The digestive system, which consists of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, anus, liver, pancreas and gall bladder, functions to breakdown food particles, move the contents through the digestive tract and absorb the nutrients into the bloodstream. Digestive diseases that affect the digestive tract or the organs producing digestive enzymes can interfere with these functions. Atrophic diseases include those diseases that cause cells to die, leading to a decrease in the size of an organ as well as affecting its ability to function.
Autoimmune Metaplastic Atrophic Gastritis
Autoimmune metaplastic atrophic gastritis is an inherited disease that occurs when the cells of the immune system mistakenly attack the cells lining the stomach. This disease affects the parietal cells—the cells that produce hydrochloric acid, also known as stomach acid. Damage to the parietal cells leads to a decrease in the amount of hydrocholoric acid and intrinsic factor, which is a glycoprotein produced by the parietal cells, that can lead to a vitamin B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia.
Gastrin, the major hormone that regulates the secretion of stomach acid, usually decreases as the level of acid increases. Autoimmune metaplastic atrophic gastritis causes the level of acid to remain low, which allows the level of gastrin in the blood to increase. This can lead to the formation of a tumor, which explains why patients with autoimmune metaplastic atrophic gastritis have a three-fold increased risk of developing gastric adenocarcinoma, according to the Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals.
Malignant Atrophic Papulosis
Malignant atrophic papulosis—MAP, also known as Degos disease--describes a rare disease that affects small to medium-sized arteries. MAP causes the arteries to become blocked, first becoming noticeable as small red papules on the trunk and the arms. The red skin lesions change and appear as a red halo with a white center due to the lack of blood flow causing the death of the skin cells.
As the disease progresses, it can affect the digestive tract causing the formation of lesions along the lining of the small intestine. This causes symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea and weight loss. As the cells of the intestinal wall die, the lesions become bigger and can lead to perforations, or tears, in the intestinal wall, a potentially fatal complication, according to information provided by Cigna.
Chronic Pancreatitis
The pancreas, a gland located behind the stomach, plays an important role in digestion by producing and secreting digestive enzymes into the small intestine. Chronic pancreatitis, inflammation of the pancreas that fails to heal or worsens over time, leads to the death of the cells in the pancreas and the formation of scar tissue. The buildup of scar tissue eventually destroys the pancreas, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.
The symptoms of chronic pancreatitis include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Without the digestive enzymes, food particles cannot digest decreasing the level of nutrients the body can absorb. Chronic pancreatitis therefore leads to unexplained weight loss even when patients eat increased amounts of food.
