INTESTINAL ABSORPTION OF TRITUM-LABELLED FOLIC ACID IN IDIOPATHIC STEATORRHEA: EFFECT OF A GLUTENFREE DIET.

The intestinal absorption of folic acid in patients with idiopathic steatorrhea was studied by the oral administration of tritium-labelled folic acid in a dosage of 15 mug./kg. Results were expressed as a percentage of the orally administered folic acid radioactivity excreted in the urine over 24 hours. The mean excretion of radioactivity in 38 normal subjects was 48.2 +/- 16.6% (mean +/- SD), whereas eight patients with untreated idiopathic steatorrhea excreted only 16.7 +/- 3.4% (mean +/- SE).The ability of the gluten-free diet to correct this absorptive defect was demonstrated by the finding of normal values in 11 patients in complete clinical remission for periods exceeding six months after institution of the diet. Serial studies in individual patients indicated that a significant improvement was obtainable in as short a period as two weeks following exclusion of gluten from the diet.