02163nas a2200349   4500000000100000008004100001260000900042653001500051653001000066653000900076653002500085653002100110653001100131653001700142653001100159653002300170653001200193653000900205653001600214653001700230653003100247100001400278700001400292700001300306700001700319700001700336245017100353300001100524490000700535520125700542022001401799       1999                            d  c199910aAdolescent10aAdult10aAged10aCase-Control Studies10aDigestive System10aFemale10aGastric Acid10aHumans10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aPentagastrin10aSurveys and Questionnaires1 aEisig J N1 aZaterka S1 aBoyd H K1 aMarchese L C1 aLaudanna A A00aHansen's disease and the digestive system: clinical symptoms and gastric secretory profile at baseline conditions and following maximum stimulation with pentagastrin.  a99-1040 v113 a<p>The incidence of digestive symptoms in 100 patients with Hansen's disease was evaluated in this study, following a standardized questionnaire. A correlation between the frequency of symptoms, the form of the disease, and the length of treatment was investigated. Digestive symptoms were found in 31 patients (31%). No statistically significant difference was found between the presence of symptoms and the length of the disease or between the multibacillary and the paucibacillary form of the disease. However, a positive correlation between digestive symptoms and Hansen's disease was found in the multibacillary form of the disease only for patients treated for more than 12 months. Baseline and pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion was studied in 30 Hansen's disease patients and in 10 controls. A Iower basal acid output was observed in patients with Hansen's disease, but no statistical difference was found. Pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion was statistically different in Hansen's disease patients, as compared to controls. A Iower pentagastrin-stimulated acid secretion was found in Hansen's disease patients under treatment, as compared to untreated patients, but the difference was not statistically significant.</p>  a0001-5938