[Autoimmune hepatitis, autoimmune gastritis, hypergastrinemia and stomach carcinoid]

A 48-year-old woman with type II diabetes developed fatigue, arthralgia and myalgia. A few weeks later she was found to have hepatomegaly. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was raised (53/93 mm), as were liver enzyme activities (GOT 186 U/l; GPT 240 U/l; gamma-GT 199 U/l), the gamma-globulin levels (40.7%;IgG 4470 mg/dl, IgA 698 mg/dl, IgM 245 mg/dl), antinuclear antibodies and antibodies against double-strand DNA, smooth muscles and actin. Laparoscopy revealed small-nodular liver cirrhosis. The autoimmune hepatitis was treated with prednisolone (initially 60 mg daily, then reduced to 10 mg daily) and azathioprine (initially 100 mg daily, reduced to 50 mg daily). The symptoms markedly improved. But one year later, during follow-up examination, gastric polyps were found, excised and histologically found to be carcinoid. The gastrin level was raised to 765 pg/ml. Another year later the liver cirrhosis had advanced further and the type A gastritis was still present, but there was no sign of carcinoid recurrence.