Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0011570 (depression)
 172,036 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A total of 61 patients with recurrent or persistent clinically measurable platin-resistant epithelial ovarian carcinoma were treated with 260 mg/m2 oral hexamethylmelamine daily for 14 days, repeated at 4-week intervals. Platin resistance was defined as progression or stable disease during cis- or carboplatin treatment (used alone or in combination with other drugs), or relapse within 6 months after the end of that therapy. Fifty patients were evaluable for response and 57 for toxicity. The objective response rate was 14% (3 complete and 4 partial responses). The response rate was higher in patients with relapse within 6 months than in patients with progression or stable disease on platin-based therapy. This observation underscores the importance of defining response and time to progression after first-line chemotherapy. The median duration of response was 8 months and the median survival in responding patients was 9+ months versus 5 months for patients with progression on hexamethylmelamine. Nausea and vomiting requiring antiemetic treatment occurred in 8 (14%) patients and reversible peripheral neuropathy in 3 patients. Two patients developed agitation, insomnia, and depression during hexamethylmelamine therapy. In conclusion, the 14% objective response rate and the occurrence of complete responses with oral hexamethylmelamine treatment in a group of ovarian cancer patients with true platin resistance are noteworthy.
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PMID:Hexamethylmelamine as second-line therapy in platin-resistant ovarian cancer. 147 37

Many conditions in clinical neurology may be responsive to pyridoxine as a therapeutic agent. The current difficulty is in trying to isolate the conditions that are most likely to respond. Treating seizures is a major part of a neurologic practice. Our current therapeutic agents are only partially successful and limited by multiple side effects. One problem is that patients often have to take these agents for an entire lifetime, further raising the risk of toxicity. If pyridoxine supplementation can improve the efficacy of currently used medications, it will be gladly accepted into our therapeutic arsenal. Headache, chronic pain, and depression all appear to run together in many of our patients. The observations that serotonin deficiency is a common thread between them and that pyridoxine can raise serotonin levels open a wide range of therapeutic options. Small studies have been carried out with mixed success. Comparison with amitriptyline in the treatment of headache appears to show about equal efficacy, although side effects would be expected to be more of a problem with the amitriptyline. Behavioral disorders are relatively common and continue to be a major problem, disrupting the lives of the patients and their families. Current treatments are not acceptable to most people because of the risk of side effects with long-term usage. If, as Dr. Feingold suggests, many of these problems are caused by "toxic" exposures to chemicals that are pyridoxine antagonists, supplementation at early ages may reduce the incidence of hyperactivity and aggressive behavior. This raises the question of safety. Is pyridoxine safe for long-term use in large segments of the population, including children? The studies on children with Down's syndrome and autism, utilizing much higher doses than are used for other therapeutic purposes, seem to indicate relative safety if carefully monitored. Studies involving large population groups with carpal tunnel syndrome, all adults, using 100-150 mg/day have shown minimal or no toxicity in five- to 10-year studies. Women self-medicating for PMS taking 500 to 5000 mg/day have shown peripheral neuropathy within one to three years. It would appear from this retrospective analysis that pyridoxine is safe at doses of 100 mg/day or less in adults. In children there is not enough data to make any sort of suggestion. Because the major neurologic complication is a peripheral neuropathy and the causes of this condition are myriad, pyridoxine may cause neuropathy only in patients with a pre-existing susceptibility to this condition.
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PMID:Vitamin B6 in clinical neurology. 216 44

We review the English-language literature on antibiotic-associated adverse reactions in patients with renal insufficiency in order to highlight this important but often overlooked clinical problem. Because many adverse reactions to antibiotics are not dependent on renal function, we have attempted to review only those reactions that are believed to be associated with renal insufficiency or that have been reported in patients with impaired renal function. Adverse effects of antibiotics in this setting can be divided into six major categories: neurologic toxicity, coagulopathy, nephrotoxicity, hypoglycemia, hematologic toxicity, and aminoglycoside inactivation by penicillins. Neurologic toxicity can be further divided into central nervous system toxicity consisting primarily of encephalopathy and seizures, ototoxicity, peripheral neuropathy, and neuromuscular blockade/respiratory depression. We explore the factors in uremia that may contribute to the susceptibility of patients with renal insufficiency to the adverse effects of antibiotics. Moreover, we make general recommendations regarding the use of the discussed antibiotics in patients with compromised renal function.
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PMID:Adverse antibiotic effects associated with renal insufficiency. 192 3

Acute poisoning with organic solvents and other volatile compounds now usually follows deliberate inhalation (volatile substance abuse) or ingestion of these compounds. Solvents from adhesives, typewriter correction and dry cleaning fluids, cigarette lighter refills (butane) and aerosol propellants are commonly abused. The major risk is that of sudden death. Arrhythmias leading to cardiac arrest are thought to cause most deaths, but anoxia, respiratory depression and vagal stimulation leading to cardiac arrest may also contribute, as may indirect causes such as aspiration of vomit or trauma. In the United Kingdom (UK), 3.5 to 10% of young people have at least experimented with volatile substance abuse and mortality is more than 100 per annum. The products abused are cheap and readily available despite legislation designed to limit supply. Volatile substance abuse is not illegal and only a minority of abusers are known to progress to heavy alcohol or illicit drug use. Prevention of abuse by education, not only of children but also of parents, teachers, retailers and health care workers, is important in limiting the problem. However, volatile substance abuse-related deaths are still increasing in the UK despite many measures aimed at prevention. Clinically, volatile substance abuse is characterised by a rapid onset of intoxication and rapid recovery. Euphoria and disinhibition may be followed by hallucinations, tinnitus, ataxia, confusion, nausea and vomiting. It is important not to further alarm the patient if signs of serious toxicity are present, since a cardiac arrest may be precipitated. Further exposure should be prevented and the patient resuscitated and given supplemental oxygen if necessary. Cardiac arrhythmias should be treated conventionally and respiratory failure managed supportively. Long term exposure to n-hexane is associated with the development of peripheral neuropathy, while prolonged abuse (notably of toluene or chlorinated solvents) can cause permanent damage to the central nervous system, heart, liver, kidney and lungs. Knowledge of the routes of absorption, distribution and excretion of volatile compounds, and of the rates governing these processes, is important in understanding the rate of onset, intensity and duration of intoxication, and rate of recovery after volatile substance abuse. In addition, such knowledge is helpful when the clinician is attempting to interpret the results of toxicological analyses performed on samples (blood, other tissues, urine) from such patients. Many volatile substances are partly metabolised, the metabolites being eliminated in exhaled air or in urine. Although metabolism normally results in detoxification, enhanced toxicity may also result as with carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, dichloromethane, n-hexane, trichloroethylene and possibly halothane.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:An introduction to the clinical toxicology of volatile substances. 222 69

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has been spreading in Africa and other continents of the world. While there is a dearth of information on AIDS-related neuro-psychiatric disorders in the African population, data from Europe and America indicate that patients with AIDS experience a lot of psycho-social difficulties and suffer from a variety of psychiatric syndromes such as anxiety state, depression, manic illness and schizophreniform disorder. Neurological sequelae of AIDS include acute and sub-acute encephalitis, meningitis, myelopathy, chorioretinitis and peripheral neuropathy. These changes may occur from direct neuropathic effects of human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) or secondary to opportunistic infections and neoplasms involving the central nervous system. It is suggested that psychiatrists need to be fully involved at all levels of clinical care, education and research on AIDS. Attention should be focussed on the neuro-psychiatric consequences of AIDS in the African population to allow for cross-cultural comparison. In addition, the need to incorporate information and education programmes on AIDS into the primary health care programmes of developing countries is emphasised.
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PMID:Neuro-psychiatric manifestations of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). 228 34

Inclusion body myositis (IBM) was suspected on light microscopic grounds in 48 of 170 consecutive patients with inflammatory myopathies. One or more vacuoles containing membranous material, groups of atrophic fibres, and an autoaggressive endomysial inflammatory exudate occurred in 100, 96 and 92% of the muscle specimens. All three of these features were present in 88% of the specimens. Electron microscopy confirmed the presence of filamentous inclusions in 40 of 43 patients. The inclusions are typically near vacuoles and a minimum of three vacuolated fibres must be scrutinized to detect them with confidence. There is no electromyographic pattern that can reliably distinguish IBM from other inflammatory myopathies. The typical clinical features in the patients diagnosed by histological criteria as IBM were: insidious onset after age 50 yrs with painless, proximal lower extremity weakness; slow but relentless progression with selectively severe involvement of quadriceps, iliopsoas, tibialis anterior, biceps and triceps muscles; relatively early depression of the knee reflexes; and a normal or mildly elevated serum creatine kinase level. The male: female ratio was 3:1. Distal weakness occurred in about 50%, but only in 35% was it as great or greater than proximal weakness. Significant associated illnesses include other autoimmune disorders (15%), diabetes mellitus (20%), and diffuse peripheral neuropathy (18%). Prednisone treatment at dose levels frequently effective in polymyositis failed to prevent disease progression in those patients observed for 2 or more years. Our findings support the notion that IBM is a distinct entity in which a set of pathological features is associated with a constellation of clinical findings.
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PMID:Inclusion body myositis. Observations in 40 patients. 254 78

The elderly represent a special challenge to the physician in providing effective cancer chemotherapy. Though they represent the majority of the patients who eventually will need such therapy, until recently little information was available on its use in this population. There are variable age changes in pharmacokinetics, particularly in renal elimination of drug and metabolites, which may necessitate dosage amendment. Concomitant renal impairment or hepatic disease may further alter drug disposition. Other common pre-existing conditions in the elderly also may increase susceptibility to adverse drug effects. For example, the risk of toxicity from doxorubicin and vincristine can be increased in the presence of pre-existing cardiac disease or peripheral neuropathy, respectively. Because of the variability of the ageing process and the effects of concomitant disease, each patient must be assessed on an individual basis. Furthermore, in treatment planning, not only age and health status but also the patient's attitude and the tumour type are important considerations. Chemotherapy for most malignancies appears beneficial and well tolerated in the elderly, and there is little evidence that age per se is a determinant of chemotherapy regimen selection and dosing. The exceptions may be the curable haematological malignancies for which chemotherapy seems less efficacious and more toxic in geriatric than younger patients. The complications of chemotherapy such as vomiting, mucositis and bone marrow depression must be anticipated, diagnosed early and managed aggressively in aged patients. Guidelines are provided to help manage these problems. Chemotherapy in the elderly is still at a relatively early stage of development. Further research is required to establish optimal regimens for use in this population, in particular for curable haematological neoplasms.
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PMID:Problems in the use of anticancer drugs in the elderly. 266 Nov 98

Symptoms suggesting gastrointestinal motor dysfunction were determined in 114 diabetic subjects (type 1 and type 2) to see if they were most significantly related to diabetic neuropathy or to psychiatric illness. Presence of neuropathy was established using peripheral nerve conduction studies and objective tests of autonomic function. Affective and anxiety disorders were determined with a structured interview and standard diagnostic criteria. Symptoms were reported by the subsets of subjects with and without neuropathy, ranging in prevalence from 8% to 35%. Log-linear analysis indicated that each group of symptoms (upper gastrointestinal symptoms, altered bowel habits, and abdominal discomforts) was more significantly associated with psychiatric illness (p less than 0.01 for each) than with peripheral neuropathy (p greater than 0.2 for each). In this study, where anxiety and depression were prevalent, no symptom group was significantly associated with autonomic neuropathy once the effects of psychiatric illness on the analysis were taken into account (p greater than 0.2 for each). These findings suggest that gastrointestinal symptoms occurring in diabetic patients are poorly related to neuropathic complications and may often represent gastrointestinal syndromes commonly associated with psychiatric illness.
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PMID:Gastrointestinal symptoms in diabetic patients: lack of association with neuropathy. 230 85

The prevalence of diabetes is greatest among older persons, yet few studies have specifically addressed the impact of age on diabetic complications. The present study examines the prevalence of four diabetic complications: retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy, and hypertension, as well as depression, in older male patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes. Participants ranged in age from 53 to 80 years. Multiple risk factors, including age, duration of illness, type of treatment, metabolic control, and obesity were evaluated as predictors of these complications using logistic regression. Results suggest a significant increase in the prevalence of retinopathy with aging, independent of the effects of metabolic control, duration of illness, and other risk variables. Age was also related to prevalence of peripheral neuropathy symptoms, hypertension, and impotence. Current metabolic control was significantly associated with retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy, and hypertension prevalence. Time since diagnosis was only independently related to impotence and hypertension. These findings suggest that the increase in many diabetic complications in older persons cannot be wholly accounted for by simple disease status variables, and may result from an interaction of diabetes variables and general age-related changes.
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PMID:Effects of age on complications in adult onset diabetes. 278 81

A 31-year-old woman with advanced diabetes mellitus with secondary autonomic and peripheral neuropathy was admitted for treatment of major depression. Previous therapy with desipramine resulted in exacerbation of the patient's orthostatic hypotension. After admission to the psychiatric facility she was initially stabilized medically and treated with psychotherapy. Subsequent treatment with low-dose fluoxetine 5 mg resulted in a decrease of the patient's diabetic neuropathy pain. Further increases in the fluoxetine dosage resulted in improvement of her depression and increased pain relief. Therapy with fluoxetine did not result in exacerbation of the orthostatic hypotension. This preliminary case report indicates that fluoxetine may be an alternative to the tricyclic antidepressants and trazodone in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
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PMID:Relief of diabetic neuropathy with fluoxetine. 278 34


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