No abstract

The risk ofdeveloping colorectal adenomatous polyps is probably increased by a variety of dietary and environmental factors. We found an association with current alcohol and cigarette consumption.

The therapeutic efficacy of prednisolone metasulphobenzoate enemas in the treatment of distal colitis has been compared with that of low-dose oral prednisolone, in a single-blind, cross-over trial. Treatment with steroid enemas resulted in symptomatic and sigmoidoscopic evidence of improvement more frequently than treatment with a dosage of oral steroid calculated to achieve similar plasma prednisolone levels. In addition to demonstrating, for the first time, that prednisolone metasulphobenzoate enemas are effective in the treatment of colitis, this study suggests that their efficacy is due to a local action rather than systemic absorption.

globulin have a strong but not exclusive influence.' Changes in albumin have only a minor effect, but paraproteins2 and lipoproteins3 also increase plasma and serum viscosity. For these reasons estimations of plasma fibrinogen from the difference of plasma and serum viscosity are unreliable and can be wrong by as much as 100",.1 According to the authors' own reasoning a quantitative plasma protein determination (electrophoresis) therefore should be more reliable as a predictor of early rheumatic conditions.