Menthol boosts detection of suspicious polyps with colonoscopy

YouTube courtesy National Cancer
Institute

MEDPAGE TODAY – May 7, 2014 – Spraying the colon with menthol to reduce the waves of contractions, called gastric peristalsis, increased detection of suspicious polyps by nearly 20 percent according to Japanese researchers. The study of 226 patients who underwent colonoscopies was presented at Digestive Disease Week 2014, the annual meeting of gastroenterologists in Chicago this week. They compared the number of adenomas, a type of polyp, detected in 118 people who underwent administration of menthol before colonoscopy and 108 people treated with a placebo before the procedure. There were 161 low-grade adenomas found in the menthol group for a detection rate of 60.2 percent, compared to 108 in the placebo group for a detection rate of 42.6 percent.  

Read more ...