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Biomedical subjects

L Stenhammar

Publications and source records attributed to L Stenhammar.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Glucose polymers in diarrhoea--risk of hypernatraemia.

An infant girl with congenital heart disease was fed glucose polymers as dietary supplements. During an attack of gastroenteritis with severe diarrhoea she developed hypernatraemic dehydration, probably due to the high osmotic load of the glucose polymers. This case illustrates the importance of giving adequate amounts of free water to a child on glucose polymers, especially during excessive fluid loss.

Dehydration↗

Increasing incidence of childhood coeliac disease in Sweden. Results of a national study.

A survey of the incidence of coeliac disease was carried out by asking all 43 paediatric departments in Sweden to report the number of children born between 1978 and 1987 in whom coeliac disease had been diagnosed. Thirty-four departments representing a population of 7.18 million reported 1944 cases of coeliac disease among 804,935 children born between 1978 and 1987. The cumulative incidence of coeliac disease was 1.7 per 1000 live births in children born between 1978 and 1982 and doubled to 3.5 per 1000 live births in children born after 1982. The highest incidence was found in the southern and south-eastern regions of the country. The observed increase may have been influenced by changes in infant feeding practices such as the postponed age of introduction of gluten from four to six months of age and an increase in gluten content of proprietary baby foods.

Celiac Disease↗

Is gluten challenge necessary for the diagnosis of coeliac disease in young children?

Sixty-seven children under 2 years of age presenting with a classic clinical picture of coeliac disease with a severe small-intestinal mucosal lesion were investigated. All improved clinically and histologically on a gluten-free diet. During gluten challenge the mucosal damage recurred in 64 (95.5%) children, thus fulfilling the criteria for coeliac disease formulated by the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. Three (4.5%) children had no mucosal relapse 2 years or more after return to a gluten-containing diet. These children were classified as having transient gluten intolerance. The low frequency of non-relapsers in the present study calls into question the practice of performing gluten challenge.

Biopsy↗

Intestinal permeability to inert sugars and different-sized polyethyleneglycols in children with celiac disease.

Intestinal permeability was measured in a total of 42 children, 29 of whom had celiac disease. The celiac children were studied at presentation, during gluten-free diet, and/or at gluten challenge. The permeability was assessed by oral lactulose/L-rhamnose in all 42 children and also by different-sized polyethylene glycols (PEG) in 36 children. Results were compared with the findings of small intestinal biopsy. The mean of the permeability tests in children with enteropathy was significantly abnormal compared with the result in children with a normal mucosal morphology. The lactulose/L-rhamnose test and the PEG test gave equivalent results in the same child. In the celiac children abnormal permeability properties at presentation normalized during gluten-free diet and reappeared during gluten challenge. It is concluded that measurement of intestinal permeability may be a valuable tool in monitoring children with celiac disease, preferably when serial measurements are available in the same child.

Adolescent↗

Intestinal permeability assessed with different-sized polyethylene glycols in children undergoing small-intestinal biopsy for suspected celiac disease.

The gastrointestinal permeability was assessed by means of an oral load of a mixture of different-sized polyethylene glycols (PEG 400 and PEG 1000) in 76 children undergoing small-intestinal biopsy because of suspected celiac disease. Children with a mucosal abnormality suggestive of celiac disease had a lower urinary recovery of larger PEG molecules. They also displayed an altered permeability barrier, as evidenced by a lower ratio of recovery between large (1074 Da) and small (370 Da) PEG molecules. Gluten elimination and gluten challenge caused a significant change in PEG recoveries in children undergoing repeated PEG tests. Repeated assessments of intestinal permeability by means of different-sized PEGs after gluten withdrawal and challenge could complement or indicate suitable time for performing small-intestinal biopsy in children with gluten intolerance.

Adolescent↗

Thrombocytopenic purpura and coeliac disease.

In a child with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) the findings of circulating reticulin antibodies and IgA and IgG gliadin antibodies suggested the diagnosis of coeliac disease. This was verified by small intestinal biopsy. In spite of a gluten-free diet the thrombocytopenia persisted. The association of ITP and coeliac disease was previously described in adults but to our knowledge this is the first report of the coexistence of ITP and coeliac disease in a child.

Celiac Disease↗

Coeliac disease in children of short stature without gastrointestinal symptoms.

Eighty-seven children with short stature (height more than 2 SD below the mean for age and sex) were investigated by small intestinal biopsy. There was no obvious reason for their growth retardation found by routine examination and they had no gastrointestinal symptoms. Coeliac disease was found in two children and probable coeliac disease in two children. Although the prevalence of coeliac disease was comparatively low in this study of Swedish children with short stature, it emphasizes the fact that coeliac disease must be considered in a child with short stature even in the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms.

Adolescent↗

Plasma enteroglucagon in the control of childhood celiac disease.

To study whether or not plasma enteroglucagon reflects changes of the small intestinal mucosa during different phases of celiac disease, we studied fasting and postprandial concentrations of plasma enteroglucagon, as well as small intestinal mucosa morphology, in children with celiac disease and in a reference group of children without gastrointestinal disorders. The children with celiac disease were studied before dietary treatment, during gluten-free diet, and during gluten challenge. In untreated celiac children we found high mean basal and postprandial plasma enteroglucagon concentrations compared with the reference group (p less than 0.001). After a gluten-free diet period of 0.2-4.5 years (mean, 1.0 year), when the small intestinal histology was normal or only mildly abnormal, there was a decrease of both mean basal plasma enteroglucagon concentration (from 81 to 17 pmol/L; p less than 0.001) and mean postprandial plasma enteroglucagon concentration (from 129 to 39 pmol/L; p less than 0.001). During a subsequent gluten challenge, which resulted in a mucosal relapse, there was a rise in mean postprandial plasma enteroglucagon concentration (from 39 to 74 pmol/L; p less than 0.005), although there was a substantial overlap in values from treated and challenged patients. These findings suggest that plasma enteroglucagon levels, particularly after a mixed meal, are correlated with the small intestinal mucosal morphology in childhood celiac disease. Determination of plasma enteroglucagon may facilitate the control of the dietary adherence during gluten-free diet and may in some children indicate mucosal relapse during gluten challenge. Thus, the number of control biopsies may be reduced.

Adolescent↗

Serum IgA and IgG gliadin antibodies and small intestinal mucosal damage in children.

Serum immunoglobulin (Ig) A and IgG gliadin antibodies were determined with a simple, rapid, and inexpensive method--diffusion-in-gel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DIG-ELISA)--and the results were related to small intestinal mucosal morphology in 234 children suspected of having malabsorption. Fifty-six of 58 children with flat intestinal mucosa had increased IgA and/or IgG gliadin antibody levels (sensitivity 97%). Fifty-four of the 58 children had celiac disease (CD) (n = 25) or probable CD (n = 29). Four children with flat mucosa had cow's milk protein and/or soy protein intolerance and three of these had increased gliadin antibody levels. Seventeen percent of 132 children with normal intestinal mucosa had increased IgA and/or IgG gliadin antibody levels. IgA and IgG gliadin antibody levels decreased significantly in the celiac children on a gluten-free diet and increased significantly after gluten challenge. Determination of serum IgA and IgG gliadin antibodies by means of DIG-ELISA is a sensitive test for small intestinal mucosal damage in children. When malabsorption is suspected, we suggest that this assay be used to select children for a small intestinal biopsy. It is also very useful for the follow-up of adherence to a gluten-free diet and to determine the effect of gluten challenge in celiac children.

Adolescent↗

Serum gliadin antibodies for detection and control of childhood coeliac disease.

Serum gliadin antibodies of the IgA and IgG isotypes were determined by means of the diffusion-in-gel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DIG-ELISA) in children during different phases of coeliac disease. Fourteen children were studied before onset of dietary treatment, 16 during a period of gluten-free diet and 16 during gluten challenge. The control groups consisted of 44 children with other gastrointestinal diseases and 14 children without gastrointestinal disorders. All of the children studied had been subjected to small-intestinal biopsy. On the basis of the results obtained in this study the diagnostic sensitivity with regard to untreated coeliac disease was found to be 100% and the diagnostic specificity 97%. In 10 coeliac children followed during the phases of diagnostic evaluation antibody levels decreased in all during dietary treatment and increased in 8 during a subsequent gluten challenge. It is suggested that determination of IgA and IgG gliadin antibodies by means of DIG-ELISA may be used as a diagnostic test for coeliac disease in children and that this test may be useful in monitoring the dietary treatment in children with known coeliac disease. Moreover, the DIG-ELISA is an inexpensive and technically simple method.

Adolescent↗

Determination of enteroglucagon in plasma for detection of celiac disease in children.

To evaluate the plasma enteroglucagon assay as a test for the detection of celiac disease, we have determined basal and postprandial concentrations of enteroglucagon in plasma of children who underwent small-intestinal biopsy because of suspected celiac disease. In the 14 children with untreated celiac disease both basal [81 (SD 33) pmol/L] and postprandial [129 (SD 26) pmol/L] concentrations of enteroglucagon were significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than in the 45 children with other gastrointestinal disorders [24 (SD 9) pmol/L, and 50 (SD 22) pmol/L, respectively] and in the 15 children without gastrointestinal disorders [14 (SD 10) pmol/L, and 35 (SD 8) pmol/L, respectively]. All children with celiac disease had either basal or postprandial plasma enteroglucagon concentrations exceeding the mean + 2 SD of the results for the children with other gastrointestinal disorders. Eight of 10 children with celiac disease in whom both concentrations were measured had increased values for both. In our study the sensitivity for detection of celiac disease was 100% and the specificity 97%. Evidently determination of plasma enteroglucagon concentration is effective in diagnosing celiac disease, thereby improving the selection of patients for small-intestinal biopsy.

Adolescent↗

Cyclofenil in childhood scleroderma.

Treatment with cyclofenil for 9 months of a 10-year-old girl with localized scleroderma is reported. No clinical improvement was achieved. The drug was discontinued due to hepatotoxicity.

Child↗