Gastrointestinal manifestations of primary immunodeficiencies

Congenital immunodeficiencies are relatively rare disorders that result in a marked predisposition to infection and to a variety of gastrointestinal p roblems. Increasingly recognized in both children and adults, accumulating worldwide experience with these disorders reveals that the long-term progno sis is poor in many cases, despite available treatments. This review highli ghts the past year's advances concerning the molecular basis of several of these disorders, new diagnostic considerations, and novel therapeutic appro aches concerning their gastrointestinal complications. The availability of molecular diagnostic tools increases the options for earlier definitive tre atments such as bone marrow transplantation and somatic gene therapy. Curr Opin Gastroenterol 2001, 17:551-554 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.