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

Giardia lamblia is the first protozoan to be identified and recognized as an important pathogen in human disease. We studied 8 pediatric patients with giardiasis in order to examine the clinical spectrum, the structural changes of the small intestinal mucosa and mainly the protozoan's ultrastructural features. The most common clinical manifestations were diarrhea, abdominal pain, anorexia, vomiting, failure to thrive. Infection was confirmed by excreted cysts in the stools in one patient, by the presence of trophozoites in duodenal aspirate and on jejunal mucosa. Giardiasis was not associated with hypogammaglobulinemia in our patients and no or only slight mucosal abnormalities were present in jejunal biopsies, except one which showed a flat mucosa. Specimens for transmissions and scanning electron microscopy were taken. We could establish the protozoan's features, its normal distribution, its relationship to intestinal mucosa and structural indications of the normal reaction of intestine with the use of ultrastructural techniques. The trophozoites colonized the proximal intestine, adhered to microvilli of columnar cells near the bases of villi, wedged or lodged in mucus. The sticky mucus producing an effective diffusion barrier to nutrients could explain malabsorption phenomena. Numerous intraluminal lymphocytes were seen, suggesting an immune response. These observations indicate that in giardiasis the clinical spectrum and structural changes of the small intestinal mucosa vary widely, suggesting a different reaction of immune system and/or a different degree of infection.
 ...
PMID:[Giardiasis in children. Ultrastructural study of the parasite]. 664 80

Giardiasis is the most common waterborne diarrheal disease in the United States and is highly prevalent throughout the world. The clinical spectrum of disease ranges from asymptomatic infection to persistent severe malabsorption. The precise interaction between Giardia and its human host remains conjectural because of the paucity of published studies that address the details of its pathogenesis. The immune system of the host responds to this protozoan parasite, and the intestinal epithelium is a site of interaction between parasite and host. Possible mechanisms whereby Giardia may alter the host's absorption of nutrients at the epithelial level include direct physical interference, toxin secretion, direct physical alteration of the epithelium, competition for nutrients, induction of an inflammatory response, and coincidental infection of the host with a second organism. The host's immune system may play both a protective and a pathogenic role.
 ...
PMID:Giardiasis: host-pathogen biology. 675 Jul 49

The debate about the pathogenicity of Giardia lamblia in man has ended, and th issues regarding the prevalence of clinical and subclinical infections and their nutritonal impact have become the foremost considerations. Giardiasis can produce steatorrhea, maldigestion, and malabsorption of carbohydrates and of vitamins A and B12. The mechanisms of the absorptive dysfunction are not clear, but morphological abnormalities of the intestinal mucosa and/or bacterial overgrowth might play a role. Severe clinical giardiasis can cause "failure to thrive" in young children, but the impact, if any, of subclinical giardiasis on growth in general populations is not well defined. Protein-energy malnutrition appears to predispose to giardial infection, perhaps because of the accompanying hypochlorhydria, immunosuppression, and altered gastrointestinal flora. The lack of a sensitive and noninvasive diagnostic test for human giardial infection limits the investigation of the nutritional correlates of giardiasis.
 ...
PMID:Giardiasis: nutritional implications. 675 Jul 50

With the object of investigating if Giardiasis interferes in the intestinal absorption of proteins, a study was made testing the absorption of gelatin in eleven. The determination of alpha-aminonitrogen, before giving gelatin, and the increase shown two hours later, was the criterion used to measure the capacity of absorption. Once the estimated basal had been carried out each of the children received tinidazol for three days, after which the large amount of gelatin was given once again so as to estimate any changes in the absorption, one the parasite had been eliminated. The results demonstrate that the presence of giardia in the intestine significantly restricts the absorption of the gelatin. We offer as proof the results of these findings in the growth of children who harbour this parasite.
 ...
PMID:[Protein absorption in children with giardiasis]. 707 77

Giardiasis in pregnancy can be a debilitating disease with threatens the well-being of mother and fetus, as illustrated by three cases. The usual therapeutic agents are contraindicated in pregnancy. Paromomycin, an oral, poorly absorbed aminoglycoside, is an alternate, potentially less toxic agent for treatment of symptomatic giardiasis in pregnancy. The pharmacologic actions of paromomycin in human beings and its antiprotozoan efficacy are discussed.
 ...
PMID:Giardiasis in pregnancy. 727 Jun 2

Giardiasis is the most prevalent intestinal parasitic disease in the United States. Most cases can be diagnosed by a single stool examination. However, in periodic cyst excretors, cysts may not be detected unless repeated stool examinations are performed. In clinically highly suspected cases, duodenal fluid should be studies after three negative stool examinations. Scanning electron microscopy is probably superior to light microscopy in screening duodenal fluid if the parasite is scanty or degenerated. A small intestinal biopsy is a last resort for the diagnosis; a mucosal impression smear should be routinely performed on such specimens. The latter is the most sensitive and reliable technique in making the diagnosis.
 ...
PMID:The diagnosis of giardiasis. 739 67

The protozoan Giardia lamblia has frequently been identified as the cause of epidemic gastrointestinal disease. Overseas travel (to both Third-World and industrialized countries), contaminated mountain streams and malfunctioning city water-supply systems are often cited as contributing factors. Giardiasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of persistent diarrhea and other abdominal pain syndromes of unknown etiology. Aggressive diagnostic testing is required to identify the parasite. Appropriate treatment is highly successful.
 ...
PMID:Giardiasis. 745 21

A case of "porcelain gall-bladder" observed by change in a boy of 14 is reported. After discussing the anatomopathological and aetiological aspects of the syndrome, stress is laid on its exceptional nature in paediatric age and the possibility of a correlation wtih Giardiasis is examined.
 ...
PMID:["Porcelain gallbladder"; a pediatric case report]. 746 4

Mb. Whipple is a rare systemic disorder with multiple manifestations. We present a case-story demonstrating the typical course: migrating, non-deforming arthralgies are years later followed by diarrhoea, loss of weight, fatigue and pronounced biochemical disturbances. Intestinal biopsy shows numerous PAS-positive, diastaseresistent macrophages, and antibiotic treatment is initiated. After a somewhat prolonged course, complicated with Giardiasis and endocarditis, the patient recovers. Four months after the cessation of antibiotic treatment, however, the patient shows clinical signs of relapse, and treatment is restarted. The etiological agent has recently been identified as a gram-positive actinomycete called Tropheryma Whippleii. There are some, but not unequivocal, signs of a cellular immunodeficiency, perhaps predestinating certain patients to the disease. The course is usually favourable, when treated with relevant antibiotics. Relapse is not uncommon, and is very problematic when the CNS is involved. Therefore, a combination treatment with good penetration of the blood-brain barrier is recommended--e.g. two weeks treatment with parenterally administered streptomycin and benzylpenicillin followed by sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim orally for one year.
 ...
PMID:[Whipple disease. A rare systemic disorder with multiple manifestations]. 750 46

Giardiasis is the most common parasitic infection in the United States. Variation in the numbers of cysts and/or trophozoites that are present along with the need for a skilled microscopist offer challenges in diagnosis. We compared the sediment wet preparation and permanent stained smear results (concentration in formalin-ethyl acetate and preparation of a smear prepared from a polyvinyl alcohol-preserved specimen) from 512 consecutive specimens with the results obtained by using the Merifluor Cryptosporidium/Giardia Direct Immunofluorescence Assay (DFA; Meridian Diagnostics, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio) and the ProSpecT Giardia EZ Microplate Assay (EIA; Alexon, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif.). The Merifluor DFA detected 33 of 33 positive specimens, and the ProSpecT EIA detected 32 of 33 positive specimens. The diagnostic sensitivities of the Merifluor DFA and the ProSpecT EIA were 100 and 97%, respectively. The specificities of the assays were 99.8%. The Merifluor DFA and the ProSpecT EIA appear to be equally sensitive, and both are more sensitive than conventional microscopy.
 ...
PMID:Comparison of conventional stool concentration and preserved-smear methods with Merifluor Cryptosporidium/Giardia Direct Immunofluorescence Assay and ProSpecT Giardia EZ Microplate Assay for detection of Giardia lamblia. 766 78


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