What disease would make a section of the sigmoid colon “die” or not have any peristalsis? Crohn’s? Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Intestinal Tumors? Are there any other diseases of the bowel that would make this happen?
Crohn’s wouldn’t cause the bowel to actually die, but it CAN cause portions of the bowel wall to become so thickened that peristalsis becomes hindered (it can also result in adhesions and fistulas between different sections of bowel, which can lead to the same problem). Hirschprung’s disease is a disorder where the normal innervation of a segment of the bowel does not form properly, and that section of the bowel lacks peristaltic activity - however, this is a developmental defect, not an acquired one, so it is normally diagnosed in early childhood. Sometimes a portion of the bowel can become malrotated (a volvulus), trapped (in adhesions, or in a hernia), or telescoped into itself (intussusception) - and these can cause the blood supply to the involved portion of the bowel to be cut off, leading to necrosis and death of that part of the bowel. Probably the most common cause of segmental bowel necrosis in adults is vascular insufficiency - due to atherosclerotic plaque formation in the mesenteric arteries or embolization of pieces of plaque that break off from the lining of the aorta. Tumors rarely cause segmental necrosis of the bowel (unless they cause an intussusception to form, which is very rare) or significant interference with peristalsis.
Hope this helps! Why do you ask the question?
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*Originally posted by Lyra *
What disease would make a section of the sigmoid colon “die” or not have any peristalsis? Crohn’s? Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Intestinal Tumors? Are there any other diseases of the bowel that would make this happen?
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The megacolon manifestation of Chagas disease destroys the nerves leading to the intensine, eventually resulting in paralysis, functional obstruction, and death.
I am not a doctor, so I don’t know what, if any, treatment is available for this form of Chagas. Perhaps an MD (particularly one with knowledge of Chagas) may be along to elighten us
I’d forgotten about Chagas’ disease, Broomstick!. As far as I know, there is no effective treatment for it.
Other causes of of motility dysfunction I forgot to mention in my earlier post: toxic megacolon in ulcerative colitis, diabetic neuropathy (rare, though), drugs. I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting about, so I hope some more people post on this thread!
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On the peds side there’s Hirschsprung’s, where the nerve plexus is never developed in the first place, leading to a toxic megacolon.
But then Artemis had said that and I stupidly missed it. Sorry.