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)

There is controversy both in regard to the severity of small bowel mucosal damage attributable to giardiasis and to the causal relationship of these changes to the associated diarrhoea. In this series of 17 consecutive patients with giardiasis, small bowel histology and diarrhoea were independently assessed and compared. Disaccharidase assays were performed in 16 of these patients and a repeat biopsy obtained in seven cases. On histological examination the villous architecture varied from normal to sub-total villous atrophy. When these changes were compared with the severity of diarrhoea, a direct correlation was obtained, the more severe symptoms being associated with the more severe villous changes. Repeat biopsy after treatment demonstrated improvement in the histology which correlated with improvement in diarrhoea. Lactase activity was low in all patients with moderate or severe diarrhoea as well as in some patients with mild diarrhoea, two of whom had normal histology. This series demonstrates the occurrence of a spectrum of mucosal changes in giardiasis and supports the concept that these changes mediate the diarrhoea associated with this gut parasite.
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PMID:Histopathology in giardiasis: a correlation with diarrhoea. 10 99

Giardia lamblia infection was identified in 33 of 89 (37%) 3-month-old to 3-yr-old children who were followed with monthly stool examinations for up to 12 months in a day care center. The infection was mainly asymptomatic and usually associated with prolonged carriage of the parasite. There were no significant differences for height and weight achievements and mean hemoglobin values between Giardia-positive and Giardia-negative children. However, Giardia-positive children tended to achieve higher weight and height for age than Giardia-negative children; weight for age was above the 50th percentile in 69% of Giardia-positive vs. 40% of Giardia-negative children (alpha = 0.01). Giardia-positive children tended to have fewer symptoms related to the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts as recorded by a weekly questionnaire. Lactase deficiency was detected by breath hydrogen testing in 8 of 26 Giardia-positive vs. only 1 of 21 Giardia-negative children (P less than 0.02). Healthy day care children with asymptomatic Giardia infection show no disadvantage and perhaps even an advantage in nutritional status and freedom from other illnesses.
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PMID:Asymptomatic giardiasis in children. 251 65

The study was conducted to detect the effect of giardiasis on human disaccharidase levels. Forty patients attending the medical outpatient department of PGIMER, Chandigarh were enrolled. Twenty patients, positive for Giardia lamblia comprised the study group while 20 patients negative for Giardia lamblia were taken as controls. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed in all patients. Estimation of lactase, sucrase, maltase and trehalase was done in biopsies. Histopathological investigation was carried out in all biopsy specimens after Haematoxylin and Eosin staining. Complaints of pain abdomen and bloating occurred commonly in giardiasis. Four biopsy samples in study group showed mild increase in lymphomononuclear infiltrate. Giardia lamblia was detected in 7 biopsies. Lactase levels were decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in giardiasis. Rest of the enzymes were comparable to the controls. No differences in the enzyme activities were observed between males and females in either group and with the duration of symptoms.
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PMID:Effect of Giardia lamblia on duodenal disaccharidase levels in humans. 1119 77