June 19, 2007

Ménétrier's Disease, Rapid Gastric Emptying

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Ménétrier's Disease

Ménétrier's disease causes giant folds of tissue to grow in the wall of the stomach. The tissue may be inflamed and may contain ulcers. The disease also causes glands in the stomach to waste away and causes the body to lose fluid containing a protein called albumin. Ménétrier's disease increases a person's risk of stomach cancer. People who have this rare, chronic disease are usually men between ages 30 and 60. The cause of the disease is unknown.

Ménétrier's disease is also called giant hypertrophic gastritis, protein losing gasteropathy, or hypertrophic gastropathy.


Symptoms
Symptoms include pain or discomfort and tenderness in the top middle part of the abdomen, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, vomiting blood, swelling in the abdomen, and ulcer-like pain after eating.

Diagnosis
Ménétrier's disease is diagnosed through x rays, endoscopy, and biopsy of stomach tissue. Endoscopy involves looking at the inside of the stomach using a long, lighted tube that is inserted through the mouth. Biopsy involves removing a tiny piece of stomach tissue to examine under the microscope for signs of disease.

Treatment
Treatment may include medications to relieve ulcer symptoms and treat inflammation, and a high-protein diet. Part or all of the stomach may need to be removed if the disease is severe.


Rapid Gastric Emptying
Rapid gastric emptying, or dumping syndrome, happens when the lower end of the small intestine (jejunum) fills too quickly with undigested food from the stomach. "Early" dumping begins during or right after a meal. Symptoms of early dumping include nausea, vomiting, bloating, cramping, diarrhea, dizziness, and fatigue. "Late" dumping happens 1 to 3 hours after eating. Symptoms of late dumping include hypoglycemia, weakness, sweating, and dizziness. Many people have both types.

Certain types of stomach surgery that allow the stomach to empty rapidly are the main cause of dumping syndrome. Patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome may also have dumping syndrome. (Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is a rare disorder involving extreme peptic ulcer disease and gastrin-secreting tumors in the pancreas.)

Doctors diagnose dumping syndrome primarily on the basis of symptoms in patients who have had gastric surgery that causes the syndrome. Tests may be needed to exclude other conditions that have similar symptoms.

Treatment includes changes in eating habits and medication. People who have dumping syndrome need to eat several small meals a day that are low in carbohydrates and should drink liquids between meals, not with them. People with severe cases take medicine to slow their digestion. Doctors may also recommend surgery.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases