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

A 32-year-old man visited Kanto Teishin Hospital complaining of general fatigue in May, 1992. He had been diagnosed as having paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria since 1980, because of brownish urine in the morning. He received blood transfusion in 1980. In 1983, he was treated with medication. There was no remarkable improvement, however, and he stopped coming to the hospital. When he was admitted to our hospital, hemolytic anemia and hemosiderinuria were noticed. Sucrose hemolysis test and acidified-serum lysis test (Ham test) were both positive. Positive rates of decay accelerating factor and CD59 were 38.8% (control 100%) and 45.4% (control 100%), respectively. His diagnosis was thus confirmed. Bone marrow was slightly hypocellular, and erythroid cells were relatively hyperplastic (M/E ratio 0.68). The oral administration of iron and oxymetholone was not effective for anemia. He was treated with daily subcutaneous administration of recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO, 3,000U/body/day). His hemoglobin level increased from 7.5g/dl to 12.0g/dl in 4 weeks, and general fatigue disappeared. Since he had concurrent chronic hepatitis C, alpha-interferon was also administered and his hemoglobin level is now controlled between 10 and 11g/dl. This case suggests that EPO can be useful for treating hemolytic anemia, even though erythroid cells in the bone marrow are hyperplastic.
 ...
PMID:[Improvement of anemia by recombinant human erythropoietin in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria]. 823 Jul 45

The authors report two cases of hepatic encephalopathy with chronic hepatic failure. Case 1 was a 78-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis, admitted because of general fatigue and loss of appetite. Her electroencephalogram showed frequent slow waves in the theta range with intermittent triphasic waves T1-weighted MR images showed increased signal intensity in the globus pallidus and the putamen. Case 2 was a 71-year-old woman with chronic hepatitis, admitted because of depression. Her electroencephalogram showed frequent slow wave activities in the theta-delta range with intermittent trisphasic waves. Her serum ammonia level was 84 micrograms/dl (normal 12-54 micrograms/dl). T1-weighted MR images showed increased signal intensity in the globus pallidus, the putamen and the hypothalamus. On the basis of these findings, both patients were diagnosed as having hepatic encephalopathy, although disturbance of consciousness was not obvious. The observed MR image abnormalities might be due to the metabolic and pathological changes of chronic hepatic failure. Such MRI findings may be useful for the diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy.
 ...
PMID:[Two cases of hepatic encephalopathy associated with a high-intensity area in the basal ganglia on T1-weighted MR images]. 823 Jul 86

The clinical, biochemical and histological features of 102 consecutively referred patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection were analysed. Demographic, epidemiological, biochemical, haematological and histological details were catalogued for each patient. The mean follow-up was 49 +/- 6 months. Liver biopsies were obtained from 92 patients; a second biopsy was obtained from 35 patients. The average known duration of infection was 8.6 +/- 0.7 years. The most common risk factors that could be identified were past blood transfusion, surgery or intravenous drug abuse. Twenty-four of the 27 patients (85%) with past blood transfusion had received blood in countries outside of northern Europe. In contrast, 12 of the 16 former drug users were northern European. Patients were frequently diagnosed incidentally; one-quarter had no symptoms of liver disease and were generally asymptomatic or had presented with non-specific complaints and were found to have abnormal serum aminotransferase levels after routine screening. The mean serum aminotransferase levels were not significantly different in those presenting with fatigue compared to those diagnosed incidentally. The most common physical sign in these patients was a palpable liver, which was present in 52%. The mean serum albumin concentration in patients older than 40 years was significantly lower than that in younger patients. Splenomegaly and endoscopic evidence of varices was also more common in older patients. Cirrhosis was present in 37% of patients at presentation: 20% showed progression on rebiopsy, and 5% developed cirrhosis within 4 years of initial presentation. Of those treated, 27% showed histological improvement. Histological severity did not correlate with duration of disease, but did correlate with age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Clinical, biochemical and histological features in 102 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. 846 87

An association between primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and chronic ulcerative colitis (CUC) is well known in Western countries, but there have been no reports on this association in Japan. We reviewed 163 consecutive CUC patients (91 males and 72 females) diagnosed from 1984 to 1990 at Tokyo Women's Medical College. Abnormal liver function tests were found in 42 patients with CUC (25.8%), but chronic liver disease was only diagnosed in seven patients (4.3%). Among these seven patients, there were four with PSC, one with small-duct PSC, one with transfusion-associated chronic hepatitis and one with Type B liver cirrhosis. No relationship was found between the documented colonic manifestations of CUC and the presence of PSC. The four PSC patients did not have a longer history of CUC at the time of diagnosis of PSC than CUC patients without PSC. At the time of PSC diagnosis, two patients were asymptomatic, one presented with right upper quadrant pain, and the other had fatigue. Three patients were diagnosed as having CUC before the onset of PSC (range 2-13 years), and the other patient had both diseases simultaneously. All four had a good prognosis. Thus PSC was the most common chronic liver disease associated with CUC in our series, and it was present in all our CUC patients with alkaline phosphatase levels exceeding twice the upper limit of normal and mild transaminase elevation.
 ...
PMID:Prevalence of primary sclerosing cholangitis and other liver diseases in Japanese patients with chronic ulcerative colitis. 847 52

Chronic hepatitis C is a common cause of viral liver disease in kidney transplant recipients. To assess the efficacy and the safety of therapy with interferon alpha (IFN alpha) in such a population we conducted a prospective study where 16 kidney transplant recipients with chronic hepatitis C received recombinant IFN alpha 3 million units three times weekly scheduled for 24 consecutive weeks. All the patients had stable renal function for at least 1 year (mean serum creatinine 125.4 +/- 41 mumol/l). Fifteen patients had a positive HCV viraemia at the beginning of the study. In 15 patients serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels decreased rapidly and normalized (48 +/- 44 vs 98.5 +/- 46 IU/l; P = 0.0044). ALT remained in the normal range as long as IFN alpha was continued. Serum levels of gamma glutamyl transpeptidase decreased from 129.75 +/- 111.2 to 88 +/- 85 IU/l; P = 0.012). After discontinuation of IFN alpha therapy seven responders relapsed within 1-9 weeks. HCV viraemia assessed 1 month after the end of IFN alpha therapy remained positive in all the patients who scored positive at the beginning, i.e. 15. Side effects of IFN alpha (fatigue, anorexia, weight loss) were frequent leading to four patients dropping out of the study. The haematological tolerance was moderate. The major concern was the increase in serum creatinine (162.5 +/- 57.6 vs 125.4 +/- 41 mumol/l; P < 0.05). In fact only six patients experienced renal failure occurring 45-168 days after the beginning of IFN alpha. Kidney transplant biopsies showed oedema, scarce scattered interstitial inflammatory cellular infiltration and moderate mesangial hypertrophy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Preliminary results of treatment of chronic hepatitis C with recombinant interferon alpha in renal transplant patients. 852 7

Interferon-alpha-2a is a recombinant interferon with antiviral, antitumour and immunomodulatory properties. Clinical studies have demonstrated that the drug offers therapeutic benefit in patients with some forms of chronic viral hepatitis. Remission, as measured by clearance of viral DNA and hepatitis B 'e' antigen (HBeAg), and normalisation of serum alanine aminotransferase levels, is observed in approximately 30 to 45% of patients with chronic hepatitis B receiving interferon-alpha-2a (2.5 to 18MU administered 3 times/week); about 5 to 15% of untreated controls remit spontaneously every year. Complete recovery [with loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)] is usually noted in < 20% of treated individuals. Similar response rates have been reported in the relatively small number of children evaluated to date. Although numerous studies have shown that interferon-alpha-2a (at various dosages) induces biochemical amelioration of chronic hepatitis C in approximately 50 to 75% of patients, relapse is common. Thus, long term remission may only be observed in about 15 to 30% of treated patients. On the other hand, this disorder remits spontaneously in only a few patients. The role of interferon-alpha-2a in the treatment of chronic hepatitis D remains unclear. Although preliminary data suggest it may be beneficial, cessation of therapy is generally followed by relapse. As with other types of interferons, most patients receiving interferon-alpha-2a experience an 'influenza-like' syndrome, which tends to diminish with continuing therapy. Other effects such as fatigue, lethargy, anorexia and weight loss are usually dose-limiting. Serum neutralising antibodies develop in approximately 10 to 20% of treated patients. Thus, although response rates are less than optimal, interferon-alpha-2a is a drug of first choice amongst the limited therapeutic options available for the management of well-compensated chronic viral hepatitis B or C.
 ...
PMID:Interferon-alpha-2a. A review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic use in the management of viral hepatitis. 858 31

Type II cryoglobulinemia may be associated with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and may be characterized by vascular purpura. We report on a case of histologically proven necrotizing vasculitis associated with type II cryoglobulinemia and HCV infection. Within 14 days of interferon-alpha therapy (3 x 3 million IU/ml/week), purpuric skin lesions disappeared as well as fatigue and arthralgia; 9 months after initiation of therapy, liver enzyme values were nearly normal despite persistence of HCV RNA tested by PCR and mixed cryoglobulinemia. Rheumatoid factor activity, however, decreased markedly. To our knowledge, our patient is the first reported case with histologically proven necrotizing vasculitis with a beneficial effect of interferon-alpha. Because of the persistence of cryoglobulins, but reduction of the IgM fraction in the cryoglobulin complex under interferon-alpha treatment, it would seem worthwhile to further elucidate the pathogenic role of qualitative instead of quantitative changes of cryoglobulins and the mechanism of action of interferon-alpha.
 ...
PMID:Necrotizing vasculitis associated with hepatitis C virus infection: successful treatment of vasculitis with interferon-alpha despite persistence of mixed cryoglobulinemia. 858 82

A 60-year-old male with type C chronic hepatitis was admitted to Kibikogen Rehabilitation Center with high fever, cough and general fatigue. Chest X-ray film on admission showed consolidation in the left middle and lower lung lung field. Initial treatment with intravenous ceftazidime, imipenem/cilastatin and clindamycin were ineffective due to continuous high fever and cough and spread of the pneumonia shadow. Administration of minocycline was started for suspected non-bacterial pneumonia whereupon his symptoms improved and the pneumonia shadow began to decrease in size. However, his symptoms and pneumonia shadow worsened after taking him off of minocycline due to progressive pancytopenia and liver dysfunction. He was transferred to our hospital and intravenous erythromycin treatment was initiated for suspected Legionell pneumonia because of the elevation of Legionella micdadei serum antibody titer. Immediately after starting treatment, his symptoms improved and the pneumonia shadow decreased in size. Erythromycin was stopped after the 14th day of administration. In this case, diagnosis of L. micdadei pneumonia was made because of the positive results of the polymerase chain reaction test and elevation of the L. micdadei serum antibody titer (from 0 to 1,024). This is the second report of a L. micdadei pneumonia case here in Japan.
 ...
PMID:[A case of Legionella micdadei pneumonia]. 862 71

Ribavirin is a guanosine analogue that normalizes serum liver enzymes in most nontransplant patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We conducted an uncontrolled pilot study of ribavirin in 9 liver transplantation recipients that had persistently elevated liver enzymes, active hepatitis by liver biopsy, and HCV RNA in serum by polymerase chain reaction. Ribavirin was given orally at dosages of 800-1200 mg per day for 3 mo. All 9 patients promptly responded to ribavirin: mean (+/- SD) ALT decreased from 392 +/- 377 IU/L immediately before treatment to 199 +/- 185 and 68 +/- 37 IU/L after 1 and 12 weeks of treatment, respectively, complete normalization of enzymes occurred in 4 patients. None of the patients cleared the virus from their serum during therapy, and biochemical relapse occurred in all patients 4 +/- 4.2 weeks after cessation of therapy. The hepatitis activity index of liver biopsy specimens obtained before and at the cessation of therapy was similar. Ribavirin treatment was resumed in 4 patients because of increasing fatigue (2 patients), rising bilirubin (3), or increasing necroinflammation on liver biopsy (2); the biochemical response to the second course of therapy was similar to the first course in all 4 patients. Ribavirin caused reversible hemolysis in all patients, including symptomatic anemia in 3 patients that resolved after reduction of drug dosage. These results suggest that ribavirin may be of benefit in the treatment of HCV infection after liver transplantation. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal dosage and duration of therapy.
 ...
PMID:A pilot study of ribavirin therapy for recurrent hepatitis C virus infection after liver transplantation. 863 76

We determined the course of hepatitis C infection in 125 patients with a history of injection drug use. The mean age at presentation was 43.5 years, and the mean age of initiating injection drug use was 23.1 years. Fatigue and hepatomegaly were present in as many as 60% of patients. All had antibodies to the hepatitis C recombinant protein C25, and 99% were positive for hepatitis C virus RNA. After the initial workup, 33 (26%) patients had chronic hepatitis, 46 (37%) had chronic active hepatitis, 45 (36%) had cirrhosis, and 1 (0.8%) presented hepatocellular carcinoma. During follow-up, hepatocellular carcinoma developed in 2 other patients. In 74 patients with a 1-year history of injection drug use, the mean number of years to the development of chronic hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma were 15.6, 17.6, 19.4, and 26.3 years, respectively. In this subgroup of patients, heavy alcohol abuse did not appear to influence the progression of liver disease. The 2-year case-fatality rate was 2%. Our findings indicate that hepatitis C is a progressive disease, but only a few died during the average 20.4 years after the initiation of injection drug use. Antiviral treatment to eradicate the virus and halt the progression of disease is indicated in this group of patients.
 ...
PMID:Clinical sequelae of hepatitis C acquired from injection drug use. 876 37


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>