[Endoscopic findings in Whipple's disease (author's transl)].

In a patient with massive ascites, bouts of fever of unknown aetiology and cachexia, duodenoscopy and laparoscopy revealed white-yellow, partly confluent, nodules and plaques on the duodenal mucosa, and the surface of the liver and the peritoneum of the upper right abdominal quadrant, leading to the diagnosis of Whipple's disease. Histological examinations of these deposits revealed an accumulation of PAS-positive macrophages (SPC cells = sickle-form particle containing cells) and lysosomal bacterial inclusions under the electron-microscope. This raises the possibility of a simple endoscopic method for diagnosing Whipple's disease.

[Effects of a coffee-antacid-mixture and a commercial coffee with regard to gastrin, pH and gastric secretion (author's transl)].

The influence of a coffee-antazid-mixture was investigated at 30 patients with diseases of the stomach (17 with duodenal ulcer, 6 with gastric ulcer and 7 with chronic gastritis) in comparison to a commercial coffee. The parameters measured were the gastric basal acid output, the continuous registration of the pH by an intragastric electrode and the serum gastrin concentration before and after the application of the tests substances. 75% of the patients with duodenal ulcer showed a positive effect by means of a greater elevation of the intragastric pH after application of the mixture in comparison to coffee.