Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0017536 (giardiasis)
 1,714 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Once Giardia cysts leave the host, they die quickly if dehydrated but can survive for two months in water as cold as 8 degrees C (46 degrees F). Thus, giardiasis is transmitted through ingestion of infected feces or water. Infection most often causes diarrhea, but if a subacute or chronic form develops, additional signs and symptoms of intestinal distress may be present. Diagnosis is made by finding cysts in a stool sample and/or trophozoites in duodenal fluid. In rare cases, small-bowel biopsy may be necessary. Whether to treat asymptomatic giardiasis is debatable. Drug treatment spares the patient unpleasant symptoms that may develop and eliminates transmission, but available drugs can have side effects and none has been proven safe for pregnant women. By far, the best approach to giardiasis is prevention through education of travelers, nature lovers, and workers in day-care centers and institutions that house the incontinent.
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PMID:Giardiasis. A crimp in the life-style of campers, travelers, and others. 335 71

Direct microscopy and an ELISA technique were used to determine the prevalence of Giardia lamblia and its antigen in stool samples from patients with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, acute-onset diarrhoea, or dyspepsia. Cysts of Giardia lamblia were observed by microscopy of faeces from two of the patients with acute-onset diarrhoea and one with dyspepsia. Giardia antigen was detected in the faeces of five patients, including all three in whom cysts had been identified by microscopy. No evidence of giardiasis was found in any patient with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. It is concluded that the ELISA can reliably distinguish giardiasis from a range of other gastrointestinal disorders.
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PMID:A microscopic and immunodiagnostic search for giardiasis in patients with gastrointestinal disorders. 336 92

Previous studies have suggested that Giardia lamblia may cause nonulcer dyspepsia as the sole manifestation of infection. To explore this premise, duodenal aspirates from patients undergoing upper endoscopy were examined for Giardia and results were correlated with endoscopic findings and symptoms. Of 155 patients, 15.5% had Giardia. Patients with dyspepsia, with or without obvious lesions at endoscopy, had a similar prevalence. Patients with vomiting and diarrhea had an increased prevalence (38.5%) (p less than 0.05). The prevalence of Giardia lamblia in this patient population is surprisingly high. This study suggests that Giardia lamblia infection is not a major cause of nonulcer dyspepsia.
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PMID:Giardia lamblia in patients undergoing endoscopy: lack of evidence for a role in nonulcer dyspepsia. 341 Feb 37

Seven cats from a single household with 17 cats were shedding cysts of Giardia species as detected by a modified zinc sulfate concentration technique. All the cats were housed individually in Horsfal isolation units for the duration of the evaluation, treatment, and follow-up monitoring. Each of the infected cats was treated with metronidazole at a dose of 22 mg per kg of body weight, twice a day, for 5 days. Post-treatment examination of four or five stool samples from each cat during the following 17 days did not reveal the presence of any giardial cysts in the treated cats. After treatment, the diarrhea either ceased or was markedly diminished. Therefore, metronidazole appears to be an effective form of therapy for feline giardiasis.
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PMID:Treatment of feline giardiasis with metronidazole. 344 47

Acute infectious diarrhoea is a widespread cause of morbidity and mortality. Some of the major diarrhoeal diseases are cholera, typhoid fever, shigellosis (bacillary dysentery), salmonellosis, "travellers' diarrhoea", and giardiasis These diseases can be avoided with proper education, sanitation, and hygiene. However, the majority of these diseases occur most frequently in areas of the world where political and social upheaval, poverty, overcrowding, and a lack of education prevail. Although vaccines are available for some of the diseases, they are not completely effective. Antimicrobial therapy is effective in decreasing the duration and severity of diarrhoea and in reducing the likelihood of relapses, complications, and death. An antimicrobial drug for the treatment of acute infectious diarrhoeal disease must be relatively specific, effective, and safe, and it should not promote the development of resistant bacteria. Furazolidone (Furoxone) has been used for 30 years for the specific and symptomatic treatment of bacterial or protozoal diarrhoea and enteritis caused by susceptible organisms. Its effectiveness has often been shown to be comparable or superior to that of other drugs. In addition, the toxicity of furazolidone is relatively low, and it minimizes the development of resistant organisms. These characteristics should contribute to the continued use of furazolidone as a rational choice in the treatment of acute infectious diarrhoeal diseases that occur worldwide.
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PMID:The use of furoxone: a perspective. 351 12

A Giardia lamblia-specific antigen (GSA 65) was isolated from stools of G. lamblia-positive patients by crossed- and line-immunoelectrophoresis and counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) in agarose by using rabbit antiserum prepared against G. lamblia cysts. CIE with rabbit anti-GSA 65 monospecific antiserum revealed that GSA 65 was present in aqueous stool eluates of giardiasis patients and in cysts and trophozoites of the parasite. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of immunoaffinity-purified antigen followed by Western blotting showed that the molecular weight of this molecule was about 65,000. GSA 65 was detectable by CIE in stool eluates of 36 of 40 giardiasis patients but not in eluates of 10 G. lamblia-negative asymptomatic controls. GSA 65 was detected in stool eluates of 2 of 18 individuals with chronic diarrhea who were negative for parasites by microscopic examination. Cross-specificity studies with other genera of parasitic protozoa performed by using CIE and immunofluorescence indicated that GSA 65 was present only in strains of G. lamblia. Based on these findings, GSA 65 may prove to have an important application in the design of sensitive diagnostic tests for giardiasis.
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PMID:Isolation and identification of a Giardia lamblia-specific stool antigen (GSA 65) useful in coprodiagnosis of giardiasis. 351 63

A retrospective survey, which is based on interviews conducted between 1975 and 1984 with 20,000 European tourists returning from 15 destinations in various climatic zones, demonstrates that travelers' diarrhea is the most frequent health problem encountered by travelers in the tropics. The incidence varied from 4% to 51%, depending on the destination. High-risk groups were persons younger than 30 years, adventurous travelers, and travelers with preexisting gastrointestinal illnesses. Illness acquired at various geographic regions showed only minor differences in chronology and symptomatology. The clinical course of travelers' diarrhea was usually short and mild. Additionally, by longitudinal and retrospective analyses, the incidence and prognosis of gastrointestinal infections of greater severity that were acquired after a short stay in a developing country, such as giardiasis, amebiasis, typhoid fever, and cholera, were evaluated; typhoid fever and cholera, in particular, were found to be quite rare.
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PMID:Epidemiologic studies of travelers' diarrhea, severe gastrointestinal infections, and cholera. 352 8

Diarrhoeal disease is a common problem in developing countries. As a result of recent advances in diagnostic methodology, the causative agents can now be identified in most cases of acute diarrhoeal diseases. Enteric bacterial pathogens are the common cause of gastroenteritis in developing countries. Appropriate uses of antibiotics in selected cases of diarrhoea will decrease symptoms or reduce faecal shedding of the organism and prevent spread of infection. Antimicrobial agents improve the diarrhoea associated with cholera, shigellosis, enteric fever, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, giardiasis, amoebiasis, and probably Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and enteropathogenic E. coli. Antibiotics have no role in the treatment of viral diarrhoea or uncomplicated salmonella gastroenteritis. Most of the diarrhoeal diseases are self-limited and the wrong choice of antimicrobial agents will worsen the symptoms. Treatment of gastrointestinal infections with antimicrobials will change intestinal microflora, promote the emergence of resistant strains and overgrowth of potential pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Risks and benefits should be considered before prescribing antimicrobial agents.
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PMID:Consequences of treatment of gastrointestinal infections. 354 20

The prevalence of primary, adult-type, lactose malabsorption was assessed by means of the hydrogen breath test after intake of 360 ml of full cream milk (approximately 18 g lactose) in 96 randomly selected Basotho school children, aged 5-15 years. Of 86 children who did not have diarrhoea in the previous week 82 (85%) were lactose malabsorbers, while 4 (5%) could not be classified because of undetectable hydrogen excretion. Milk intolerance presenting as diarrhoea was significantly (p less than 0.01) more common in children who associated previous abdominal complaints with milk intake and/or did not like milk. A negative hydrogen breath test was significantly (p less than 0.05) more often observed in children who had diarrhoea in the previous week. Giardia was present in 18 (19%) of 93 children. The incidence of giardiasis did not correlate with the presence of lactose malabsorption in children without diarrhoea in the previous week. However, milk intolerance presenting as diarrhoea was significantly (p less than 0.05) more common in children with giardiasis. The findings support the use of physiological quantities of milk in Basotho school children.
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PMID:Lactose malabsorption and giardiasis in Basotho school children. 356 3

Fourteen calves, 12 days to 12 weeks old, were treated for diarrhea. Fecal examination for parasitologic, bacteriologic, or viral infection revealed Giardia in all calves; rotavirus and coronavirus were found in some calves. Thirteen affected calves were treated orally with dimetridazole (50 mg/kg of body weight, daily, for 5 days), with complete resolution of the diarrhea and elimination of the Giardia. Giardiasis should be considered as an etiologic agent of diarrhea in calves.
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PMID:Diagnosis of Giardia infection in 14 calves. 367 73


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