A SURGEON at Basingstoke hospital wants volunteers to step forward and have an enema so he can test the theory that nicotine improves the condition of people suffering from a serious bowel disease.

Consultant Darren Gold, who has a special interest in inflammatory bowel disease, wants people suffering from ulcerative colitis to help examine how enemas containing nicotine affect their illness.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic disease which affects 12 out of every 10,000 people. Its cause has yet to be discovered, but ideas include family factors, infective agents, food allergies and even smoking. There are many treatment options, but steroids are the usual mainstay for most sufferers.

However, Mr Gold and his colleague, clinical research fellow Mr Suresh Pillai, say it is well-documented that ulcerative colitis is one of the very few diseases that occur much less frequently in smokers.

Mr Pillai said: "Ex-smokers have a particularly high incidence. It is believed that the reason for this is linked to the effects of nicotine.

"The theory is that nicotine exerts a beneficial effect on the lining of the colon, by modifying mucus production, repairing the leaky lining cells and altering the way in which the muscles in the bowel wall contract."

Mr Pillai said several studies have shown that nicotine patches are effective in treating active colitis, and there have been further encouraging results from the use of nicotine enemas, which have produced few side effects.

Basingstoke hospital is one of four UK centres to study the effect of nicotine enemas on colitis affecting mainly the left side of the colon.

The surgeons stress that patients suffering from ulcerative colitis should not take up smoking.

Anyone interested in getting involved in the nicotine test should telephone 01256 314752.