Intestinal Neuronal Malformations (IND): Clinical Experience and Treatment

Neuronal intestinal dysplasia (IND or NID) was first described by Meier-Ruge in 1971 as a condition of unknown pathogenesis which is usually associated with obstruction of the lower intestine [1]. It may be induced, like Hirschsprung’s disease (HD), by an underlying autoimmune mechanism [2], a deficient production of trophic factors such as laminin A [3] or a genetic defect. The main problem is that it remains controversial as to whether or not there is a causal relationship between specific histological findings and clinical symptoms, in particular since so-called pathological innervation patterns have been described in the proximal colon of patients with fetal obstruction [4, 5] and in normal controls.