Comparison between a new electronic bidet and conventional sitz baths: a manometric evaluation of the anal resting pressure in normal healthy volunteers.

BACKGROUND: A bidet has been proposed as a replacement for the sitz bath. Like a sitz bath, it brings water into contact with the perineum. However, the high force of water from commercially used electronic bidets may harm the anus. We developed a new electronic bidet and evaluated its effects on anal resting pressure compared with a warm sitz bath. METHODS: Forty volunteers used the electronic bidet and sitz bath on separate days. The electronic bidet was newly designed with warm (38 °C) water and very low force (10 mN) with a fountain type of flow. Anal resting pressure at the high-pressure zone was measured before (control) and after the electronic bidet and sitz bath. Pressure changes after bidet or sitz bath were expressed as percentages compared with control. Water temperatures and rectal temperatures were also recorded. RESULTS: The anal resting pressures before the electronic bidet and sitz bath were 90.2 ± 24.6 and 88.1 ± 16.8 mmHg, respectively. At 3 min after the electronic bidet and sitz bath, the anal resting pressures were 71.3 ± 23.4 and 69.6 ± 19.8 mmHg, respectively. The pressure changes compared with the control were 78.2 ± 12.9 and 78.1 ± 12.5%, respectively, which were not significantly different. The maximal increase and minimal decrease were not significantly different. The rectal temperature was not elevated, and the water temperature decreased significantly with the sitz bath (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our new electronic bidet may reduce the anal resting pressure much like a warm sitz bath does.

Comparison of the clinical features of recurrent aphthous stomatitis and Behçet's disease.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND; Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) presents a diagnostic problem in Behçet's disease (BD), particularly when it occurs as the only or earliest feature of the disease. To date, there have been only a few reports studying the differences in characteristics between RAS and BD. AIM: To examine the clinical differences between RAS and BD using a large group of patients. METHODS: A retrospective review was carried out, analysing demographic data, the clinical features of the oral ulcer, and the major and minor symptoms of BD of 1643 patients with RAS and 3527 patients with BD presenting from 1995 to 2001. RESULTS: BD had a greater female predominance, and major oral ulcers were significantly more common in BD than in RAS (P < 0.001). Involvement of multiple sites was also more common in BD than in RAS, and the menstrual cycle had more influence on oral ulcers in patients with BD (P < 0.001). Minor symptoms such as articular, neurological and vascular symptoms and epididymitis were also seen more often in BD than in RAS (P < 0.001), and in particularly, patients with BD had a significantly higher frequency of articular symptoms than did patients with RAS (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These findings may provide guidelines for the clinical differentiation between RAS and BD. In addition, patients with multiple major aphthae, particularly with articular symptoms, should be closely followed up for the development of BD, and the possibility of other diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease should also be considered.

Behcet's disease: remission of patient symptoms after oral contraceptive therapy.

We report a patient with Behcet's disease (BD) who went into remission after administration of oral contraceptives. About 2 years after the diagnosis of BD, she developed dysfunctional uterine bleeding with menometrorrhagia, during which oral and genital ulcers and erythema nodosum-like lesions persisted without remission. The oral contraceptive that was prescribed to control her irregular menstruation also suppressed outbreaks of ulcers and erythema nodosum-like lesions. This case suggests that sex hormones might be considered as one of the aggravating or inducing factors in BD.

Saponins of plants of Panax species collected in Central Nepal, and their chemotaxonomical significance. III.

Panax pseudo-ginseng subsp. pseudo-ginseng has a carrot like root with a small rhizome. It was shown that the saponin composition of roots and rhizomes of this subspecies collected in Tibet and China was extremely poor. From the roots and rhizomes collected in Central Nepal, (specimen-PNct), only a small amount of an oleanolic acid saponin, beta-D-glucopyranosyl-oleanolate (2) was isolated together with a polyacetylene-alcohol, panaxynol (3). In another specimen (specimen-PNs), also collected in Central Nepal, two oleanolic acid saponins, stipleanoside R2 (4) and chikusetsusaponin IV (5) were detected. No dammarane saponin was identified in either specimen. P. pseudo-ginseng subsp. himalaicus (Subsp-H) has a big rhizome with a small round root. From rhizomes and roots of this subsp. collected in Central Nepal (specimen-HNct), a fairly large amount of dammarane saponins, ginsenosides-Rb1 (6), -Rd (7), -Re (9) and -Rg1 (10), gypenoside XVII (8), notoginsenoside-R1 (11), majonoside-R2 (12) and pseudo-ginsenoside-F11 (13) were isolated, while no oleanane saponin (oleanolic acid saponin) was identified in this subsp. Based on the present and previous studies, medicinal evaluation and chemogeographical correlation of Himalayan Panax spp. are discussed.