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Here is a brand new review article on intestinal permeability that
summarizes the research that has been done in this field.  The full text
and PDF versions of the article are free:

Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Volume 18 Issue 5 Pages 479-497  - May 2003

Intestinal barrier: An interface between health and disease.

Farhadi A, Banan A, Fields J, Keshavarzian A.

Departments of Internal Medicine (Section of Gastroenterology and
Nutrition), Pharmacology, and Molecular Biophysics and Physiology, Rush
University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The intestine constitutes the largest interface between a person and his or
her environment, and an intact intestinal barrier is thus essential in
maintaining health and preventing tissue injury and several diseases. The
intestinal barrier has various immunological and non-immunological
components. The epithelial barrier is one of the most important non-
immunological components. Hyperpermeability of this barrier is believed to
contribute to the pathogenesis of several gastrointestinal disorders
including inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease and food allergy.
Hence, assessing barrier integrity is of the utmost importance. One of the
more quantitative gauges for this assessment is transepithelial
permeability of various molecular probes, among which sugars are commonly
used. Measures of intestinal permeability might also be useful as markers
for assessment of prognosis and follow up in various gastrointestinal
disorders. The present article is a review of the normal and abnormal
functioning of the intestinal barrier, the diseases that can result from
loss of barrier integrity, and some promising agents and strategies for
restoring barrier normality and integrity. Copyright 2003 Blackwell
Publishing Asia Pty Ltd

Be sure to paste the web address together on one line to access these sites:

Full text HTML version:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.1440-
1746.2003.03032.x/full

PDF version:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.1440-
1746.2003.03032.x/pdf

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