ABSTRACT
Trying to conceive and being pregnant is an emotional period for those involved. In the majority of patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, maintenance therapy is required during pregnancy to control the disease, and disease control might necessitate introduction of new drugs during a vulnerable period. In this updated consensus on the reproduction and pregnancy in inflammatory bowel disease reproductive issues including fertility, the safety of drugs during pregnancy and lactation are discussed.
Subject(s)
Consensus , Disease Management , Evidence-Based Medicine , Fertility , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/therapy , Pregnancy Complications , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , Pregnancy OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Both environmental and genetic factors may contribute to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Nutrition in fetal life, an early environmental factor, seems to influence the development of chronic diseases later in life, such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, and non-insulin diabetes. This population based twin study evaluated the association between intrauterine growth, measured by weight and gestational age, and IBS. Structural equation analyses were conducted to analyse genetic and environmental sources of variation in liability to IBS. METHODS: A postal questionnaire was sent to 12 700 Norwegian twins born between 1967 and 1979. The questionnaire included a checklist of 31 illnesses and symptoms, including IBS. The influence of birth weight on developing IBS was tested in four weight groups. Disease discordant monozygotic (MZ) pairs were analysed to test the association between intrauterine growth and IBS. RESULTS: Concordance for IBS was significantly greater (p = 0.011) in monozygotic (22.4%) than in dizygotic (9.1%) twins. The heritability of IBS was estimated to be 48.4% among females. Birth weight below 1500 g (adjusted odds ratio 2.4 (95% confidence interval 1.1, 5.3)) contributed significantly to the development of IBS, which appeared 7.7 years earlier than in higher weight groups. In the MZ group with birth weights lower than 2500 g, twins with IBS were significantly lighter than twins without disease (190.6 g; p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that restricted fetal growth has a significant influence on the development of IBS later in life. Weight below 1500 g influences age at onset. Genetic contribution appears to be important for IBS among females.
Subject(s)
Fetal Growth Retardation , Irritable Bowel Syndrome/etiology , Twins/genetics , Age of Onset , Birth Weight/physiology , Female , Humans , Infant, Low Birth Weight/physiology , Infant, Newborn , Irritable Bowel Syndrome/epidemiology , Irritable Bowel Syndrome/genetics , Male , Models, Genetic , Norway/epidemiology , Phenotype , Prevalence , Sex Factors , Twins, Dizygotic/genetics , Twins, Monozygotic/geneticsABSTRACT
We describe the case of a 33 year-old woman who was hospitalized for ascites, abdominal pain and food allergy. Blood samples and histologic examination of a jejunal specimen removed by laparotomy revealed that the patient suffered from eosinophilic gastroenteritis. This disease is classified among the hypereosinophilic syndromes, and food allergy may be of etiologic importance. Clinically eosinophilic gastroenteritis may present with ascites, malabsorption or gut obstruction. The eosinophilic blood cell count is usually elevated and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate is usually normal or slightly increased. Polyarteritis nodosa, Crohn's disease and nematodal infections of the gut must be excluded. Most patients respond well to corticosteroid therapy and the long-term prognosis is good, even though the disease is chronic in nature.
