Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0024523 (malabsorption)
 7,319 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 47-year-old woman with seronegative polyarthritis, diarrhea, and photosensitivity dermatitis was found to have Crohn's disease and pellagra. The presence of high values of 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid in the urine began the exhaustive investigations and finally enterotomy. No mass lesion was found. Argyrophilic cells were not increased in areas of inflamed intestinal mucosa or the normal mucosa. The disagreement between biochemical and histologic findings was attributed to sampling error. Antiinflammatory treatment for Crohn's disease was given and the gastrointestinal and articular symptoms improved, excretion of 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid returned to normal and there was no relapse of pellagra. Pellagra as a complication of Crohn's disease has been described in 4 cases; malnutrition and intestinal malabsorption were the proposed mechanisms for the niacin deficiency and pellagra of those patients. In the current case, the pathogenesis of pellagra may be accounted to wastage of tryptophan by an increased pool of intestinal argyrophilic cells, suggested by increased urinary excretion of 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid.
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PMID:Crohn's disease associated with pellagra and increased excretion of 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid. 903 Jun 78

Many of the vitamin deficiency diseases have been almost completely eliminated in developed countries. Niacin deficiency is considered one of them. However, cases of pellagra are recently reported in West Europe, USA, Australia, and Japan in connection with chronic alcoholism, gastrointestinal malabsorption, and some medications. We report two cases of pellagra, manifesting as photosensitivity dermatoses with mental deterioration in chronic alcoholic abusers in the Mediterranean basin, the island of Crete in Greece. The report highlights the fact that all physicians should be alerted to photosensitivity dermatoses in alcoholics; early treatment with multiple vitamin therapy, including nicotinic acid should be initiated in these patients.
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PMID:The diagnostic importance of photosensitivity dermatoses in chronic alcoholism: report of two cases. 1909 53