Get the facts on Whipple Disease treatment, diagnosis, staging, causes, types, symptoms. Information and current news about clinical trials and trial-related data, Whipple Disease prevention, screening, research, statistics and other Whipple Disease related topics. We answer all your qestions about Whipple Disease.
Question: Does anybody know any interesting facts about Whipple's Disease? I have an anatomy project, and I need to find some interesting facts about the intestinal disorder, Whipple's disease. It's very rare and not very much information is put up on the web. The information can by anywhere from disgusting to just plan statistics. Please help!
Answer: Whipple's disease is a rare infectious disease that typically infects the bowel. It causes malabsorption primarily but may affect any part of the body including the heart, lungs, brain, joints, and eyes. It interferes with the body's ability to absorb certain nutrients. Whipple's disease causes weight loss, incomplete breakdown of carbohydrates or fats, and malfunctions of the immune system. When recognized and treated, Whipple's disease can usually be cured. Untreated, the disease may be fatal.
Whipple's disease is caused by bacteria named Tropheryma whippelii. It can affect any system of the body, but occurs most often in the small intestine. Lesions appear on the wall of the small intestine and thicken the tissue. The villi—tiny, finger-like protrusions from the wall that help absorb nutrients—are damaged.
Symptoms include diarrhea, intestinal bleeding, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, and weakness. Arthritis and fever often occur several years before intestinal symptoms develop. Patients may experience neurological symptoms as well. Diagnosis is based on symptoms and the results of a biopsy of tissue from the small intestine or other organs that are affected.
Question: what is whipple disease?
Answer: Whipple's disease is an infection of the human intestines caused by Tropherema whippelli (great Scrabble word). It is an unusual infection, in that its clinical progress is very slow, often affecting infected persons for years with symptoms related to malabsorption of nutrients or arthritis, but it eventually may involve almost any organ of the body. In fact, arthritis and fever often occur YEARS before the signs of intestinal infection (diarrhea, weight loss) occur. Treated early it is curable, untreated it may be fatal. The usual method of diagnosis is by a biopsy of the small bowel.
