The brown bowel syndrome and gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma. Two complications of vitamin E deficiency in celiac sprue and chronic pancreatitis?
The brown bowel syndrome is a rare disorder caused by vitamin E deficiency occurring in malabsorption syndromes. In patients with celiac sprue and chronic pancreatitis, the death rate from malignancy is high. We believe that vitamin E deficiency is responsible for the development of the brown bowel syndrome and may be partially responsible for the high incidence of malignancy in patients with celiac sprue and chronic pancreatitis. We report such a patient, and review the literature.
Reynaert
H
H
Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
Debeuckelaere
S
S
De Waele
B
B
Meysman
M
M
Goossens
A
A
Devis
G
G
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000209:etiology*; D000368:Aged; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000150:complications*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000150:complications*; D013577:Syndrome; D014811:Vitamin E Deficiency / Q000150:complications*