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Low Stomach Acid Production

low-stomach-acid1What Is Low Stomach Acid Production?

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ow stomach acid production is a common disorder in celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis that is characterized by lack of sufficient hydrochloric acid needed 1) to properly digest food, which results in malnutrition and subsequent nutritional deficiencies, and 2) to destroy swallowed bacteria and other microbes, which may allow infections to develop.

It is also common in the general population, as well, affecting 50% of people age 60 years and about 80% by age 85 years.  Nevertheless, low stomach acid is not generally looked for as a cause of acute and chronic disorders that rob health with far-reaching effects.

[box type=”shadow” ]Understanding Stomach Acid Production and Function

The stomach digests incoming food into a liquid state, thereby releasing nutrients so they can be absorbed by the small intestine. Powerful stomach muscles churn food and mix it with gastric juice, dissolving and breaking it down.

Gastric juice is produced by gastric glands located in the stomach lining. These numerous, microscopic glands produce about 3 liters of juice a day. Gastric juice is composed of a high concentration of

Dysbiosis (Intestinal)

What Is Intestinal Dysbiosis? [dropcap]I[/dropcap]ntestinal dysbiosis is an imbalance of the composition and quantity of microbe populations (called the microbiota), that naturally inhabit our human gut. Dysbiosis causes altered gut immunity, abnormal fermentation of undigested foodstuffs,… 

Tuberculosis – Increased Susceptibility 

Bacteria that causes tuberculosis. Courtesy Wikimedia.
Bacteria that causes tuberculosis. Courtesy Wikimedia.

What Is Increased Susceptibility To Tuberculosis?

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]uberculosis (TB), is an infectious disease caused by a bacteria called mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is characterized by chronic bacterial infection most commonly affecting lungs that develops in stages.

Increased susceptibility to tuberculosis menas the person’s defense mechanisms against developing infection are inadequate. Tuberculosis may be dormant or active.

Q: What happens in active tuberculosis?

A: Active tuberculosis  produces inflammation and formation of tubercles, necrosis (death of tissues), abcess, fibrosis, and calcification. Calcification is the body’s action to encapsulate the bacterial invasion. Active tuberculosis is life-threatening and may result in death.

About one third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis bacteria. In 2012 the number reached a staggering 8.6 million people. Of these, 1.3 million people died from tuberulosis.  About 95% of tuberulosis deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries and it is among the top three causes of death among women aged 15 to 44.1

People with weakened immune systems have a much greater risk of falling ill from tuberculosis. For example, a person living with HIV is about 20 to 30 times more likely to develop active tuberculosis.2 The combination of tuberculosis, HIV coinfection, and malnutrition has been commonly termed as “triple trouble.”3

What Is Increased Susceptibility To Tuberculosis In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/tb_facts/en/index.html [↩]
  2. http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/tuberculosis/en/ [↩]
  3. Steinbrenner H, Al-Quraishy S, Dkhil MA, Wunderlich F, Sies H. Dietary selenium in adjuvant therapy of viral and bacterial infections. Adv Nutr. 2015 Jan 15;6(1):73-82. doi: 10.3945/an.114.007575. Print 2015 Jan. [↩]

Zincemia (Low Zinc Blood Level)

Zincemia low zinc level symptom of celiac disease and glutenWhat Is Zincemia?

[dropcap]Z[/dropcap]incemia means the zinc level in blood plasma is too low to meet metabolic needs of the body for this mineral.

Q: How important is a normal blood level of zinc?

A: A low blood level of zinc is characterized by widespread alterations in energy metabolism, growth, hemoglobin, carbon dioxide transport, hormone activity, insulin storage, many enzyme activities, prostaglandin function, collagen production, male fertility, protein synthesis, and vitamin A metabolism.

What Is Zincemia In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Bitot’s Spots 

Classic Bitot's spot in a 29-year-old man that shrunk dramatically with vitamin A therapy. (Sommer A: Nutritional Blindness: Xerophthalmia and Keratomalacia. New York, Oxford University Press, 1982)
Classic Bitot’s spot in a 29-year-old man that shrunk dramatically with vitamin A therapy.*

What Are Bitot’s Spots?

[dropcap]B[/dropcap]itot’s spots are superficial foamy patches that develop on the exposed bulbar conjunctiva (white of the eye) as a manifestation of advanced vitamin A deficiency.

This painless eye disorder is reversible only with vitamin A therapy. It is named after Charles Bitot, who first described it.

Q: What makes up these foamy alterations of the conjunctiva?

A: Bitot’s spots are composed of epithelial debris (dead surface cells) and secretions.1

Bitot’s spots may develop in malnutrition, reduced intake including alcoholism, medication adverse effect, old age, low stomach acid, and disease causing vitamin A deficiency such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, pancreatic insufficiency, and short bowel syndrome.  Other conditions associated with vitamin A deficiency may include disordered transport (Abetalipoprotenemia, a genetic disorder) and reduced liver storage caused by liver disease.

What Are Bitot’s Spots In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Sadowski B, Rohrback JM, Steuhl KP, Weidle EG, Castrillon-Obendorfer WL. Corneal manifestations in Vitamin A deficiency. Klinische Monatsblatter fur Augenheilkunde. Aug 1994;205(2)76-85. [↩]

Bronchiectasis

Bronchiectasis Image. Courtesy Quizlet.com
Bronchiectasis Image. Courtesy Quizlet.com

What Is Bronchiectasis?

[dropcap]B[/dropcap]ronchiectasis is a pulmonary disorder characterized by chronic dilation of bronchi (main airways) and bronchioles (small airways) with chronic inflammation and swelling, increasing the risk of infection.

In bronchiectasis, mucus produced to trap foreign substances, such as dust and bacteria, builds-up because the ability of airways to move it out is impaired. Normally, hair-like cilia that line airways beat mucus out of the lungs. Loss of this action increases mucus in the airways which increases risk of pneumonia.

The anatomy of airways is likened to a branching tree. The trachea, or windpipe, like the trunk of a tree, branches into two primary bronchi that connect it to the lungs. One bronchus connects to the left lung and the other to the right lung. Each bronchus further divides into smaller bronchi that connect to the lobes. Lobes are large subdivisions of lung tissue: two of the left lung and three of the right lung.

Lobe bronchi divide into smaller bronchial tubes ending in small bronchioles. The ends of bronchioles are surrounded with and attached to tiny alveoli which are air sacs that look like clusters of grapes.

Q: What effect does inflammation have on the lungs?

A: Alveoli are only one cell thick, where oxygen is obtained by the bloodsteam from air breathed into them and carbon dioxide is released from the bloodstream to air that is breathed out of air sacs through the pulmonary tree. Two things happen:

  1. Inflammation  impairs exchange of gases in alveoli, resulting in lack of sufficient oxygen (O2) for body cell functions, called hypoxia, and build-up of carbon dioxide (CO2) in blood, called CO2 retention.
  2. Inflammation narrows passageways, which reduces the movement of air to and from the alveoli, and this puts stress on the right side of the heart.

Bronchiectasis can affect one or both lungs or one segment or multiple segments of a lung. Treatment is with antibiotics, chest physiotherapy and good nutrition.

What Is Bronchiectasis In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sperm Abnormalities 

imagesWhat Are Sperm Abnormalities?

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]perm abnormalities are the result of gonadal dysfunction (testicles) characterized by inability to either produce sperm or to produce viable sperm or mobile sperm which results in prohibiting fertilization of the female ovum.

Q: How are sperm normally produced?

A: There are two testicles, or testes, that are oblong, egg shapes about 2 inches long and an inch wide and enclosed in a protective sac called the scrotum which hangs outside the body. The testes have these functions:

  • Produce and store millions of sperm cells called spermatozoa.
  • Produce hormones, including testosterone which stimulate the production of sperm.

What Are Sperm Abnormalities In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Short Stature

Short StatureWhat Is Short Stature?

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]hort stature means the individual has not reached a normal height as a result of failure to thrive and severe growth delay in children.1

What Is Short Stature In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Catassi C, Fasano A. Celiac disease as a cause of growth retardation in childhood. OpinionCurrent  in Pediatrics. Aug 2004;16(4):445-9. [↩]

Pityriasis Rubra Pilaris: definition

A chronic generalized exfoliative dermatitis characterized by erythema (redness), scaling and keratoderma (thickened skin) that develops from vitamin A deficiency and is often associated with iron deficiency anemia and low serum albumin (protein deficiency). It…