[Etiopathogenesis of Diverticular-disease of the Colon - Dietary Fiber Deficiency As a Pathogenetic Factor and Therapeutic Perspectives]

The authors review the literature about the aetiopathogenesis, the epidemiology and the treatment of uncomplicated diverticular disease of the colon. The influence of dietary fibre deficiency explaining the increasing prevalence in industrialized countries and the variable geographical distribution are explained, as well as the effects of dietary fibres on colonic functions. Progressive elastosis of the taeniae may explain the influence of age on the incidence of diverticulosis. The rationale for the introduction of dietary fibre into the treatment is based on the observation that a high fibre diet such as coarse bran is lowering the colonic pressure and therefore may prevent the development of new diverticula and complications, although an effect on symptoms is not always obtained

Etiopathogénie de la maladie diverticulaire colique; rôle des fibres alimentaires et perspectives thérapeutiques.

The authors review the literature about the aetiopathogenesis, the epidemiology and the treatment of uncomplicated diverticular disease of the colon. The influence of dietary fibre deficiency explaining the increasing prevalence in industrialized countries and the variable geographical distribution are explained, as well as the effects of dietary fibres on colonic functions. Progressive elastosis of the taeniae may explain the influence of age on the incidence of diverticulosis. The rationale for the introduction of dietary fibre into the treatment is based on the observation that a high fibre diet such as coarse bran is lowering the colonic pressure and therefore may prevent the development of new diverticula and complications, although an effect on symptoms is not always obtained

Coombs-positive Autoimmune Hemolytic-anemia Complicating Ulcerative-colitis - a Case-report

We report the case of a 41-year-old woman with a 5-year history of left-sided ulcerative colitis easily controlled by sulfasalazine. She was admitted because of severe anemia, in the absence of any exacerbation of the colitis. A Coombs-positive (IgG type) hemolytic anemia was diagnosed and high-dose corticosteroid therapy was started, which proved to be unsuccessful. A splenectomy was then performed but the hemolytic anemia failed to subside. The patient was subsequently treated with a corticosteroid-azathioprine association with a sustained favourable effect on the anemia. The prevalence and pathophysiology of hemolytic anemia in ulcerative colitis is reviewed and a specific therapeutic approach is proposed