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Article: Nicotine Patch May Help Colitis Patients, Study Says
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- March 24, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1994 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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Up to half of all people with ulcerative colitis may find relief
by using a nicotine patch, British researchers report.
In a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Rupert D.
Pullan of the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff confirmed the
findings, which he and his colleagues first reported last year at a
Boston medical meeting.
Building on years of observations that ulcerative colitis
generally occurs only in non-smokers, and often begins when a smoker
quits, they tested whether nicotine given through a patch rather than
by smoking could ease the stomachaches and diarrhea that are symptoms
of the disease.
They found that in many cases it does: In 17 of the 35 patients ...