Vindaloo and you.

Recent developments have led to the introduction of various test substances to assess intestinal permeability, some of which test the barrier function of the small intestinal mucosa.'4Most of the tests are simple, comprising ingestion of a solution containing a poorly metabolised test substance and subsequent collection of urine over 5-24 hours for analysis of the test markers.Such tests have shown abnormal intestinal permeability in several gastrointestinal conditions,'4 and because of their non-invasive nature they can be applied to diagnostic screening and research.5"7Furthermore, close attention to apparent anomalies of intestinal permeability has led to the description of a new enteropathy caused by non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs that is not evident using conven- tional techniques.8'0eaten by Permeability tests have not, however, been met with universal success as diagnostic screening tests.In No of particular, the indigenous "normal" populations of subjects east and west Africa," 12 the Middle East,'3 Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, India, and Thailand (I S Menzies, 3 unpublished observations) have such high perme-4