Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
We often ponder how long we probably had MC before the Big D hit and sent us running for diagnostic colonoscopies. I know I had "mild IBS" for 10 years prior to the Big D. Here's a study of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis patients, which shows a majority had MC without knowing it, and were clinically asymptomatic.
J Clin Gastroenterol. 2002 Mar;34(3):237-9.
Increased colonic intraepithelial lymphocytes in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
Cindoruk M, Tuncer C, Dursun A, Yetkin I, Karakan T, Cakir N, Soykan I.
SourceDepartment of Gastroenterology, Gazi University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune thyroid disorder. Lymphocytic colitis and collagenous colitis are characterized by diarrhea with normal endoscopic findings. Autoimmune disorders are common in Hashimoto's thyroiditis and lymphocytic colitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of lymphocytic colitis in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
STUDY: Fifty patients with well-documented Hashimoto's thyroiditis were included. Twenty patients with nonulcer dyspepsia served as a control group. Five of 50 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis reported intermittent diarrhea, whereas no patients had diarrhea in the control group. All patients and the control group underwent total colonoscopy, and multiple colonoscopic biopsies were performed.
RESULTS: We found that 40% (20 of 50) of Patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis had histologic findings consistent with lymphocytic colitis, and one patient in the control group had lymphocytic colitis (p < 0.01). The mean number of intraepithelial lymphocytes was 34.4/100 epithelial cells in these 20 patients, whereas the mean number of intraepithelial lymphocytes was 12.3/100 epithelial cells in the other 30 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: There was a higher incidence of histologic findings of lymphocytic colitis in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, although most of the patients were clinically asymptomatic. This finding suggests that lymphocytic colitis may have an asymptomatic clinical course and should encourage further clinical investigations to better anticipate the relationship between autoimmune disorders.
Evidence of asymptomatic MC
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Actually, asymptomatic MC is fairly common:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/487838_4
To me, this suggests that a high percentage of the population is predisposed to developing MC, but it takes one of the qualifying triggering events, (which we are all familiar with), to initiate the actual development of the disease.
Incidentally, since apparently roughly 26% of the general population has this "disease", (asymptomatic MC), one would think that there would be a medical code for it.
Tex
That suggests that at least 26% of the general population has asymptomatic MC, and, of course, the rate goes up for anyone with an autoimmune disease.Of 100 random biopsy specimens from asymptomatic patients undergoing polyp surveillance, 26 revealed LC (paucicellular or classic).
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/487838_4
To me, this suggests that a high percentage of the population is predisposed to developing MC, but it takes one of the qualifying triggering events, (which we are all familiar with), to initiate the actual development of the disease.
Incidentally, since apparently roughly 26% of the general population has this "disease", (asymptomatic MC), one would think that there would be a medical code for it.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.