Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome Causes Symptoms Therapy

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Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is a disorder where increased levels of the hormone gastrin are produced, causing the stomach to produce excess hydrochloric acid. Often, the cause is a tumour of the pancreas producing the hormone gastrin. As these tumors are benign, they are only removed if the disease cannot be controlled with medication.

1 Causes

Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is caused by tumors usually found in the head of the pancreas and the upper small bowel. These tumors produce the hormone gastrin and are called gastrinoma s. High levels of gastrin cause overproduction of stomach acid.

Gastrin works on stomach parietal cells causing them to secrete more hydrogen ions into the stomach lumen. The increase in acidity contributes to the development of peptic ulcers in the stomach and duodenum. High acid levels lead to multiple ulcers in the stomach and small bowel.

Patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome may experience abdominal pain and diarrhea. The diagnosis is also suspected in patients without symptoms who have severe ulceration of the stomach and small bowel.

Gastrinomas may occur as single tumors or as multiple, small tumors. About one-half to two-thirds of single gastrinomas are malignant tumors that most commonly spread to the liver and lymph nodes near the pancreas and small bowel. Nearly 25 percent of patients with gastrinomas have multiple tumors as part of a condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN I). MEN I patients have tumors in their pituitary glandskull, the pituitary gland is protected by a bony structure called the sella turcica. The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea that sits in the small, bony cavity ( sella turcica) at the base of the brain. It is conn and parathyroid glandThe parathyroid glands are endocrine glands in the neck, usually located within the thyroid gland, which produce parathyroid hormone. Most often there are four parathyroid glands but have been known to number six or eight. Parathyroid hormone is a small ps in addition to tumors of the pancreas.

2 Symptoms

pain
vomiting blood (occasional)
diarrhea

3 Therapy

Proton pump inhibitorProton pump inhibitors are a group of drugs whose main action is pronounced and long-lasting reduction of gastric acid production. The group followed and has largely superseded another group of pharmaceuticals with similar effects, but different mode-of-as and H2 blockers are used to slow down acid secretion. If possible the tumours should be surgically removed, or treated with chemotherapyChemotherapy (pronounced keem-o-therapy is the use of certain drugs to treat disease, as distinct from other forms of treatment, such as surgery. Chemotherapy dates at least as far back as the use, by the Indians of Peru, of cinchona bark in the treatment.

4 History

The disease entity was first described in 19551955 is a common year starting on Saturday. see link for calendar) Events January events January 2 Panama president Jose Antonio Remon is assassinated. January 19 The Scrabble board game debuts. February events February 8 Nikolai Bulganin ousts Georgi Mal by its namesakes: Zollinger RM, Ellison EH. Primary peptic ulcerations of the jejunum associated with islet cell tumors of the pancreas. Ann Surg 1955;142:709-23. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids= } Medline abstract] (PMID }).

NIH site on Zollinger-Ellison syndrome

Eponymous diseases Endocrinology Gastroenterology

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