Crohn's disease of the small bowel, complicated by primary biliary cirrhosis, Hashimoto thyroiditis, and Raynaud's phenomenon: favorable response of all disorders to adalimumab treatment

We describe the case of a male patient suffering from long-lasting Crohn's disease of the small bowel who developed thyroiditis Hassimoto, Raynaud's phenomenon, and primary biliary cirrhosis, during the course of the underlying bowel disease. It is not clear whether these co-morbidities appeared coincidentally, or because they share some common immunopathogenetic mechanisms. In this patient, Crohn's disease favorably responded to the treatment with an anti-TNF-α agent (adalimumab). The serum titers of antimitochondrial antibodyies and cholestatic enzymes considerably reduced during the 3-year treatment with the biologic agent. Raynaud's phenomenon, also, completely disappeared. Bearing in mind the possible involvement of TNF-α in the pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis, it could be argued that the clinical and laboratory improvement of liver disease, as well as the reduction in serum titers of antimitochondrial antibodies, might be due to the anti-TNF-α action of adalimumab. We suggest that it would be worth further investigating the role of biologic agents in the treatment of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.