Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0015672 (fatigue)
 51,768 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Twenty-two patients with clinical, biochemical, immunological and pathological characteristics compatible with primary biliary cirrhosis were studied. There were 17 women and 5 men with a mean age of 57.4 +/- 15.2 years and a mean follow-up of 24.1 +/- 20.1 months. Four of them expired during the follow-up and eighteen patients now survive. The most common complaints were fatigue (63.6%) and itching (59.1%). Only one case (4.5%) was asymptomatic in this series. The major physical findings were jaundice (50%) and hepatomegaly (50%). The significant laboratory findings were: elevation of alkaline phosphatase (91% of the cases greater than 3 times the upper limit of normal), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (100% of the cases greater than 4 times the upper limit of normal), aspartate transaminase (95%) and alanine transaminase (100%), presence of anti-mitochondrial antibodies (91%), antinuclear antibodies (73%) and the elevation of IgM (88%). One case was associated with ulcerative colitis. Pathological staging in this series revealed 57.9% of stage II, 26% of stage III, 10% of stage IV and 5.3% of stage I. All patients with granuloma survived but 4 of the 5 patients with cholestasis died during follow-up. The results show that the features in this series of PBC were similar to those observed in western countries. The very high ALP and gamma-GT level as well as only one asymptomatic case in this series, suggest that our patients were diagnosed at a late stage. The reason(s) for the higher positivity of ANA, particularly the speckled type and a lower rate of associated auto-immune disease requires further study. Liver biopsy in predicting a prognosis is valuable.
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PMID:[A clinicopathological study in primary biliary cirrhosis]. 135 58

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a progressive noninflammatory destruction of the interlobular bile ducts within the liver, leading to cholestasis and eventual cirrhosis. Ninety percent of affected patients are women. Most patients are initially without symptoms or have mild symptoms such as fatigue or pruritus. A minority of patients have the classical triad of jaundice, pruritus, and xanthelasmas. Almost all patients will have positive anti-mitochondrial antibody test results and an elevation of the serum alkaline phosphatase level. Primary biliary cirrhosis is thought to be an autoimmune disorder with additional liver injury being mediated by the subsequent cholestasis and accumulation of toxic bile acids. New treatment modalities include colchicine, ursodeoxycholic acid, and methotrexate. All patients, including those with only minor symptoms, have increased mortality compared with age-matched controls, thereby emphasizing the need for early diagnosis.
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PMID:Primary biliary cirrhosis: current diagnosis and treatment. 142 Mar 96

Three patients with symptomatic, noncirrhotic primary biliary cirrhosis who had no evidence of esophageal varices on esophagogastroduodenoscopy and who were treated with ursodeoxycholic acid, 15 mg.kg-1.day-1, for a period of 1-2 years are reported. Initially, all three patients showed improvement in symptoms of fatigue and pruritus, and there was marked improvement or normalization in serum levels of bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, and alanine aminotransferase. However, after 1-2 years, all three patients progressed histologically to cirrhosis on follow-up liver biopsy, and all had esophageal variceal bleeding documented by esophagogastroduodenoscopy. These three patients represent examples of ursodeoxycholic acid treatment failure despite improvements in symptoms and biochemical liver test results.
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PMID:Progression of primary biliary cirrhosis with ursodeoxycholic acid therapy. 829 25

A case of right ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy associated with primary biliary cirrhosis is described. The patient was a middle aged woman, who initially complained of fatigue and itching. The diagnosis of primary biliary cirrhosis was made based on clinical, biochemical and histological evidence of the disease. Seven years later severe right-sided heart failure developed. The diagnosis of right ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy was made based on echocardiographic and angiographic evidence of a globally dilated and poorly contracting right ventricle. Left ventricular function was within normal limits. Autoimmune serology screening at this time revealed the presence of organ-specific cardiac antibody (titre 1/20) and of antinuclear antibody (titre 1/80) by indirect immunofluorescence. There were no findings of mitochondrial antibody or other non-organ specific or organ-specific antibodies. Overall, this assessment demonstrates autoimmunity in both hepatic and heart muscle disease in a patient with primary biliary cirrhosis and right ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy.
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PMID:Right ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy associated with primary biliary cirrhosis. 178 56

In a pilot study 5 females with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), histological stages I-III, were treated with methotrexate (7.5-15.0 mg by mouth weekly) for 15 months. Pruritus and fatigue decreased in 3 patients and cholestyramine could be reduced or discontinued. The concentration of alkaline phosphatase decreased significantly until the 6th month of treatment (P less than 0.002), but only after the methotrexate dosage had been increased to 15 mg weekly. However, the improvement in cholestasis parameters persisted until the end of the period of observation in only 3 patients in stages I and II. In only one case, initially in stage III with increased serum bilirubin concentration of 3.5 mg/dl, was there a change in the histological stage, to stage IV, after treatment. These preliminary results indicate that methotrexate can influence the symptoms and cholestasis enzymes in the early stages of PBC. Controlled studies should therefore only be conducted on anicteric patients in an early stage of the disease.
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PMID:[Methotrexate in the therapy of primary biliary cirrhosis]. 188 74

Nine women with symptomatic precirrhotic primary biliary cirrhosis have been treated with oral pulse methotrexate, 15 mg/wk, for 12-34 months. Three women had pruritus, two fatigue, and four pruritus and fatigue. Itching disappeared and fatigue lessened or disappeared in all within 4-11 months after starting methotrexate. All who itched were able to discontinue cholestyramine (five) or antihistamines (two). Biochemical tests of liver function improved in all patients and then worsened in three when methotrexate was discontinued or the dose lowered. Mean serum alkaline phosphatase decreased from 471 to 171 U/L (P less than 0.01), serum bilirubin from 0.99 to 0.59 mg/dL (P less than 0.05), and serum alanine aminotransferase from 132 to 61 U/L (P = 0.02), and serum cholesterol fell from 265 to 213 mg/dL (NS). The decrease in serum cholesterol was significant, P = 0.05, if data were used just from the six women whose baseline serum cholesterol levels were elevated. Serum albumin remained normal in all. The serum bilirubin levels became normal in three of four patients with elevated levels. The serum alkaline phosphatase levels became normal in four patients and the alanine aminotransferase levels in three. Liver histology improved in five patients and was stable in the remaining four based on a quantitative evaluation of coded liver biopsy specimens. The improvement in histology was primarily due to decreased portal inflammation and bile duct injury. The titer of antimitochondrial antibody decreased in seven patients. The data suggest that methotrexate may be effective treatment for precirrhotic primary biliary cirrhosis. Controlled trials are needed to evaluate long-term efficacy and toxicity.
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PMID:Treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis with low-dose weekly methotrexate. 193 16

Based on uncontrolled observations, we have proposed ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) as a novel therapeutic approach in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). To confirm and extend our original findings, we have designed a double-blind multicentre randomized clinical trial. An interim analysis was planned at 6 months, involving all subjects included in the trial, with a final analysis at 2 years. The UDCA-PBC trial began in June 1987 and will be completed in March 1990. Seventy patients were randomized to receive UDCA and 68 a placebo. The two groups were well matched with respect to age, sex, duration and prevalence of symptoms and histologic severity (50% of the UDCA group had stage III-IV disease vs. 37% of the placebo group). During the first 6 months of follow-up, six patients withdrew from the trial. At 6 months, the proportion of patients with jaundice was significantly lower (p less than 0.01) in UDCA recipients than in the placebo group. There was a similar decrease in the proportion of patients with pruritus and fatigue in both groups. The following laboratory test values were significantly lower in UDCA recipients than in the placebo group after 6 months of therapy: serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activities (p less than 0.001), cholesterol (p less than 0.003) and IgM levels (p less than 0.03). The results of this interim analysis confirm and extend the biochemical data provided by our previous pilot study. However the final analysis of the trial is necessary for a definitive assessment of the safety and efficacy of UDCA therapy in PBC.
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PMID:Ursodeoxycholic acid for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. Interim analysis of a double-blind multicentre randomized trial. The UDCA-PBC Study Group. 197 19

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a chronic cholestatic disease which usually affects middle-aged women and is characterized by portal vein inflammation and by segmental and focal necrosis of small intrahepatic bile ducts. The prevalence of the disease is estimated at 8 to 12 cases for 100,000 inhabitants. Genetic, infectious and/or immunological factors acting together may be responsible for small bile duct destruction. The main consequence of this destruction is cholestasis. As in all types of mechanical cholestasis, so-called lobular lesions such a fibrosis or even cirrhosis may then develop. Clinically, primary biliary cirrhosis evolves in three phases: (1) a preclinical asymptomatic phase where the disease is revealed by the accidental discovery of antimitochondrial antibodies or of a moderate rise in gammaglutamyltranspeptidase or serum alkaline phosphatase activity; (2) a clinical phase, usually lasting 5 to 10 years, characterized by fatigue, pruritus and later, clinical signs directly related to the hepatic lesions; (3) a terminal phase marked by major cholestasis with lesions of fibrosis or cirrhosis and sometimes ascites and portal hypertension responsible for gastrointestinal haemorrhages. In the last few years the prognosis of primary biliary cirrhosis has been considerably improved by the introduction and development of liver transplantation (the first choice treatment in the terminal phase) and by the introduction of ursodeoxycholic acid.
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PMID:[Primary biliary cirrhosis]. 206 16

Dietary measures have achieved mixed results in the management of liver disorders. Although a high energy diet may shorten the course of viral hepatitis by a relatively small amount, dietary restriction is usually of no benefit in compensated cirrhosis. Restriction of sodium intake to 22 to 60 mol/day leads to resolution of cirrhotic ascites in approximately 20% of patients, and reduces the requirement for diuretics in the remainder. In advanced liver disease, diet plays an important role in the avoidance of portal-systemic encephalopathy (PSE), with the tolerance of most nutrients, most importantly protein, being sharply reduced. Despite the frequent presence of carbohydrate intolerance in liver disease, carbohydrate supplementation may be required to ensure adequate utilisation of the reduced dietary protein intake. Zinc supplementation may also be required in liver cirrhosis to compensate for a deficiency. Bed rest is an important component of the management of acute and chronic liver disorders, together with the avoidance of fatigue. Abstinence from alcohol is required in alcoholic liver disease patients, who should receive parenteral thiamine 100 mg and other vitamin and mineral supplementation as required. Agents acting on the ascending loop of Henle [such as furosemide (frusemide)] or the distal tubule (such as spironolactone) are the diuretics most frequently employed to mobilise ascites in cirrhosis, the latter drug being the more effective in nonazotaemic patients. In the absence of oedema, the diuresis should be restricted to a maximum of 750 ml/day; however, patients with oedema may safely undergo a diuresis of less than or equal to 1.5 L/day. Diuretic therapy is often associated with renal complications, such as azotaemia (usually reversible) and severe hyponatraemia in cirrhotic patients with ascites; spironolactone may produce antiandrogenic adverse effects. Lactulose, used in the treatment of acute and chronic PSE, acts by inhibiting gastrointestinal absorption of ammonia and other toxic nitrogenous substances, and by reducing urea degradation. Other pharmacological treatments, such as branched-chain amino acids and benzodiazepine antagonists have a limited role in the management of PSE. Chronic cholestasis has been treated with cholestyramine and fat-soluble vitamins, whereas ursodeoxycholic acid appears to be a promising agent in the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. In chronic hepatitis, the prevention of development of cirrhosis is a primary treatment goal which has been attempted with variable success using antifibrotic drugs such as penicillamine and colchicine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Traditional management of liver disorders. 208 80

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a progressive disease of the liver characterized by the immunologic destruction of bile ducts; effective therapy is lacking. We therefore evaluated the safety and efficacy of low-dose cyclosporine in 29 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis without evidence of damage to the lobular architecture (precirrhotic disease) or portal hypertension. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either cyclosporine (4 mg per kilogram of body weight per day) or placebo. After one year 17 of the 19 patients assigned to cyclosporine had improvement or stability in their degree of fatigue, and 18 in their degree of pruritus. In contrast, among the 10 patients assigned to placebo, fatigue increased in 4 (P less than 0.06) and pruritus worsened in 6 (P less than 0.001). Those assigned to cyclosporine also had significant decreases in serum levels of bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma globulin, and the titer of antimitochondrial antibodies. For the 20 patients who have completed two years in the study, liver biopsies (coded specimens) showed evidence of histologic progression in only 1 of 13 patients in the cyclosporine group, as compared with 5 of 7 in the placebo group (P less than 0.003). No patient has permanently discontinued cyclosporine because of side effects; however, signs of nephrotoxicity developed in 12 of 19, and 9 of 19 had increased blood pressure. We conclude that in patients with precirrhotic primary biliary cirrhosis, immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporine is promising and deserves further evaluation.
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PMID:A controlled trial of cyclosporine in the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. 221 26


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