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)

In conclusion, the studies presented suggest that two factors commonly occurring in the alcoholic, namely, an increased rate of ethanol metabolism and hepatomegaly, may have important pathogenic implications in alcoholic liver disease. An increased rate of ethanol metabolism is linked to a greater oxygen demand, thus resulting in greater susceptibility to hypoxia in Zone 3 of the liver acinus, a factor which might be responsible for hepatocellular necrosis in alcoholic hepatitis. Propylthiouracil has been shown to have a protective effect against hypoxic necrosis in alcohol-fed animals and has been found to be most effective in accelerating the rate of recovery of alcoholics with active liver disease. On the other hand, hepatocyte expansion in hepatomegaly, in the face of a semi-rigid liver capsule, leads to constriction of extracellular volume and to an increase in intrahepatic and portal pressure. The latter, in turn, could produce a variety of haemodynamic alterations as those found in the alcoholic. To what extent the mechanisms described are responsible for or might add to the myriad of other disturbances observed in alcoholic disease should be further analysed.
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PMID:Hepatocyte demand and substrate supply as factors in the susceptibility to alcoholic liver injury: pathogenesis and prevention. 701 48

Propylthiouracil (PTU) is widely used to treat patients with hyperthyroidism. In rare cases, this drug has been found to have severe toxic effects on the liver. The case of a 14-year-old girl treated with PTU for hyperthyroidism who developed jaundice, severe hepatocellular dysfunction, and hepatomegaly is reported. Her condition gradually deteriorated, and she developed paranoid ideation, profound lethargy, and peripheral edema. After three weeks of prednisone therapy, clinical and laboratory signs of improvement were observed. This patient was one of only five pediatric cases among the 16 reported cases of PTU liver toxicity reported to date. Her history and the fatal outcome in some reported cases demonstrate the high degree of sensitivity required to recognize this potential complication in patients treated with PTU, particularly since its immediate discontinuance and steroid-therapy intervention may lead to recovery.
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PMID:Propylthiouracil hepatotoxicity. A review and case presentation. 841 95