Tropical sprue is a malabsorption disease commonly found in tropical regions, marked with abnormal flattening of the villi and inflammation of the lining of the small intestine. It differs significantly from coeliac sprue. It appears to be a more severe form of environmental enteropathy. Signs and symptoms
The illness usually starts with an attack of acute diarrhoea, fever and malaise following which, after a variable period, the patient settles into the chronic phase of diarrhoea, steatorrhoea, weight loss, anorexia, malaise, and nutritional deficiencies. The symptoms of tropical sprue are:

Diarrhoea
Steatorrhoea or fatty stool (often foul-smelling and whitish in colour)
Indigestion
Cramps
Weight loss and malnutrition
FatigueLeft untreated, nutrient and vitamin deficiencies may develop in patients with tropical sprue. These deficiencies may have these symptoms:

Vitamin A deficiency: hyperkeratosis or skin scales
Vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiencies: anaemia, numbness, and tingling sensation
Vitamin D and calcium deficiencies: spasm, bone pain, muscle weakness
Vitamin K deficiency: bruises

Cause
The cause of tropical sprue is not known. It may be caused by persistent bacterial, viral, amoebal, or parasitic infections. Folic acid deficiency, effects of malabsorbed fat on intestinal motility, and persistent small intestinal bacterial overgrowth may combine to cause the disorder. A link between small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and tropical sprue has been proposed to be involved in the aetiology of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Intestinal immunologic dysfunction, including deficiencies in secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA), may predispose people to malabsorption and bacterial colonization, so tropical sprue may be triggered in susceptible individuals following an acute enteric infection.
Treatment depends on the type of chorea and the associated disease. Although there are many drugs that can control it, no cure has yet been identified. History
Historically, choreas like Huntington disease and Sydenhams chorea were called Saint Vitus dance, related to a series of social phenomena of the same name. See also
Choreoathetosis
Dancing mania
Tic

Notes
External links
Chorea Gravidarum~clinical at eMedicine