Saturday, February, 11, 2012

Whipple’s disease

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Intestinal lipodystrophy


Symptoms

Symptoms usually start slowly. Joint paint is the most common initial symptom. After that, often several years later, symptoms of gastrointestinal (GI) infection develop. Other symptoms may include:

  • Abdominal pain
  • Diarrhea
  • Fever
  • Gray to brown skin color
  • Joint pain
  • Memory loss
  • Mental changes
  • Weight loss

Signs and tests

Possible signs:

  • Enlarged lymph glands
  • Fatty stools
  • Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding
  • Heart murmur
  • Swelling in body tissues (edema)

Tests to diagnose Whipple's disease may include:

  • Complete blood count (CBC)
  • Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of the affected tissue for Tropheryma whippelii
  • Small bowel biopsy
  • Upper GI endoscopy (viewing the intestines with a flexible, lighted tube in a process called enteroscopy )

This disease may also change the results of the following tests:

  • Albumin levels in the blood
  • Unabsorbed fat in the stools (fecal fat)
  • Intestinal absorption of a type of sugar (d-xylose absorption)

Review Date: 05/04/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San Diego, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)