Whipple's disease.
Whipple's disease is a chronic multisystemic infection, due to Tropheryma whipplei, a bacterium ubiquitously present in the environment. Although it is very rare, its clinical features are non-specific and can affect several different districts. Whipple's disease is therefore a condition that should always be kept in mind by doctors working in several branches of medicine, such as internal medicine, gastroenterology, rheumatology, neurology, and cardiology. The condition is fatal if not promptly recognized and treated, but the best treatment is still not completely defined, especially in relapsing disease, neurological manifestations, and in cases of immunoreconstitution after initiation of antibiotic treatment.
Coeliac Centre/1st Department of Internal Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, P.le Golgi, 19, 27100, Pavia, Italy. f.biagi@smatteo.pv.it
Federico
F
Biagi
Lucia
L
Trotta
Gino R
GR
Corazza
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012008:Recurrence; D008061:Whipple Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids