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Organic anions and the diarrhea of inflammatory bowel disease

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Abstract

To determine if organic anions contribute to the diarrhea of inflammatory bowel disease, we measured osmolality, electrolytes, short-chain fatty acids, lactic acid, and some Krebs cycle anions in 24-hr fecal collections from 18 patients with chronic ulcerative colitis, 20 with Crohn's disease of the colon, and 16 normals. Mean lactic acid concentration was significantly elevated in ulcerative and Crohn's colitis, but values correlated with fecal weight only in the former syndrome. In ulcerative colitis, concentrations of each short-chain fatty acid, especially butyrate, were decreased compared with those from normals or Crohn's disease. Lactate and short-chain fatty acids accounted for nearly half the variability in fecal weight in ulcerative colitis. Crohn's patients had elevated mean fecal water osmolality and osmotic gap not observed in ulcerative colitis. Increased lactic acid and/or deficient short-chain fatty acids may modulate the diarrhea of ulcerative colitis. This mechanism seems less important in Crohn's colitis where an additional osmotic component may be significant.

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Author notes

  1. P. Vernia MD

    Present address: Cattedra di Gastroenterologia, Universita degli Studi, Polyclinico Umberto 1, 00100, Rome, Italy

  2. W. Hauck PhD

    Present address: Department of Epidemiology and International Health, University of California, 94143, San Francisco, California

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Evanston Hospital, Evanston

    P. Vernia MD, A. Gnaedinger MS,  W. Hauck PhD & R. I. Breuer MD

  2. Department of Medicine and Cancer Center, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois

    P. Vernia MD, A. Gnaedinger MS,  W. Hauck PhD & R. I. Breuer MD

Authors
  1. P. Vernia MD
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  2. A. Gnaedinger MS
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  3. W. Hauck PhD
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  4. R. I. Breuer MD
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Additional information

This work was supported in part by grant 3651 from an endowment of the T.T. Dee and G.F. Moody Fund through Evanston Hospital, Evanston, Illinois.

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Vernia, P., Gnaedinger, A., Hauck, W. et al. Organic anions and the diarrhea of inflammatory bowel disease. Digest Dis Sci 33, 1353–1358 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536987

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536987

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