Towards a better oral rehydration fluid.

Improvements in characteristics of solutions used for oral rehydration therapy, to provide significant reductions in amount and duration of diarrhea, are expected to contribute to wider use of these fluids. Recent studies suggest that these may come about from reducing the osmolality of the solution, and by providing short chain fatty acids for better fluid absorption from the colon. This article briefly reviews the physiology of intestinal and colonic absorption in diarrhea, and indicates the further studies that are needed to translate the above advances into universal practice for the treatment of diarrhea.