Celiac Disease May Cause Idiopathic Portal Hypertension
http://www.celiac.com/articles/21774/1/Celiac-Disease-May-Cause-Idiopathic-Portal-Hypertension/Page1.html
Jefferson Adams
Jefferson Adams is a freelance writer living in San Francisco. His poems, essays and photographs have appeared in Antioch Review, Blue Mesa Review, CALIBAN, Hayden's Ferry Review, Huffington Post, the Mississippi Review, and Slate among others. By Jefferson Adams
Published on 04/7/2009
A recent report by Iranian doctors supports the idea that celiac disease, by means of a heightened immune response in the splenoportal axis, can lead to the development of idiopathic portal hypertension in susceptible affected patients.
Celiac.com 04/07/2009 - Idiopathic portal hypertension is a malady of
unknown cause, typically manifesting portal hypertension, splenomegaly
and anemia secondary to hypersplenism.
Recently, a team of Iranian researchers encountered the case of a a 54-year-old male admitted for evaluation of malaise, weight loss, abdominal swelling and edema of the lower limbs.
The reporting team was made up of doctors Farhad Zamani, Afsaneh Amiri, Ramin Shakeri, Ali Zare, and Mehdi Mohamadnejad, of the Department of Pathology, and the Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease Research Center of Firouzgar Hospital at the University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, and the Digestive Disease Research Center of Shariati Hospital at Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
The patient's clinical evaluation showed pancytopenia, large ascites, splenomegaly and esophageal anomalies associated with portal hypertension.
Blood tests and small intestinal biopsy showed the presence of celiac disease. Patient's symptoms improved with a gluten-free diet, but improvement was further impaired by ulcerative jejunoileitis, and intestinal T-cell lymphoma.
From these results, the researchers conclude that celiac disease, by means of a heightened immune response in the splenoportal axis, can lead to the development of idiopathic portal hypertension in susceptible affected patients.
J Med Case Reports. 2009; 3: 68.
Recently, a team of Iranian researchers encountered the case of a a 54-year-old male admitted for evaluation of malaise, weight loss, abdominal swelling and edema of the lower limbs.
The reporting team was made up of doctors Farhad Zamani, Afsaneh Amiri, Ramin Shakeri, Ali Zare, and Mehdi Mohamadnejad, of the Department of Pathology, and the Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease Research Center of Firouzgar Hospital at the University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, and the Digestive Disease Research Center of Shariati Hospital at Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
The patient's clinical evaluation showed pancytopenia, large ascites, splenomegaly and esophageal anomalies associated with portal hypertension.
Blood tests and small intestinal biopsy showed the presence of celiac disease. Patient's symptoms improved with a gluten-free diet, but improvement was further impaired by ulcerative jejunoileitis, and intestinal T-cell lymphoma.
From these results, the researchers conclude that celiac disease, by means of a heightened immune response in the splenoportal axis, can lead to the development of idiopathic portal hypertension in susceptible affected patients.
J Med Case Reports. 2009; 3: 68.