Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0000729 (abdominal cramps)
 531 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We report the case of a middle-aged man with a 6-month history of diabetes treated with insulin. He was referred for diabetes control and education. Six weeks after we saw him, he was euglycemic (hemoglobin, Hgb A1C 5.9%), but returned because of weight loss, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma was diagnosed. We review the literature on the relationship between diabetes mellitus and pancreatic carcinoma with particular emphasis on situations in which recent-onset diabetes may be a harbinger of pancreatic carcinoma. Several reports are cited in which the onset of diabetes mellitus in middle-aged patients antedated by a short time the onset of clinically recognizable pancreatic carcinoma. An otherwise silent pancreatic carcinoma may present as new-onset diabetes. Although rare, pancreatic carcinoma should be considered in a recently diagnosed middle-aged diabetic person with unusual manifestations, e.g., abdominal symptoms and continuous weight loss despite euglycemia.
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PMID:New-onset diabetes mellitus as a harbinger of pancreatic carcinoma. A case report and literature review. 266 61

Octreotide is an analogue of somatostatin. Like endogenous somatostatin, it exerts a potent inhibitory effect on the release of anterior pituitary growth hormone and thyroid-stimulating hormone, and peptides of the gastroenteropancreatic endocrine system, while overcoming some of the shortcomings of exogenously administered somatostatin, namely a short duration of action, a need for intravenous administration and postinfusion rebound hypersecretion of hormone. Clinical studies have shown that octreotide is effective in the treatment of acromegaly and thyrotrophinomas. In comparative trials octreotide was significantly superior to bromocriptine in patients with acromegaly. Octreotide also appears to provide a significant advantage over existing therapies in the management of the carcinoid syndrome and offers considerable therapeutic potential in reversing carcinoid crises which may be life-threatening. Trials in patients with tumours producing vasoactive intestinal peptide demonstrated that octreotide may be an effective first-line choice for this condition, which has usually metastasised and become refractory to traditional symptomatic therapy. In limited studies in patients with high-output secretory diarrhoea, including cryptosporidium-related diarrhoea associated with AIDS and in patients with small bowel fistulas, octreotide has been shown to be effective in reducing stool/fistula output. However, well-designed clinical trials are still required to confirm its long term usefulness in these disorders. Similarly, although the use of octreotide in other conditions such as neonatal hypoglycaemia caused by nesidioblastosis, reactive pancreatitis, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, postprandial hypotension and the dumping syndrome has provided encouraging preliminary results, more studies are needed to clarify the place of octreotide in their treatment. Overall, octreotide appears to be well tolerated with the most frequently reported reactions being pain at the site of injection and gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal cramps, nausea, bloating, flatulence, diarrhoea and steatorrhoea. These adverse effects usually abate with time. Additionally, octreotide, like endogenous somatostatin, may also result in cholelithiasis, presumably by altering fat absorption and possibly by decreasing motility of the gallbladder. Thus, octreotide represents a new departure from traditional therapies in the treatment of various pathophysiological states associated with excessive peptide production and secretion. It offers a significant advantage over existing therapies in the medical management of patients with acromegaly, thyrotrophinomas, the carcinoid syndrome, tumours producing vasoactive intestinal peptide and severe secretory diarrhoea in whom conventional management options have either become exhausted or have provided suboptimal symptomatic relief.
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PMID:Octreotide. A review of its pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, and therapeutic potential in conditions associated with excessive peptide secretion. 268 36

Two patients with chronic disease (diabetes mellitus type I, hyperuricemia and alcohol abuse, respectively) were hospitalized with persistent diarrhea and severe abdominal cramps. Using routine methods, the only pathogen isolated in stool specimens was Arcobacter butzleri. In both cases acute symptoms subsided quickly after antibiotic therapy. After termination of antibiotic treatment, Arcobacter butzleri could no longer be detected in stool specimens. Although very little is known about the clinical significance of Arcobacter butzleri infections in humans, it is highly likely that in both cases Arcobacter butzleri played a major causative role in acute disease.
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PMID:Severe diarrhea associated with Arcobacter butzleri. 781 98

We report on a 33-year-old patient from Sri Lanka who had been suffering from recurrent episodes of abdominal cramps since he was ten years old. He additionally suffered from postprandial flatulence and an increased frequency of bowel movements. By the age of 24, his condition had worsened with polyuria and polydipsia and he was diagnosed with type II diabetes mellitus. Recently, the patient's compliance deteriorated steadily and his diabetes mellitus was uncontrolled. His flatulence continued and he had six to seven bowel movements daily. He presented to us with renewed bouts of severe stomach cramps, similar to the painful episodes that the patient experienced in his youth. After exclusion of other etiologies and judging by the clinical picture, the patient's origin and the sonographically and radiologically verified pancreatic calcification, we rendered the diagnosis of a tropic calcifying pancreatitis with secondary diabetes mellitus. According to the literature, malignant neoplasia may develop on the basis of this disease. However, we were able to rule out a carcinoma as the cause of the current pain episodes in this patient based on clinical findings and course. We attributed the stomach cramps to compression of the common bile duct by the fibrotic head of pancreas. Pain and cholestasis regressed, thus obviating the need for surgical intervention (pancreaticojejunostomy). On therapy with enzyme substitution and insulin, the patient's exo- and endocrine pancreatic insufficiency was asymptomatic.
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PMID:[Chronic abdominal pain in a young diabetic patient]. 1111 10

The efficacy and tolerability of acarbose was studied in type 2 diabetic patients eating a typical Jamaican diet. The study was an open label parallel group study without placebo control. Of the 51 subjects recruited, five (9.8%) did not complete the study and were excluded from further analysis. Six (13%) of the remaining 46 had adverse side effects and did not complete the protocol. Of the remaining 40 (Gp A), acarbose was added to their previous regime of diet alone (n = 15), [Gp B], oral hypoglycaemic agents, OHAs (n = 17), [Gp C], or insulin (n = 8), Gp D]. In addition, during the run-in period all subjects had one session each with a dietitian and a diabetes educator. Over a 3-month period, significant reductions in average glucose (mmol) were observed in Gp B 10.5 +/- 1.1 to 8.4 +/- 0.9 (p < 0.027) and, from 11.0 +/- 1.0 to 8.7 +/- 0.7 (p < 0.01) in Gp C. Similarly, total glycosylated haemoglobin fell from 14.8 +/- 1.1% to 12.2 +/- 1.0% (p < 0.016) in Gp B, from 14.9 +/- 1.1 to 11.9 +/- 1.1% (p < 0.002) in Gp C, and from 14.1 +/- 1.4 to 11.8 +/- 1.4 (p < 0.02) in Gp D. Twenty-three per cent (23%) of the patients experienced flatulence; 7.5%, changes in bowel habits and 5%, abdominal cramps and discomfort. Acarbose is effective as monotherapy and as combination therapy with oral hypoglycaemic agents or insulin. Side effects were common, but tolerable.
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PMID:The efficacy of acarbose in type 2 diabetes mellitus in Jamaica. 1121 36

Our objective is to present a case of symptomatic lead toxicity (plumbism) with abdominal colic and hemolytic anemia following a gunshot wound. It is a retrospective case report and the setting is in a teaching hospital in south central Los Angeles. The case report is that of a patient who presented with abdominal pain, generalized weakness, and hypertension following multiple gunshot wounds, 15 years previously. Other causes of abdominal pain and weakness--such as diabetes mellitus, alcohol abuse, pancreatitis, and substance abuse--were ruled out. Interventions included treatment with the newer oral chelating agent, Succimer (2, 3-dimercaptosuccinic acid), and subsequent surgery. The main outcome was the initial reduction in blood lead levels with improvement of symptoms. Because of a recurrent rise in the blood lead levels, the patient was again treated with Succimer and underwent surgery to remove two bullet fragments from the face. We conclude that lead toxicity should be ruled out in patients presenting with abdominal cramps and a history of a gunshot wound. Prompt therapy--including environmental intervention and chelation therapy--is mandatory, and surgical intervention may be necessary.
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PMID:Gunshot-induced plumbism in an adult male. 1462 Jul 13

Reduced intestinal absorption of levothyroxine (LT4) is the most common cause of failure to achieve an adequate therapeutic target in hypothyroid patients under replacement therapy. We present the case of a 63-year-old woman with autoimmune hypothyroidism previously well-replaced with tablet LT4 who became unexpectedly no more euthyroid. At presentation, the patient reported the onset of acute gastrointestinal symptoms characterized by nausea, loss of appetite, flatulence, abdominal cramps and diarrhea, associated with increase of thyrotropin levels (TSH: 11 mIU/mL). Suspecting a malabsorption disease, a thyroxine solid-to-liquid formulation switch, at the same daily dose, was adopted to reach an optimal therapeutic target despite the gastrointestinal symptoms persistence. Oral LT4 solution normalized thyroid hormones. Further investigations diagnosed giardiasis, and antibiotic therapy was prescribed. This case report is compatible with a malabsorption syndrome caused by an intestinal parasite (Giardia lamblia). The reduced absorption of levothyroxine was resolved by LT4 oral solution. Learning points: The failure to adequately control hypothyroidism with oral levothyroxine is a common clinical problem. Before increasing levothyroxine dose in a patient with hypothyroidism previously well-controlled with LT4 tablets but no more in appropriate therapeutic target, we suggest to investigate non adhesion to LT4 therapy, drug or food interference with levothyroxine absorption, intestinal infection, inflammatory intestinal disease, celiac disease, lactose intolerance, short bowel syndrome after intestinal or bariatric surgery, hepatic cirrhosis and congestive heart failure. LT4 oral solution has a better absorptive profile than the tablet. In hypothyroid patients affected by malabsorption syndrome, switch of replacement therapy from tablet to liquid LT4 should be tested before increasing the dose of LT4.
Endocrinol Diabetes Metab Case Rep 2019 Mar 21
PMID:Switch from tablet levothyroxine to oral solution resolved reduced absorption by intestinal parasitosis. 3089 50