title: Toward a new understanding of Whipple's disease.
abstract: Since the first successful antibiotic treatment of Whipple's disease in 1952, many breakthroughs have occurred in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease that was once thought fatal. This article provides a historic overview and highlights recent encouraging discoveries regarding this underdiagnosed disease, including the use of polymerase chain reaction techniques and the recent cultivation of the Tropheryma whippelii bacterium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Hofheimer Hall, 825 Fairfax Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23507-1912, USA. Flemmemc@evms.edu
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Flemmer
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Flenner
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D008061:Whipple Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S