Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0013911 (emaciation)
 1,059 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pulmonary defense mechanisms were quantitated in mice that were fed a protein-free diet (PFD) for periods of 2 and 3 weeks. Despite the severe weight loss and emaciation induced by the diet, the bactericidal mechanisms in their lungs were preserved against aerogenic challenges with staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, and Listeria monocytogenes. Phagocytic assays of alveolar macrophages that were retrieved by pulmonary lavage from PFD-fed animals showed a decrease in Fc receptor-mediated binding activity but no alteration in the ingestion of sensitized erythrocytes. In contrast, the PFD induced defects in both the attachment phase and the engulfment phase of the phagocytic process when the challenge organism was Candida krusei. The PFD suppressed the pulmonary inflammatory response after mice were infected with influenza virus strain PR8; such mice also failed to eliminate infectious virus from their lungs. Virus infection in control mice suppressed pulmonary antibacterial defenses against challenges with S. aureus and P. mirabilis, and defect that was ameliorated in the lungs of PFD-fed mice with viral pneumonia. The data demonstrated that pulmonary defense mechanisms were modulated by a PFD but that the observed effect was dependent on the agent used to test host defenses.
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PMID:Alterations of pulmonary defense mechanisms by protein depletion diet. 730 43

A 37-year-old woman with complaints of headache and nausea presented with temporary disturbance of consciousness, bulbar palsy and ataxic speech following flu-like symptoms. After the recovery of her consciousness, she developed orthostatic syncope and numbness all over the body. When she was admitted to our hospital two months later, she showed emaciation, diminished sweat production and butterfly-patch-like pigmentation. Neurologic examinations were remarkable for anisocoric pupils that sluggishly reacted to light, impaired left facial movements, bulbar palsy, numbness of the whole body, total loss of all tendon reflexes, incordination, ataxic gait and severe postural hypotension. Laboratory data included albuminocytogenic dissociation in cerebrospinal fluid, convergence nystagmus and dysmetria in electronystagmography, and right trigeminal paralysis in blink reflex. A sural nerve biopsy showed active axonal degeneration and severe loss of both myelinated and unmyelinated fibers. Examinations of autonomic nervous system disclosed diffuse impairment of sympathetic and parasympathetic postganglionic nerve. Based on these findings she was diagnosed as having acute pandysautonomia. High titer of serum EB virus antibody suggested that acute pandysautonomia and diffuse brainstem impairment may be related to EB virus infection.
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PMID:[A case of acute pandysautonomia and diffuse brain stem impairment associated with EB virus infection]. 772 95

Recent studies showed that perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) affects the mammalian immune system at levels reportedly found in the general human population. It has been demonstrated that exposure to immunotoxic chemicals may diminish the host resistance of animals to various pathogenic challenges and enhance mortality. Therefore, the current study was carried out to characterize the effect of a 21 day pre-administration of zero, 5, or 25 microg PFOS/kg bw/day in female B6C3F1 mice on host resistance to influenza A virus infection. At the end of PFOS exposure, body/organ weights did not significantly change whereas PFOS distribution in blood plasma, spleen, thymus and lung was dose-dependently increased. PFOS exposure in mice resulted a significant increase in emaciation and mortality in response to influenza A virus. The effective plasma concentrations in female mice were at least several fold lower than reported mean blood PFOS levels from occupationally exposed humans, and fell in the upper range of blood concentrations of PFOS in the normal human population and in a wide range of wild animals. Hence, it should be important to clarify the precise mechanism(s) for excess mortality observed in the high dose group.
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PMID:Effect of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) on influenza A virus-induced mortality in female B6C3F1 mice. 1995 4