A 44-year-old man with
Menetrier's disease associated with
protein-losing gastropathy and with abnormal serum
complement profile is reported. He was treated by an
antifibrinolytic compound
tranexamic acid (trans-
AMCHA) since he was found to have elevated fibrinolytic activity in the biopsied gastric mucosa. The
therapy brought his
serum protein from 3.8 g/dl to 5.6g/dl, however could not reduce his mucosal disorder. Substitution of a placebo for trans-
AMCHA resulted in marked depression of his
serum protein to 3.7 g/dl. It was concluded that trans-
AMCHA was effective in raising his
serum protein to a certain extent but failed to block the vicious circle of "mucosal disorder", "increased tissue fibrinolysis" and "
hypoproteinemia" (Kondo, M. et al. Gastroenterology 70, 1045, 1976). Abnormal serum
complement profile seen in this patient was found to be due to cold activation of the classical complement pathway (Kondo, M. et al. J. Immunol. 117, 486, 1976). Although no correlation between the phenomenon and
Menetrier's disease has been clarified yet, the appearance of
wheezing as in
asthma when exposed to cold suggested that cold activation of
complement occurred in vivo and resulted in increasing of the vascular permeability in the lungs.