Association of juvenile idiopathic arhrtitis and functional constipation

The authors present case reports with juvenile idiopathic arthritis being associated with functional constipation but not with inflammatory bowel disease. The cause of megacolon was only cleared in one case in the form of Hirschprung’s disease. The skeletal symptoms could be classified as seronegative spondylathropathy. Surgical treatment resulted in the remission of arthritis in one case and a possible pathogenic explanation is discussed. Common genetic predisposition is a plausible explanation, but fecal stasis leading to increased permeability to macromolecules, increased exposure to microbial and dietary antigens, loss of tolerance to own bacterial flora and host susceptibility to the increased antigenic load may stand in the background of this infrequent and not yet described association between juvenile idiopathic arthritis and functional constipation.