Congenital diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

With the rapid increase in knowledge on the genetic origin of diseases within the gastrointestinal tract the number of congenital diseases, which already manifest during childhood have drastically increased. Due to the large application of molecular genetics the number is steadily increasing. To make the access to these rare diseases fast and efficient the data base of the National Library of Medicine (Online Mendelian Inheritance of Man - OMIN) is a very helpful online tool, with which all these disease entities can be found easily (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim). Detailed tables are given to find most of the congenitally inherited disease, which affect the gastrointestinal tract. A variety of congenital diarrheas with disturbances of digestion, hydrolysis, absorption and secretion is described in detail: lactose intolerance, sucrose intolerance, glucose-galactose malabsorption, fructose malabsorption, trehalase and enterokinase deficiency, congenital chloride and sodium diarrhea, congenital hypomagnesaemia, primary bile acid malabsorption, acrodermatitis enteropathica and Menke's syndrome. Also described in detail are diseases with structural anomalies of the intestine like microvillous inclusion disease, congenital tufting enteropathy and IPEX syndrome. The diagnosis in the disturbances of carbohydrate hydrolysis or absorption can be established by H2-breath tests after appropriate sugar challenge. Treatment consists of elimination of the responsible sugar from the diet. The diagnosis of the congenital secretory diarrheas is established by investigation of electrolytes in blood and stool. Substitution of high doses of the responsible mineral can improve the clinical outcome. In acrodermatitis enteropathica low serum zinc level together with the typical skin lesions guide to the diagnosis. High doses of oral zinc aspartate can cure the symptoms of the disease. The diagnosis of structural congenital lesions of the intestine can be established by histology and/or electron microscopy and molecular identification of the responsible mutations. The treatment of these diseases is difficult and therefore the prognosis remains poor. Immunosupressive therapy, total parenteral nutrition and even intestinal or bone marrow transplantation are the only choice for treatment.