Hutcheon D F, Bayless T M, Cameron J L, Baylin S B
Ann Intern Med. 1979 Jun;90(6):932-4. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-90-6-932.
A father and son each presented with severe watery diarrhea. The son was found to have a pancreatic islet-cell tumor associated with the pancreatic cholera syndrome, as well as a parathyroid adenoma. The father was found to have multiple islet-cell adenomas and the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Pancreatic tumor tissue from each patient contained detectable gastrin and vasoactive intestinal peptide; however, a much higher gastrin concentration was found in the tumor tissue from the father and a much higher vasoactive intestinal peptide content in the tumor tissue from the son. Thus, watery diarrhea may be mediated by different hormones in families having multiple endocrine neoplasia; the precise cause of the diarrheal syndrome should be defined to ensure the proper therapy.
