Effective treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding with thalidomide - Chances and limitations

Table 1 Different types of gastrointestinal vascular malformations

Type of vascular malformation	Sporadic/senile Angiodysplasia	Angiectasia in HHT/Osler’s disease	Angiectasia associated to liver disease
Macroscopic appearance	Flat complex cherry-red vascular tumors	Telangiectatic vessels	Telangiectatic vessels, watermelon stomach
Etiology	Unknown (local hypoxemia?)	Several mutations	Unknown; association to liver disease and portal hypertension
Site of manifestation	Colon, stomach, small bowel	Nose; gastro-intestinal tract;	Stomach, colon, small bowel
		hepatic, pulmonal, cerebral shunts
Age of manifestation	Mostly > 50 yr	Mostly teenagers, adults < 40 yr	Related to liver disease; medium aged/older adults, rarely children

HHT: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia.