Whipple's disease: Progress in the diagnosis and review of the literature

G. Ghittoni, G. Valentini, Cristiano Spada, Italo De Vitis, Z. Rossi, Giovanni Battista Gasbarrini

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

Abstract

Whipple's disease is a rare, chronic, multisystemic disease characterized by the presence of fever, diarrhea, weight loss and malabsorption, preceded by arthritis. Although Whipple's disease almost always includes involvement of the small intestine and the presence of malabsorption, it commonly affects other organs, especially the heart, brain, eyes and joints. Whipple's disease greately mimics other diseases and is caused by a cultivation-resistant bacterium. The disease is fatal unless patients are treated with antibiotics. The diagnosis of Whipple's disease can be made by histologic analysis of small-intestinal biopsy specimens. Identification of Whipple bacterium, Tropheryma whippelii, has led to the development of the polymerase chain reaction This technique can be used to detect the bacterium in many organs and fluids, including synovial tissue and fluid. Affected patients tend to have dilated intestinal villi that are infiltrated with foamy macrophages.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)447-451
Number of pages5
JournalMinerva Medica
Volume93
Publication statusPublished - 2002

Keywords

  • Whipple's disease, diagnosis
  • Whipple's disease, therapy
  • Whipple's disease, etiology

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