Dietary folate appears to be inversely related to colorectal cancer risk. This study investigated the effects of dietary intervention with folate or the development of intestinal polyps in Min (Apc +/-) mice. Weanling Mil mice were fed diets containing 0, 2 (basal requirement), 8, or 20 mg folate/kg diet. At 3 and 6 months of dietary intervention, 50% of the mice from each group were sacrificed...

An abnormality in transit is commonly considered to account for unexplained gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. This review describes the most commonly used methods for the measurement of GI transit including small bowel transit test for dyspeptic symptoms and diarrhea, colonic transit test for constipation. Colonic transit times can help uncover causative diagnoses by stratifying motility disorder...

A 79-year-old Saudi female with cecal perforation as a result of colonic malignant stricture is presented. This was treated by emergency subtotal colectomy and ileo-colic anastomosis with satisfactory result. This case reinforces the fact that patients above the age of forty with gastrointestinal symptoms require full work-up to rule out malignancy. Also it shows that abdominal ultrasound alone...

Cecal web is a rare entity. We find few cases of cecal web presenting in adult patient as a mass lesion (Gayner et al., 1977) or radiologically space occupying lesion (Raymond et al., 1983; Guttman et al., 1975) but an extensive search of published reports failed to find a case of the cecal web or similar abnormality in neonatal group presenting as an acute intestinal obstruction. Cecal web cas...

Microcolon (unused colon) is not a common problem in neonates. Radiographic contrast medium enema shows a small caliber colon. This report concerns 12 neonates with microcolon, all identified between January 1995 and June 1997 by contrast medium colon study. Gestational ages were between 28 to 38 weeks and birth body weight between 1,400 to 3,100 grams. Six neonates had jejunal atresia (50%), t...

We investigated the distribution of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) in enema samples taken from subjects before sigmoidoscopy as an indicator of possible microbial community differences between subjects subsequently diagnosed as normal or having colonic disorders. The major SCFA in all groups were acetic, propionic, and butyric acids. A significantly higher ratio of acetate to total SCFA and low...

BACKGROUND Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is characterized by a lack of ganglion cells in the myenteric and submucosal plexus, associated with increased numbers of acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) positive nerve fibres. In approximately 10% of patients with HD the entire colon will be affected; a condition known as Total Colonic Aganglionosis (TCA). Aganglionosis of the appendix has long been consider...

We investigated the distribution of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) in enema samples taken from subjects before sigmoidoscopy as an indicator of possible microbial community differences between subjects subsequently diagnosed as normal or having colonic disorders. The major SCFA in all groups were acetic, propionic, and butyric acids. A significantly higher ratio of acetate to total SCFA and low...

assessment of colonic transit time (ctt) in patients with chronic constipation