A new article in The American Journal of Gastroenterology looks at the effect that NSAIDs, antibiotics, infections, and stress have on IBD. The authors looked at available research on all these topics to make some conclusions about the associated with IBD. They conclude that NSAIDs might cause a flare, but that there isn't much research that points to antibiotics as a cause for flare-ups. In the case of intestinal infections, it's unclear if IBD symptoms are triggered because of the infection, clear up when the infection clears up, or continue after the infection resolves. As far as stress, there is some evidence that IBD flare-ups occur in patients who report that they're stressed. Yet IBD flare-ups and stressful life events are not necessarily associated.

The authors point out that many of the studies used to write their review were lacking in one way or another, such as not using control groups, or not providing baseline population data for comparison. In light of that, they conclude that larger and better studies would help understand how NSAIDs, antibiotics, infections, and stress affect IBD.

I know many of you reading this probably have a story about how one of these things affected your IBD. Why don't you click on "comments" below, and tell me about it?

_{Source: Singh S, Graff LA, Bernstein CN. "Do NSAIDs, Antibiotics, Infections, or Stress Trigger Flares in IBD?" Am J Gastroenterol 2009; 104:1298–1313; published online 31 March 2009. 10 Jul 2009.}

The CCFA is giving away two tickets to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, November 8th. You can enter this contest by registering for a Take Steps Walk, and raising contributions for the CCFA. If there's no walk near you, or you missed it, you can still raise money through post-walk fundraising. Every $100 raised between July 1 and August 31 earns an entry in the contest. Register and learn more here.

Accutane, a drug that is used to treat severe acne, is being pulled from the market by its maker, Roche AG. The drug has been the subject of several lawsuits over the years, with Roche eventually paying millions of dollars to several people who claimed that Accutane caused their inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The company maintains that the drug is being pulled because of financial reasons and not because of concerns over safety.

More about Accutane and IBD:

• Accutane May Have Connection to IBD
• Does Accutane Cause IBD?

You can get many nifty gadgets that plug into a USB port on your computer. Lights, toys, and fans are just a few. And now you can have your very own endoscope. This tool is to "reach the place that you cannot reach but you still need to." It is 2 feet 8 inches long, and has a magnification of 40X. This isn't being marketed for use on the body, but rather for poking around the guts of a computer. That doesn't mean, however, that people haven't used it to look inside their mouths and noses! The cost is $105, at USBfevever.com.