Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 65-year-old woman was seen in September, 1986, because of general malaise and dull pain in the left flank. Physical examination was unremarkable. Murmur was not heard over the abdomen. An excretory urogram showed left hydronephrosis and a retrograde pyelogram showed extrinsic obstruction at the level of the transverse process of the 5th lumbar spine. Computed tomography (CT) showed a mass with irregular calcification in its center. The mass was assumed to be located in the left iliac artery and as it was enhanced homogeneously, iliac aneurysm was suspected. Angiography revealed an aneurysm of the left iliac artery involving common, external and internal iliac arteries. The patient was treated by ligation of aneurysm, aorto-femoral graft bypass and ureterolysis. Histopathological findings showed aneurysm due to atherosclerosis. A postoperative excretory urogram showed improvement of hydronephrosis. Ureteral obstruction due to iliac aneurysm is unusual but it should be considered when performing differential diagnosis of extrinsic ureteral obstruction. CT is a useful diagnostic tool and aortography should be done to make a final diagnosis. Treatment is based on resection or ligation of aneurysm with ureterolysis.
 ...
PMID:[Ureteral obstruction secondary to iliac artery aneurysm]. 338 94

We report a case of sudden unexpected death in a 17-year-old male student showing similar clinical background and pathological findings to Reye's syndrome. He was found following cardio-pulmonary arrest in his bed, and was immediately transferred to a hospital. However, resuscitation was not successful. He had a history of high fever of 38.3 degrees C, general malaise, myalgia, and gastrointestinal discomfort for the 2 days prior to his death, and an injection of pylazolon and medication comprising anti-emetics had been administered the day before he died. His biochemical findings showed almost normal levels of transaminase, electrolytes and protein fractions at the emergency room, but blood from the heart at autopsy revealed a high titer of the influenza A virus. Macroscopically, in addition to considerable fatty metamorphosis of the liver, concentric hypertrophy of the left ventricle, muscular bridge of left anterior descending artery, moderate coronary atherosclerosis, and mild downward displacement of the septal leaflet of the tricuspid valve were noted in the heart. Although panlobular microvesicular fatty infiltration of the liver was seen, deposition of lipid droplets was detected only in hepatocytes by frozen section of several organs. Serial sectioning of the epicardial coronary arteries showed about 50% stenosis at the distal site of the left circumflex artery, and diffuse interstitial fibrosis was evident in the bilateral ventricle and this was relatively severe for his age. In addition, the atrioventricular (AV) node artery showed severe narrowing just before entering the AV node, and downward displacement of the AV node with longitudinal elongation was also remarkable. We consider that the cause of death was sudden cardiac death rather than Reye's syndrome (RS), and that an arrhythmogenic event due to some preceding unusual cardiac lesions may have become overt due to the influenza infection and/or some related disorders. The present case would seem to suggest that a postmortem diagnosis of RS should be determined very carefully in cases of sudden death, even if the general circumstances would seem to be consistent with RS.
 ...
PMID:Sudden unexpected death of a 17-year-old male infected with the influenza virus. 1555 16

Aortitis syndrome is a chronic vasculitis that leads to arterial wall thickening and stiffening in large elastic arteries. However, there are no established markers for assessing arterial stiffening in aortitis syndrome. The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) has recently been utilized to assess arterial stiffening that is associated with atherosclerosis-related diseases. We hypothesized that CAVI can be applicable for assessing alterations in arterial stiffness during immunosuppressive therapy for aortitis syndrome. A 69-year-old woman with a 2-month history of recurrent fever, fatigue, and malaise, showed intense 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake in the thoracic aorta and common carotid arteries in 18F-FDG-positron emission tomography. These clinical and imaging findings resulted in the diagnosis of aortitis syndrome. The patient also showed the elevated CAVIs on both sides (right, 10.3; left, 10.4) (normal value for her age, 9.1 +/- 0.8), indicating the arterial stiffness due to aortitis syndrome. The patient was treated for 34 weeks with immunosuppressive therapy, which included oral prednisolone and methotrexate. C-reactive protein (from 4.24 to 0.49 mg/dL) and immunoglobulin G (from 2,627 to 1,524 mg/dL) were decreased by 7 weeks after initiation of the treatment. The decrease in these inflammatory parameters suggests the effectiveness of the immunosuppressive therapy. In addition, after the 34-week treatment, the CAVIs on both sides (right, 9.3; left, 9.2) were within the normal range. These data indicate that the immunosuppressive therapy ameliorates the degree of arterial stiffness. In conclusion, CAVI may be a promising marker for evaluating the effectiveness of immunosuppressive therapy in patients with aortitis syndrome.
 ...
PMID:Cardio-ankle vascular index for evaluating immunosuppressive therapy in a patient with aortitis syndrome. 2082 65

A bone biopsy specimen in a long-term hemodialysis patient with sarcoidosis coexisting with severe hypoparathyroidism has demonstrated that a persistent near physiological level of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 contributes to the preservation of bone remodeling and has the potential to retard the development of vascular calcification and atherosclerosis. Sarcoidosis-related hypercalcemia and hypoparathyroidism, which is characterized by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) overproduction, is rarely seen in hemodialysis patients. Herein, we describe a 60-year-old Japanese woman on hemodialysis for 35 years who presented with malaise and hypercalcemia. Severe hypoparathyroidism without parathyroidectomy and a preserved 1,25(OH)2D3 level were detected. Computed tomography showed bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy and minimal aortic and soft tissue calcification. The axillary node biopsy led to a definite diagnosis of sarcoidosis. A bone biopsy specimen obtained from the right iliac crest showed remodeling of normal lamellar bone with scalloped cement lines and clear double labeling by tetracycline on fluorescence microscopy. Histomorphometric analysis revealed that the bone formation rate was preserved (30.0 %/year), together with a decrease of osteoid volume (5.75 %) and fibrous volume (0 %), indicating that the patient did not have adynamic bone disease and only showed mild disease. This is the first documented case of sarcoidosis-related hypercalcemia associated with severe hypoparathyroidism in a long-term hemodialysis patient who underwent bone histomorphometry. Our findings suggest that, in hemodialysis patients with sarcoidosis coexisting with severe hypoparathyroidism, a persistent near physiological level of 1,25(OH)2D3 contributes to the preservation of bone remodeling and has the potential to retard the development of vascular calcification and atherosclerosis.
 ...
PMID:Bone histomorphometry in a long-term hemodialysis patient with hypoparathyroidism and sarcoidosis. 2550 27