Idiopathic tropical splenomegaly syndrome in Ibadan.
Follow-up of 33 patients with idiopathic splenomegaly, 25 for a period ranging from 14 to 80 months after starting treatment with proguanil 100 mg. daily, showed that there was an excellent response of the splenomegaly, anaemia, and hepatomegaly, together with a definite gain in weight. Every patient improved, though a maximum result was not attained until after at least one year's treatment.Therapy with proguanil is considered superior to and safer than splenectomy. Malaria seems unlikely to have a causal role in the aetiology of the disease, which is probably a manifestation of a disorder of the normal immune mechanism. Idiopathic splenomegaly has a close relation with the type of chronic lymphatic leukaemia seen in Nigeria, and it is possible that the two diseases have a similar aetiological factor.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000188:drug therapy; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006529:Hepatomegaly / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000150:complications; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000209:etiology; D008288:Malaria; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D002727:Proguanil / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013156:Splenectomy; D013163:Splenomegaly / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology
D002727:Proguanil