Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0014118 (endocarditis)
 15,629 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The array of diagnostic workup for pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) generally revolves in searching for infections, inflammatory/autoimmune, and endocrine etiologies. A differential diagnosis of fever, hemolytic anemia, and thrombocytopenia can have etiologies varying from infections like malaria, dengue, cytomegalovirus, Ebstein barr virus, Parvovirus, infective endocarditis, to autoimmune disorder (systemic lupus erythromatosis), vasculitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), autoimmune hemolytic anemia/Evan's syndrome, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuri (PNH), or drugs. Nutritional deficiencies (especially vitamin B12 deficiency) as a cause of fever, hemolytic anemia, and thrombocytopenia are very rare and therefore rarely thought of. Severe vitamin B12 deficiency may cause fever and if accompanied by concurrent hyper-homocysteinemia and hypophosphatemia can sometimes lead to severe hemolysis mimicking the above-mentioned conditions. We present a case that highlights vitamin B12 and vitamin D deficiency as an easily treatable cause of PUO, hemolytic anemia, and thrombocytopenia, which should be actively looked for and treated before proceeding with more complicated and expensive investigation or starting empiric treatments.
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PMID:Vitamin B12 and vitamin d deficiencies: an unusual cause of Fever, severe hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia. 2581 Oct 10

Streptococcus species are common causes of human infection. These Gram-positive, encapsulated bacterial pathogens infect diverse anatomic spaces, leading to infections including skin and soft tissue infection, endocarditis, pneumonia, meningitis, sinusitis, otitis media, chorioamnionitis, sepsis, and even death. Risk for streptococcal infection is highest in low- and middle-income countries where micronutrient deficiency is common. Epidemiological data reveal that vitamin D deficiency is associated with enhanced risk of streptococcal infection and cognate disease outcomes. Additionally, vitamin D improves antibacterial defenses by stimulating innate immune processes such as phagocytosis and enhancing production of reactive oxygen species (oxidative burst) and antimicrobial peptides (including cathelicidin and lactoferrin), which are important for efficient killing of bacteria. This review presents the most recent published work that studies interactions between the micronutrient vitamin D, the host immune system, and pathogenic streptococci as well as comparisons with other relevant infection models.
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PMID:Vitamin D and Streptococci: The Interface of Nutrition, Host Immune Response, and Antimicrobial Activity in Response to Infection. 3317 Jun 52