Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019209 (hepatomegaly)
 5,798 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Certain characteristics of 328 Mozambican male Shangaans with primary hepatocellular cancer (PHC) have been compared with those of 163 Shangaan men with hepatomegaly from causes other than PHC and with those of 122 Black Southern African men with the same tumour but who belonged to tribes other than the Shangaan. Shangaans with PHC were significantly younger than non-Shangaans with the tumour (mean age 33,4 cf. 40,0 years; Pless than 0,001). They also had a significantly higher positivity rate of alpha-fetoprotein by immunodiffusion (71,4%) than the non-Shangaans (16%), although in other respects the tumours appeared to be similar. Cirrhosis of the non-tumorous part of the liver was present at necropsy in 62% of the Shangaans and in 66% of the non-Shangaans. The hepatitis B (surface) antigen (HBsAg) was detected in the serum of 60% of the Shangaans with PHC compared with only 9% of the controls. The antigen was present in 53,4% of the non-Shangaans with PHC (the difference between this fifure and that in the Shangaans was not significant). HBsAg was detected in the serum of 64% of the Shangaans with PHC and cirrhosis, but also in 74% of those with the tumour without associated cirrhosis. The possible role of the hepatitis B verus in the aetiology of PHC is considered in the light both of these findings and of the possibility that the frequency with which the tumour is associated with cirrhosis may be decreasing in Shangaans. Some of the dietary habits of the Shangaans with PHC were compared with those of the controls. Virtually all the patients with PHC, but also almost all the controls, ate groundnuts in large quantities from an early age, as well as cashew nuts in smaller amounts. Cycad pips, mopani leaves and pods, mopani worms and locusts were not eaten by significantly more of the Shangaans with PHC than the controls. The limitations of this type of dietary analysis are discussed.
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PMID:Some characteristics of Mozambican Shangaans with primary hepatocellular cancer. 6 57

The efficacy of the highly selective antischistosomal combination chemotherapy with tubercidin (7-deazaadenosine) plus nitrobenzylthioinosine 5'-monophosphate (NBMPR-P), [el Kouni et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 80: 6667-6670, 1983; el Kouni et al., Biochem Pharmacol 36: 3815-3821, 1987] was examined against chronic and advanced stages of schistosomiasis in mice. Administration of four successive daily doses of tubercidin (5 mg/kg/day) plus NBMPR-P (25 mg/kg/day) to Schistosoma mansoni-infected mice beginning 5, 6, 7 and 8 weeks post-infection and monitored for 22 weeks was very effective against the parasite. It resulted in a marked increase in survivorship of treated mice. Repetition of the dose-regimen after a 10-day rest period was even more effective. However, survivorship of infected animals decreased with the delay of therapy. Early treatment (5 weeks post-infection) resulted in 100% survival compared to 13% only for untreated animals. If therapy was instituted at 8 weeks post-infection, only 70% of the treated mice survived. Treated animals appeared healthy and were found to have less splenomegaly and hepatomegaly. Combination therapy also caused a significant reduction in the number of worms as well as the number of eggs in the liver and small intestine. However, these differences diminished as the treatment was delayed. The number of eggs in the liver was reduced from an average of 120,000 eggs per liver in untreated animals to approximately 16,000 eggs per liver when treated at 5 weeks post-infection. When treatment was delayed to 8 weeks post-infection, the reduction in liver egg count was not as dramatic (88,000 eggs per liver). Similarly, the number of eggs was reduced in the intestine from 1,759 to an average of 58 and 860 eggs per cm2 of the intestine when the mice were treated at 5 and 8 weeks post-infection respectively. However, some worms survived and resumed egg production after an extended period of recuperation. Histological examination indicated that combination therapy was effective in preventing the formation of new egg granulomas but not on pre-existing granulomas.
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PMID:Efficacy of combination therapy with tubercidin and nitrobenzylthioinosine 5'-monophosphate against chronic and advanced stages of schistosomiasis. 190 Jan 58

Fascioliasis is becoming more frequently discovered among citizens of Alexandria. The main presenting clinical manifestations including hepatic pain, colics, fever, anorexia, discomfort with meals and hepatomegaly. We select here 4 cases with unusual presentation from patient's record of the last year: one case developed liver abscess due to F. hepatica infection. Two cases were encountered during cholecystectomy in patients suffering from cholecystitis with cholelithiasis; in one of them the gall bladder had ruptured and the patient developed an abscess in the liver related to the gall bladder bed. In both cases F. hepatica worms were found in the bile duct. The fourth case presented with acalcular cholecystitis with empyema of the gall bladder.
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PMID:Uncommon complications of human fascioliasis in Alexandria. 276 74

Avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) caused significant mortality in wild-caught Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) in 1986 at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa (USA). In early winter, wild birds were captured off the southern coast of Chile and flown to Detroit, Michigan for a 38 day quarantine. After quarantine, 18 birds were dispersed to Lansing, Michigan, six to a facility in Maine, and 46 to Des Moines, Iowa. Upon arrival in Des Moines, several penguins became weak and inactive, had to be force-fed, and died after 2 days. Gross lesions at postmortem included splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and pulmonary edema. Histopathological examination revealed numerous intraendothelial schizonts in spleen, lung, liver, heart and kidney. Schizonts were generally 16 to 28 micron by 11 to 16 micron and contained merozoites of two distinct sized (macromerozoites, nuclei 1.0 micron; micromerozoites, nuclei 0.5 micron). Based on the morphology of the abundant exoerythrocytic forms, a tentative diagnosis of avian malaria (Plasmodium sp.) was made. Subsequent transmission electron microscopic examination of schizonts in formalized tissue revealed merozoites with tear-shaped rhoptries. Antimalarial therapy was initiated early but deaths continued for 5 mo. Mortality, which eventually totaled 83%, occurred in three distinct waves, each separated by a hiatus of approximately 1 mo. Despite examinations of repeated blood smears, intraerythrocytic Plasmodium relictum was not detected until late in the outbreak. Diagnosis was based on morphologic characteristics including schizonts with eight to 12 merozoites/segmenter and round gametocytes that displaced and turned the infected erythrocyte nucleus. In addition to malaria, penguins showed evidence of aspergillosis, bacterial enteritis (Escherichia coli; Proteus sp.; and Edwardsiella sp.), and helminthiasis (Contracaecum sp. and Tetrabothrius sp.). Based on gross and histological lesions, disease prevalence in this group of penguins was malaria 58%, aspergillosis 61%, enteritis 60%, helminthiasis 26%. Epidemiologic investigation including group transport history, disease prevalence in co-quarantined birds not sent to Des Moines and climatological data implicated Des Moines as the likely site for initial exposure, although information is not conclusive. Stress and concurrent disease certainly contributed to the severe mortality in this group of penguins infected with P. relictum.
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PMID:Plasmodium relictum as a cause of avian malaria in wild-caught magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus). 319 55

Pronounced differences in resistance to reinfection and pathology were observed among various strains of mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni. When comparing strains, the level of resistance induced by a 12-week infection correlated closely with the degree of portal blood pressure elevation and number of lung egg granulomas, but did not correlate with other pathological parameters or with the number of worms or tissue eggs. Among individual mice of the same strain, however, resistance was proportional to the number of worms and tissue eggs. Nmri strain mice infected for more than a year remained highly resistant to reinfection and continued to shunt eggs into the lungs, but showed considerable resolution of portal hypertension, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. No association was observed among mouse strains between the mortality resulting from a primary infection and the severity of any of the pathological parameters which were measured.
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PMID:Relationship between acquired resistance, portal hypertension, and lung granulomas in ten strains of mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni. 725 92

Schistosome parasites utilize hemoglobin as a major protein source for their metabolism. Degradation of hemoglobin has been hypothesized to be mediated by both cysteine and aspartyl proteases secreted into the lumen of the parasite intestine. We now show that two distinct types of irreversible cysteine protease-specific inhibitors both arrest schistosome hemoglobin degradation in vitro. Arrest of hemoglobin degradation is followed by death of developing schistosomula 1 week later. Schistosome infected mice treated by a dose of 2 mg inhibitor per day for 1 week early in infection, and 2 weeks at the time of egg production, showed a significant reduction in worm burden, hepatomegaly, and the number of eggs produced per female worm. Histopathology showed a minimal immune response to those eggs which were produced, consistent with a delay in egg production relative to untreated infections. By tagging the inhibitor with biotin, specific cysteine protease targets were identified in extracts of schistosome worms.
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PMID:Cysteine protease inhibitors block schistosome hemoglobin degradation in vitro and decrease worm burden and egg production in vivo. 889 33

A population dynamic model of schistosome transmission was used to investigate the interaction between drug efficacy and drug price of different brands of praziquantel in determining the cost-effectiveness of school-targeted treatment for Schistosoma mansoni. In this analysis, costs were affected by coverage, drug price and distance travelled, and effectiveness by coverage and drug efficacy. Four effectiveness measures were assessed: the number of infection case-years prevented, heavy infection case-years prevented, hepatomegaly case-years prevented and fibrosis case-years prevented. The interactions between drug efficacy and drug price were complex. In particular, there was a highly nonlinear relationship between drug efficacy and cost-effectiveness, with drugs of low efficacy producing high and variable cost-effectiveness ratios, particularly when other programme costs related to distance travelled were high. The results suggest that given the current price range of praziquantel, a drug with less than a 50% chance of killing the worms is not to be recommended. This has important practical implications for the widespread use of praziquantel, since most international agencies procure praziquantel purely on the basis of price. There is clearly a need for studies which evaluate the efficacy of new brands of praziquantel, and more credence should be given to the use of high efficacy brands, not only in terms of maximizing the cost-effectiveness of the intervention programme, but also in delaying the onset of drug resistance.
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PMID:An investigation into the interaction between drug efficacy and drug price of praziquantel in determining the cost-effectiveness of school-targeted treatment for Schistosoma mansoni using a population dynamic model. 965 4

Brazil has a young population and areas of endemic mansoni schistosomiasis where Wilson's disease might be easily misdiagnosed in patients erroneously classified as having either the hepatosplenic or the hepatointestinal form of the helminthiasis. Twenty five patients with the "hepatic form" of Wilson's disease (14 males and 11 females) were investigated in Belo Horizonte, MG; the mean age was 13.7 years (3 to 22). Nineteen had hepatomegaly (76%) and nine splenomegaly (36%). Twenty two (88%) had cirrhosis. The Kaiser-Fleisher ring was detected in fifteen (60%). Four (16%) had clear neurological abnormalities. Eleven (44%) had ascitis and/or jaundice. Ninety one point three per cent and 92% had low ceruloplasmin and copper serum levels respectively. Eighty four point two per cent showed an increased 24 hours urinary copper excretion; seven patients in whom hepatic copper was determined had increased values. Six out of nine had at least a ten fold increase in 24 hours urinary copper excretion following penicillamine use ("penicillamine test"). Three out of 19 patients (15.8%) had mansoni schistosoma ova in stools examination, a common prevalence in our population. Their biopsies showed inactive cirrhosis without schistosomiasis-associated alterations. At least fourteen patients (56%) could be misdiagnosed as having hepatointestinal or hepatosplenic schistosomisis when in fact they suffered from Wilson's disease with or without asymptomatic intestinal schistosomiasis, losing the chance of an early treatment. The follow-up time of 22 patients was 52 months (1 to 96); eight (36.3%) died, four from bleeding esphageal varices, three from terminal hepatic failure and one from fulminant liver failure. The majority of the patients, including those who died, had abandomned the use of penicillamine or had taken it irregularly, due mainly to its highly expensive cost. A 17 year old patient underwent a successful liver transplant in 1989.
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PMID:[Wilson's disease ("hepatic form") in a region endemic for schistosomiasis mansoni: clinical presentation of 25 patients]. 971 8

Human fascioliasis is increasing in the Nile Delta particularly in Dakahlia Governorate, where it reached 7.47%. In this study, the tetrad of fascioliasis was established as high eosinophilia (100%), fever (85.6%), painful hepatomegaly (81.93%) and anaemia (100%). The laboratory results showed ESR accelerated in 87%, ALT elevated in 21.5%, AST elevated in 21.9%, S. bilirubin elevated in 16.5%, gamma GT elevated in 80.6%, and SAP elevated in 76.4%. Abdominal ultrasonography showed variable findings, as hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, periportal fibrosis, thickened wall of gall bladder, dilated common bile duct, dilated biliary radicals (partial), dilated common bile duct and biliary radicals (total), Fasciola worms in gall bladder, Fasciola worms in common bile duct, stones in gall bladder, stones in bile duct, cystic lesions in the liver, local lesions in the liver and ascitis. The highest was hepatomegaly in 81.93% of fascioliasis patients and the lowest was biliary dilated radicles (partial) in 0.26%.
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PMID:Clinico-epidemiological study of human fascioliasis in an endemic focus in Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. 1177 99

Street dogs were collected from Mansoura District and sacrificed. Toxocara canis worms were extracted from their intestines and females were dissected to collect the uteri ova. Maturation of the eggs developed larvae inside after a month. Male mice were orally infected with different inocula of these infective eggs (larvae-eggs) and sacrificed at 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 13 & 17 weeks post-infection (P.I.). Gross findings showed hepatomegaly, red spots on the surface, irregularity of the surface, yellowish spots and streaks. Histo-pathological examination revealed mild cellular infiltration in localized foci in group I (mice given 200 infective Toxocara eggs) but extensive in groups II and III (mice given 500 and 1000 infective Toxocara eggs, respectively). Granulomas began to appear mice sacrificed 4 weeks P.I. in the three groups, but it was multiple in group III. Congestion of hepatocytes and sinusoids were detected, fatty degeneration was encountered in group III. Signs of regeneration were reported in group II & III.
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PMID:Experimental murine toxocariasis larval migration to liver, with a general discussion. 1204 58


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