Zollinger Ellison Syndrome

Zollinger Ellison Syndrome

It is a disease that is not seen frequently among the people but is often confused with stomach ulcers.

People suffering from this disease go to the doctor with gastritis or stomach ulcer complaints. Because the symptoms are almost the same.

This  syndrome occurs with a tumor in the duodenum or pancreas.

The difference between Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and gastric ulcer or gastritis is that the symptoms do not go away and recur constantly. In such cases, the first thing that comes to mind is the possibility of having Zollinger Ellison syndrome.

Causes of Syndrome

In this syndrome tumors in the pancreas or duodenum cause excessive secretion of the hormone gastrin in the body. Gastrin is a hormone that causes the acid secretion in the stomach, that is, the increase of gastric juice.

This creates Zollinger Ellison syndrome. To express as a percentage, 70% of these tumors are malignant and harmful. The possibility of Zollinger Ellison syndrome also depends on genetic factors. If there is MEN Type 1 disease in the family, the possibility of  syndrome is much higher.

Now let’s learn the symptoms of Zollinger Ellison syndrome and take the necessary precautions.

Symptoms

• Stomach ache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Feeling tired and exhausted
• Difficulty in swallowing with sore throat
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Bleeding in the intestine
• Foul-smelling and more than normal oily stools
• Anorexia
• Swelling and indigestion in the stomach
• Bleeding while vomiting
• Symptoms such as constant and severe burning of the stomach are observed.
• It is an extremely wrong behavior to ignore the symptoms due to a few items encountered in daily life. If you have some of the symptoms, you should definitely consult a doctor.

Diagnosing

To understand this syndrome, blood test results are checked. Gastrin ratio, calcium, gastroscopy and secretin are checked. MRI is taken. Diagnosis and treatment method is determined by expert doctors.

Treatment

Treatment of  syndrome can be done with chemical drugs that have a stomach acid-reducing effect while it is in the early stages. If the tumor is quite large, the harmful tumor can be tried to be reduced with chemotherapy. Tumors that have become cancerous in the advanced and final stages of syndrome can be surgically removed. This type of treatment is also very risky and is of vital importance.