Ulcerative colitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, and chronic pancreatitis: coincident or coexistent?

We report a 45-year-old woman with chronic ulcerative colitis complicated by primary biliary cirrhosis and concomitant chronic pancreatitis. The combination of primary biliary cirrhosis and ulcerative colitis has only rarely been reported, and the association of these diseases with chronic pancreatitis is even rarer. These systemic manifestations of ulcerative colitis should be looked for more often.

Macroglobulinemia and small intestinal disease. A case report with review of the literature.

Involvement of the gastrointestinal tract in macroglobulinemia is exceedingly rare. We describe a patient with IgM biclonal immunoglobulin disorder associated with diffuse lymphoplasmacytic infiltration of the small intestine. This chronic illness was characterized by diarrhea, steatorrhea, and intestinal pseudo-obstruction.

Small-bowel changes in recurrent ulceration of the mouth.

Jejunal biopsies of twenty-four patients with aphthous ulcers in whom malabsorption was not found, were studied. Four patients (16%) had subtotal villous atrophy and this structural change reversed after gluten withdrawal. There was a significant increase in intra-epithelial lymphocytes in the aphthous patients compared with healthy controls (p less than 0.

Atypical plasma cells in alpha-chain disease.

Pathologic features of the jejunal mucosa of a patient with alpha-chain disease in its early transition to malignant stage, are described. Ultrastructural alterations were seen in some plasma cell, close similar to those described in myeloma plasma cells. Ultrastructural studies of biopsy specimens in alpha-chain disease, may permit recognition of its early transition to malignant stage and thereby encourage earlier use of cytotoxic drugs.