Zollinger Ellison Syndrome - Symptoms and Treatment

Zollinger Ellison syndrome (ZES) is a rare skin disorder that causes tumors usually found in the head of the pancreas and the upper small bowel . Patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome may experience abdominal pain and diarrhea. Zollinger Ellison syndrome is caused by gastrin-secreting tumors of the pancreas that causes severe ulceration (areas of irritation) of the upper gastrointestinal tract (stomach and small bowel). Gastrinomas may occur as single tumors or as multiple, small tumors.

Symptoms of Zollinger Ellison Syndrome

High acid levels lead to multiple ulcers in the stomach and small bowel. Some of the symptoms of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome incude:

• Stomach ulcer symptoms
• Peptic ulcers - see symptoms of peptic ulcers
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Weight loss
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Epigastric pain (stomachache) that goes away with consumption of foods.

Causes of Zollinger Ellison Syndrome

Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is caused by tumors usually found in the head of the pancreas and the upper small bowel. These tumors produce the hormone gastrin and are called gastrinomas . High levels of gastrin cause overproduction of stomach acid. The causes are liset below :

• Patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome may experience abdominal pain and diarrhea .
• The tumors secrete a hormone called gastrin that causes the stomach to produce too much acid, which in turn causes stomach and duodenal ulcers
• Gastrin works on stomach parietal cells causing them to secrete more hydrogen ions into the stomach lumen.
• The excessive acid then leads to peptic ulcers and sometimes to diarrhea.

Treatment of Zollinger Ellison Syndrome

An operation to remove the tumors that occur in Zollinger-Ellison requires great skill because the tumors are often small and difficult to locate. The treatment of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome focuses on two areas: Treating the tumors and treating the ulcers. The traetment operation are :

• Attempting to destroy cancer cells by using an electric current (radio-frequency ablation).
• Injecting drugs into the tumor to relieve cancer symptoms.
• Removing as much of a liver tumor as possible (debulking)
• Attempting to destroy the tumor by cutting off the blood supply (embolization) or by using heat to destroy cancer cells (radio frequency ablation)
• Injecting drugs into the tumor to relieve cancer symptoms
• Using chemotherapy to try to slow tumor growth
• Stop an ulcer from bleeding
• Relieve an obstruction caused by an ulcer
• Close up the hole (perforation) that an ulcer has made in the wall of your stomach or duodenum