There is a glaring lack of knowledge on mouse colonic motility in vivo, primarily due to unavailability of adequate recording methods. Using a noninvasive miniature catheter pressure transducer inserted into the distal colon, we assessed changes in colonic motility in conscious mice induced by various acute or chronic stressors and determined the neurotransmitters mediating these changes. Mice ...

Depressive disorders are more common among persons with chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and anti-inflammatory effect of some antidepressants such as amitriptyline has been reported. Acetic acid colitis was induced in both reserpinised (depressed) and non-reserpinised (normal) rats. Reserpinised groups received reserpine (6 mg/kg, i.p.) one hour prior to colitis induction. Th...

Conjugation of phenol by the colonic mucosa was assessed in vivo using dialysis tubing containing 1.5 ml of 1 mmol/l acetaminophen (paracetamol) and 10 mmol/l butyrate. These were allowed to equilibrate in the rectum for one hour. The glucuronidated and sulphated conjugates of acetaminophen were measured by high pressure liquid chromatography and bicarbonate concentrations by gas analysis. In 2...

Epidemiological research has demonstrated that the consumption of red meat is an important risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer (CRC), diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. However, there is no holistic insight in the (by-) products of meat digestion that may contribute to disease development. To address this hiatus, an untargeted mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomi...

The Multimatrix® (MMX®) preparation MMX® is a recently obtained drug formulation developed to facilitate release of high concentrations of active drugs into the colon, with a homogeneous distribution along all colonic segments, particularly the most distal ones; the distal colonic tracts, indeed, are the most difficult to reach in significant amounts when a drug is given orally. The MMX® formul...

β-defensins are small cationic antimicrobial peptides secreted by diverse cell types including colonic epithelial cells. Human β-defensins form an essential component of the intestinal lumen in innate immunity. The defensive mechanisms of β-defensins include binding to negatively charged microbial membranes that cause cell death and chemoattraction of immune cells. The antimicrobial activity of...

Colonic disease in cats is uncommon, compared to diseases or disorders of the stomach or small intestine. And, depending on the nature of the problem, the clinical manifestation of disease may be either constipation or diarrhea. Because the physiology and function of the colon is unique from the remainder of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, these differences must be appreciated before appropria...

The treatment strategy of colonic injuries is a debatable and highly controversial subject worldwide in various medical centers. The method of treatment of left and .. right colonic injuries, diversity or similarity in their management and particularly differences between the treatment of war-associated injury from other types of colonic damage are among the unsettled issues. The present s...

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely prescribed in different conditions. NSAIDs are well known to induce gastroduodenal damage as well as more distal small bowel and large bowel damage. NSAID-colopathy (ulceration or stricture formation) usually involves the right colon, but the rectum may be involved too. Patients may present with diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding, anemi...

cies in women and the main cause of cancer-related deaths (1). Breast cancer usually metastasizes to the lymph nodes, lung, bone, liver or brain. However, metastases to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are rare. The most frequent sites of the GI tract involved are the stomach and the small intestine, while a colonic metastases is extremely rare (2, 3). Because of its rarity and its nonspecific c...