Crohn’s Disease – The Pathogenesis of a Granulomatous Vasculitis: A Hypothesis

Dissatisfied with traditional approaches to studying the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease, the author and colleagues proposed and developed the hypothesis that Crohn’s disease is a granulomatous vasculitis mediated by a persistent viral infection of the mesenteric microvascular endothelium. Employing...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Andrew J Wakefield
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 1995-01-01
Series:Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1995/369121
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832549783124836352
author Andrew J Wakefield
author_facet Andrew J Wakefield
author_sort Andrew J Wakefield
collection DOAJ
description Dissatisfied with traditional approaches to studying the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease, the author and colleagues proposed and developed the hypothesis that Crohn’s disease is a granulomatous vasculitis mediated by a persistent viral infection of the mesenteric microvascular endothelium. Employing a range of techniques, the mesenteric vascular anatomy of intestine affected by Crohn’s disease was studied and the presence of a widespread multifocal vasculitis was demonstrated. Based upon certain behavioural characteristics of measles virus, including its tropism for intestinal endothelium and its ability to persist in human tissues, this agent was sought by in situ hybridization, electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The virus was detected in foci of granulomatous and lymphocytic inflammation. Recent epidemiological data from Sweden support the idea that early exposure to measles virus is a risk factor for the later development of Crohn’s disease. These data are consistent with the possibility of a persistent measles virus enteritis in the etiology and pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease and this hypothesis merits further study.
format Article
id doaj-art-421ca29cf40646ffba841e2838323049
institution Kabale University
issn 0835-7900
language English
publishDate 1995-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology
spelling doaj-art-421ca29cf40646ffba841e28383230492025-02-03T06:08:29ZengWileyCanadian Journal of Gastroenterology0835-79001995-01-019419920210.1155/1995/369121Crohn’s Disease – The Pathogenesis of a Granulomatous Vasculitis: A HypothesisAndrew J Wakefield0Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study Group, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, UKDissatisfied with traditional approaches to studying the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease, the author and colleagues proposed and developed the hypothesis that Crohn’s disease is a granulomatous vasculitis mediated by a persistent viral infection of the mesenteric microvascular endothelium. Employing a range of techniques, the mesenteric vascular anatomy of intestine affected by Crohn’s disease was studied and the presence of a widespread multifocal vasculitis was demonstrated. Based upon certain behavioural characteristics of measles virus, including its tropism for intestinal endothelium and its ability to persist in human tissues, this agent was sought by in situ hybridization, electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The virus was detected in foci of granulomatous and lymphocytic inflammation. Recent epidemiological data from Sweden support the idea that early exposure to measles virus is a risk factor for the later development of Crohn’s disease. These data are consistent with the possibility of a persistent measles virus enteritis in the etiology and pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease and this hypothesis merits further study.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1995/369121
spellingShingle Andrew J Wakefield
Crohn’s Disease – The Pathogenesis of a Granulomatous Vasculitis: A Hypothesis
Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology
title Crohn’s Disease – The Pathogenesis of a Granulomatous Vasculitis: A Hypothesis
title_full Crohn’s Disease – The Pathogenesis of a Granulomatous Vasculitis: A Hypothesis
title_fullStr Crohn’s Disease – The Pathogenesis of a Granulomatous Vasculitis: A Hypothesis
title_full_unstemmed Crohn’s Disease – The Pathogenesis of a Granulomatous Vasculitis: A Hypothesis
title_short Crohn’s Disease – The Pathogenesis of a Granulomatous Vasculitis: A Hypothesis
title_sort crohn s disease the pathogenesis of a granulomatous vasculitis a hypothesis
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1995/369121
work_keys_str_mv AT andrewjwakefield crohnsdiseasethepathogenesisofagranulomatousvasculitisahypothesis