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)

The medicinal use of cacao, or chocolate, both as a primary remedy and as a vehicle to deliver other medicines, originated in the New World and diffused to Europe in the mid 1500s. These practices originated among the Olmec, Maya and Mexica (Aztec). The word cacao is derived from Olmec and the subsequent Mayan languages (kakaw); the chocolate-related term cacahuatl is Nahuatl (Aztec language), derived from Olmec/Mayan etymology. Early colonial era documents included instructions for the medicinal use of cacao. The Badianus Codex (1552) noted the use of cacao flowers to treat fatigue, whereas the Florentine Codex (1590) offered a prescription of cacao beans, maize and the herb tlacoxochitl (Calliandra anomala) to alleviate fever and panting of breath and to treat the faint of heart. Subsequent 16th to early 20th century manuscripts produced in Europe and New Spain revealed >100 medicinal uses for cacao/chocolate. Three consistent roles can be identified: 1) to treat emaciated patients to gain weight; 2) to stimulate nervous systems of apathetic, exhausted or feeble patients; and 3) to improve digestion and elimination where cacao/chocolate countered the effects of stagnant or weak stomachs, stimulated kidneys and improved bowel function. Additional medical complaints treated with chocolate/cacao have included anemia, poor appetite, mental fatigue, poor breast milk production, consumption/tuberculosis, fever, gout, kidney stones, reduced longevity and poor sexual appetite/low virility. Chocolate paste was a medium used to administer drugs and to counter the taste of bitter pharmacological additives. In addition to cacao beans, preparations of cacao bark, oil (cacao butter), leaves and flowers have been used to treat burns, bowel dysfunction, cuts and skin irritations.
 ...
PMID:Food of the gods: cure for humanity? A cultural history of the medicinal and ritual use of chocolate. 1091 25

It is critical to take HIV medications, particularly protease inhibitors, exactly as prescribed to reduce the risks of developing resistance. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a new drug, Combivir, a combination of 3TC (lamivudine) and AZT in one tablet. Combivir works by interfering with the HIV life cycle to prevent it from replicating, and is taken twice a day with or without food. Patients with low body mass, hepatitis, or liver or kidney disease should not take Combivir. Blood counts need to be monitored regularly when taking this drug. Potential side effects include headache, nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, nasal congestion, or flu-like symptoms. A phone number is provided for more information on Combivir.
 ...
PMID:What you need to know about Combivir. 1136 67

Information on dosage, cost, side effects, and interactions is provided for each of the seven nucleoside analog drugs available currently: Retrovir (AZT, ZDV), Videx (ddI), Hivid (ddC), Zerit (d4T), Epivir (3TC), Combivir (AZT/3TC), and Ziagen (abacavir sulfate). Most nucleoside analogs (with the exception of ddI) do not have food restrictions, but do have potential side effects such as nausea and fatigue. An activist, a doctor, and the drug's manufacturer offer comments. Contact information is provided.
 ...
PMID:What they say about nucleoside drugs. 1136 20

We present the case of an HIV-negative patient clinically diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS who achieved significant disease improvement on Combivir (zidovudine/lamivudine). Within months of treatment, the patient reported complete resolution of previously unremitting fatigue and paresthesiae, with simultaneous improvements in lesion burden detected by MRI. All improvements have been sustained for more than three years. This response may be related to the action of zidovudine as a known inhibitor of EBV lytic DNA replication, suggesting future directions for clinical investigation.
 ...
PMID:Could antiretrovirals be treating EBV in MS? A case report. 2951 Mar 25