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)

Scombroid fish poisoning is an acute illness that occurs after eating fish containing high levels of histamine or other biogenic amines. Symptoms typically include facial flushing, sweating, rash, a burning or peppery taste in the mouth, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps and usually resolve within several hours without medical intervention. More severe symptoms (e.g., respiratory distress, swelling of the tongue and throat, and blurred vision) can occur and require medical treatment with antihistamines. In late 2006, two outbreaks of scombroid fish poisoning occurred, one in Louisiana and one in Tennessee. To determine the source of the outbreaks and to implement control measures, CDC and the state health departments in Louisiana and Tennessee conducted epidemiologic investigations, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted traceback investigations of the product. This report describes the results of those investigations, which indicated that the outbreaks in Louisiana and Tennessee were associated with tuna steaks from Indonesia and Vietnam, respectively. The majority of seafood eaten in the United States is imported. FDA programs to identify and prevent seafood hazards such as scombroid fish poisoning have made substantial progress but are able to inspect only a small proportion of seafood entering the United States. The only effective method for prevention of scombroid fish poisoning is consistent temperature control of fish at </=40 degrees F (</=4.4 degrees C) at all times between catching and consumption.
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PMID:Scombroid fish poisoning associated with tuna steaks--Louisiana and Tennessee, 2006. 1770 71

Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the gene encoding thymidine phosphorylase (TP). Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been proposed as a treatment for patients with MNGIE and a standardized approach to HSCT in this condition has recently been developed. We report on the transplant course, management and short-term follow-up in two MNGIE patients who underwent HSCT. The source of stem cells was bone marrow taken from an HLA 9/10 allele-matched unrelated donor in the first patient and from an HLA 10/10 allele-matched sibling donor in the second. Both patients achieved full donor chimerism, and we observed restoration of buffy coat TP activity and lowered urine nucleoside concentrations in both of them. The post-transplant clinical follow-up showed improvement in gastrointestinal dysmotility, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Neurological assessment remained unchanged. However, the first patient died 15 months after HSCT due to gastrointestinal obstruction and shock; the second patient died 8 months after the procedure due to respiratory distress following septic shock. Although HSCT corrects biochemical abnormalities and improves gastrointestinal symptoms, the procedure can be risky in subjects already in poor medical condition as are many MNGIE patients. Since transplant-related morbidity and mortality increases with progression of the disease and number of comorbidities, MNGIE patients should be submitted to HSCT when they are still relatively healthy, in order to minimize the complications of the procedure. Anyway, there is still incomplete knowledge on the natural history of the disease in many affected patients and it is not yet clear when the best time to do a transplant is. Further clues to the therapeutic potential of HSCT could result from a prolonged observation in a greater number of non-transplanted and transplanted patients, which would allow us to answer the questions of if, how and when MNGIE patients require HSCT treatment.
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PMID:Course and management of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients with mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy. 2271 Nov 61

Vaginal tightening is a kind of esthetic surgery aimed at enhancing sexual satisfaction during intercourse. Although the injective vaginal tightening procedure is informal, there are already some reports of its application. But pulmonary embolism is a really rare therapeutic complication of this procedure. We report a case of death due to the non-thrombotic pulmonary embolism as a consequence of illegal cosmetic vaginal-tightening procedure using polyacrylamide hydrogel. A 34-year-old woman was hospitalized with paroxysmal abdominal cramps and diarrhea as initial symptoms, while she concealed the genital cosmetic surgery history. Respiratory distress presented only 1.5h before she died. The result of autopsy revealed the cause of death as pulmonary embolism due to the hydrogel which was injected into her vaginal wall. The emboli were confirmed as polyacrylamide hydrogel by Alcian-blue stain and the Fourier transform infrared scanning. It is suggested that pulmonary embolism should not be discarded in the expertise of deaths following cosmetic implant surgeries. It broadens our understanding about death associated with esthetic genital procedures and informs clinicians and medical examiners of the potential death of this type. And detailed investigations of previous medical and surgical history will always play a critical role in the certification of cause of death.
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PMID:Polyacrylamide hydrogel pulmonary embolism--A fatal consequence of an illegal cosmetic vaginal tightening procedure: A case report. 2465 76

Harmful algal blooms are natural phenomena caused by the massive growth of phytoplankton that may contain highly toxic chemicals, the so-called marine biotoxins causing illness and even death to both aquatic organisms and humans. Their occurrence has been increased in frequency and severity, suggesting a worldwide public health risk. Marine biotoxins can accumulate in bivalve molluscs and regulatory limits have been set for some classes according to European Union legislation. These compounds can be distinguished in water- and fat-soluble molecules. The first group involves those of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning and Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning, whereas the toxins soluble in fat can cause Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning and Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning. Due to the lack of long-term toxicity studies, establishing tolerable daily intakes for any of these marine biotoxins was not possible, but an acute reference dose can be considered more appropriate, because these molecules show an acute toxicity. Dietary exposure assessment is linked both to the levels of marine biotoxins present in bivalve molluscs and the portion that could be eaten by consumers. Symptoms may vary from a severe gastrointestinal intoxication with diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps to neurological disorders such as ataxia, dizziness, partial paralysis, and respiratory distress. The official method for the detection of marine biotoxins is the mouse bioassay (MBA) showing some limits due to ethical restrictions and insufficient specificity. For this reason, the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method has replaced MBA as the reference technique. However, the monitoring of algal blooms producing marine biotoxins should be regularly assessed in order to obtain more reliable, accurate estimates of bloom toxicity and their potential impacts.
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PMID:Marine Biotoxins: Occurrence, Toxicity, Regulatory Limits and Reference Methods. 2745 45

Delayed anaphylaxis to mammalian meat is a newly recognized IgE-mediated syndrome associated with Lone Star tick bites. IgE-mediated anaphylaxis classically occurs within one hour of exposure to the allergen, which is typically a protein epitope. However, in this disease, circulating antibodies to a carbohydrate, alpha-gal (galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose), stimulate the anaphylactic cascade with hives, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, respiratory distress and anaphylactic shock developing after ingestion of beef, pork or lamb meat. The delayed onset of symptoms three to six hours after ingestion of meat is unique. Recognition and understanding of this disease is important for treating and educating patients with suggestive symptoms. Avoidance of red meat is the recommended therapy.
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PMID:Delayed Anaphylaxis to Mammalian Meat: A Fascinating Disease and Captivating Story. 3073 22