Colonic production of nitric oxide gas in ulcerative colitis, collagenous colitis and uninflamed bowel

Nitric oxide (NO) produced in excess by the inflamed human colon is generally considered a pathway of mucosal damage. In an attempt to quantify colonic mucosal production of NO in various forms of colitis we performed 'steady-state' gas perfusion of whole colon in 11 patients with ulcerative colitis, 10 patients with collagenous colitis and 20 controls with uninflamed mucosa.