TROPICAL-SPRUE AND SUBCLINICAL ENTEROPATHY - A VISION FOR THE 90S

Aside from infectious intestinal diseases with known etiology, there i s a group of gastrointestinal disorders mainly affecting the small int estine of individuals predominantly living in and less often visiting or returning from the Third World, usually the tropics, and ranging fr om asymptomatic structural and/or functional abnormalities of the gast rointestinal mucosa (subclinical enteropathy, SE) to a fully symptomat ic condition highlighted by malabsorption of nutrients with associated nutritional deficiencies responsive to folate and broad spectrum anti biotic treatment (tropical sprue, TS). Mounting evidence supports an i nfectious cause in many instances. The exact nature of the infection, whether initiated and/or perpetuated by enterotoxigenic coliform bacte ria, virus(es) or a combination of these, is not clear. Further studie s, including those using molecular techniques, are needed in order to clarify various aspects of these widely prevalent disorders.