant rickets. He also had identified the gene responsible for phosphate exit from the cell. Learning more about this process may lead to the development of methods to block retroviruses, such as AIDS, from entering human cells.

Breast-feeding gives babies the very best nutrition possible. Researchers at the Steele Center and elsewhere have discovered a growth factor in breast milk that may improve growth and development. Called epidermal growth factor (EGF), this small protein is present in high concentrations in breast milk, but not in commercial formula or the formula we feed to premature babies. A grant from the National Institutes of Health has funded research to determine if adding this growth factor would cause a premature baby's intestines to develop faster and improve overall growth. Researchers hope to be able to conduct clinical trials in a few years.

Children who do not grow properly sometimes are diagnosed with "Failure to Thrive." Thse children are at high risk for behavior and learning disorders later in life. In its most severe form, Failure to Thrive can cause mental retardation and even death. When brain cells are deprived of nutrients, they die. And brain damage may be irreversible. Anna Binkiewicz, MD, created an innovative program to take better care of these children. With the support of Intergroup Healthcare Corporation, she designed an in-patient program at Casa de los Niños to address not only the medical, but the emotional and psycho-social needs of these children and their families. "This is a holistic approach to taking care of these vulnerable children," Dr. Binkiwiewicz says. "The kids get better and the cost to the health care system is greatly reduced."

Each year a half-million children in non-industrialized countries go blind because of vitamin A deficiency. With the help of the UA Optical Sciences Center, Duke Duncan, MD, developed an instrument that tests for night blindness, which is one of the first clinical signs of vitamin A deficiency. Dr. Duncan and a graduate student from Nepal, tested the device, which is no more complicated than a flashlight, in Nepal last year. The results of this study may help them identify children at high risk for vitamin A deficiency and suggest changes in their diets which could prevent blindness.