Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.16.2 (PCP)
 3,761 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Clinicians have had some success in treating or preventing several rarely discussed opportunistic infections. The author discusses seven infections, outlining the disease and possible treatments. Aspergillosis, a fungal infection found in the lungs and sinuses, can be treated with intravenous amphotericin B. However, researchers are studying oral itraconazole as an alternative treatment. B-19 parvovirus is a viral infection that may cause severe anemia, a decrease in red blood cell count or hemoglobin. A small study suggests that IVIG (intravenous immune globulin) was effective in reversing B-19 parvovirus-related anemia in seven HIV-positive patients. Coccidioidomycosis, an uncommon fungal infection usually seen in the lungs, has symptoms closely resembling those of PCP. Treatments include amphotericin B, or ketoconazole or fluconazole for mild cases. Histoplasmosis usually occurs in AIDS patients with fewer than 100 CD4 cells. A fungal infection, histoplasmosis can be treated with amphotericin V and itraconazole. Isosporiasis invades the intestines, causing persistent, watery diarrhea and other symptoms resembling cryptosporidiosis. Sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine combined can prevent the return of the organism. Molluscum contagiosum is a viral infection that produces small, white wart-like bumps on the skin. Bumps can be removed with an electrical charge or with liquid nitrogen. Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a life-threatening brain disorder. A very small study suggests that patients who received cytosine arabinoside (ara-C, cytarabine) stabilized and improved after treatment.
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PMID:Out of sight, but not out of mind. 1136 70

Drug addiction is a major worldwide medical and social problem that continues to escalate. The addiction syndrome is remarkably similar between different drugs of abuse, and can be characterized as a chronic relapsing brain disorder with neurobiological changes that lead to a compulsion to take a drug with loss of control over drug intake. Presently used medications for the treatment of dependence disorders are based on drugs that are either agonists or antagonists of drugs of abuse, and have yielded only limited success. Immunopharmacotherapy is based on the generation or administration of antibodies that are capable of binding the targeted drug before it can reach the brain, whereas replacement strategies based on agonists or antagonists of these drugs generally cause many undesired side effects. A large amount of data has been gathered in recent years on the effects of active and passive immunization against cocaine, nicotine, PCP and methamphetamine in animal models, suggesting potential efficacy of these treatments in humans; and clinical trials are currently underway for vaccines against cocaine and nicotine.
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PMID:Development of immunopharmacotherapy against drugs of abuse. 1647 21