mary
What type of Microscopic Colitis do you have?
Moderators: Rosie, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
RJ, we're glad you found us.
When Mike set up this poll, (in 12 days, it will have been 6 years ago), few doctors had heard of any type of MC other than the two that Mike specified, though there were a few other types on record. Since then, many more types have been described, so that at least a dozen variations of the disease have been documented, (believe it or not). The first, (CC), was described in 1976. It was described as a disease that is clinically characterized by chronic watery diarrhoea, and an interior lining of the colon, (the mucosa), that appears normal to the unaided eye, but where certain distinctive characteristic changes are noted, on a cellular level, (histological changes), when a biopsy sample of the mucosa is examined under a microscope. Collagenous colitis, (CC), is characterized by chronic inflammation in the lamina propria, and by thickened subepithelial collagen bands.
In 1980, the term “microscopic colitis” was first introduced, to describe patients with chronic watery diarrhea, whose biopsy samples showed lymphocytic inflammation under the microscope, even though the mucosa of their colon appeared normal to the unaided eye. These patients did not always present with thickened collagen bands in the subepithelial area of their colon.
A proposal to rename “microscopic colitis”, (MC), to “lymphocytic colitis”, (LC), was made in 1989, though many authorities use the term “microscopic colitis”as an umbrella term, to refer to cases for which the markers of either collagenous colitis, or lymphocytic colitis are present, while some authorities suggest that the term should only apply when both types of markers are present.
So as a result, there's some ambiguity and confusion about the nomenclature that applies to certain forms of the disease. In your case, the proper choice, IMO, would be microscopic colitis, since MC implies, (IMO), the presence of both markers. Since Mike didn't offer that selection, though, the next best choice for your situation would probably be collagenous colitis, because CC almost always involves some degree of lymphocytic infiltration. On the other hand, lymphocytic colitis doesn't always present with thickened collagen bands, so it wouldn't quite be an accurate selection for you, in this poll.
I hope I didn't just confuse the issue. The markers that distinguish the various types of the disease are unique, but they are of interest on a diagnostic basis only, since the clinical symptoms are the same for virtually any form of the disease, and the treatment is also the same for any version. Patients have been known to segue from one type to another, and back again, so IMO, the type is of academic interest only.
Tex
In 1980, the term “microscopic colitis” was first introduced, to describe patients with chronic watery diarrhea, whose biopsy samples showed lymphocytic inflammation under the microscope, even though the mucosa of their colon appeared normal to the unaided eye. These patients did not always present with thickened collagen bands in the subepithelial area of their colon.
A proposal to rename “microscopic colitis”, (MC), to “lymphocytic colitis”, (LC), was made in 1989, though many authorities use the term “microscopic colitis”as an umbrella term, to refer to cases for which the markers of either collagenous colitis, or lymphocytic colitis are present, while some authorities suggest that the term should only apply when both types of markers are present.
So as a result, there's some ambiguity and confusion about the nomenclature that applies to certain forms of the disease. In your case, the proper choice, IMO, would be microscopic colitis, since MC implies, (IMO), the presence of both markers. Since Mike didn't offer that selection, though, the next best choice for your situation would probably be collagenous colitis, because CC almost always involves some degree of lymphocytic infiltration. On the other hand, lymphocytic colitis doesn't always present with thickened collagen bands, so it wouldn't quite be an accurate selection for you, in this poll.
I hope I didn't just confuse the issue. The markers that distinguish the various types of the disease are unique, but they are of interest on a diagnostic basis only, since the clinical symptoms are the same for virtually any form of the disease, and the treatment is also the same for any version. Patients have been known to segue from one type to another, and back again, so IMO, the type is of academic interest only.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.