Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled “Double-balloon endoscopy and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome: a new look at an old disease.” (Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2006 Oct;19(4):335-337). Authors are Terauchi S, Snowberger N and Demarco D, from the Department of Internal Medicine and the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a rare disease characterized by mucocutaneous hyperpigmentation and intestinal hamartomatous polyposis. Life-threatening complications include intestinal obstruction and increased risk of gastrointestinal malignancies. While colonoscopy continues to serve as the gold standard for examination of the colon, newer techniques such as capsule endoscopy and double-balloon endoscopy (DBE) are now being applied to both treatment and surveillance of this disease. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.