Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
 170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The measurement of anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies is a useful tool for the diagnosis and the follow-up of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Anti-dsDNA antibodies are involved in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis and they are, specially the high-avidity antibodies, the most specific antibodies associated with SLE nephritis and active SLE. The aim of the present study was to assess the clinical utility of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EUSA) that utilizes a circular double-stranded plasmid DNA as a nucleic acid source, adapted to an automated fluorescence immunoassay (EliA dsDNA, Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany). Also, we compared this method with other immunoassays used in clinical laboratories. We have measured anti-dsDNA antibodies in the serum of 179 patients with a positive result for antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Seventy six sera were from SLE patients (14 men and 62 women), and the other 103 sera (from 20 men and 83 women) constituted the control group. This latter group includes nine Sjogren's syndrome patients, six patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 88 with various other diseases, including connective tissue diseases (n=34), hepatopathies (n= 17; 11 primary biliary cirrhosis and 6 autoimmune hepatitis), and 37 patients with nonautoimmune diseases (viral hepatitis, renal disease, diabetes, exanthema and hypertension). Methods used were "EliA dsDNA" (Pharmacia, Germany), "Varelisa dsDNA" (Pharmacia, Germany), Farr (Amersham, UK) and Chritidia luciliae immunofluorescence test (Vitro-Immun, Germany). We assessed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value in the clinical study, and kappa index and scatter plots in the comparative study. The results show a low concordance between methods (kappa < 0.6). The evaluated EliA method shows a very good specificity for SLE (93.2%) and a good sensitivity for active SLE (70.8%).
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PMID:Clinical evaluation of a new automated anti-dsDNA fluorescent immunoassay. 1247 49

Orlistat (tetrahydrolipostatin) is a lipase inhibitor which is used, in conjunction with appropriate dietary control, for the treatment of obesity. It is generally deemed to be a safe drug, which mainly exerts a topical action on the stomach and small bowel, with negligible systemic absorption and oral bioavailability. Consequently, its adverse effects have largely been limited to relatively mild gastrointestinal disorders. However, there have been recent, published reports of non-fatal acute hepatitis and systemic hypertension associated with its use. The present case concerns a 62-year-old male who died from massive hepatocellular necrosis, consistent with drug-induced, fulminant hepatitis, associated with the use of oral orlistat, presumably administered at the recommended daily dose of 360 mg. It is postulated that this may represent a rare idiosyncratic reaction to the drug.
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PMID:Massive hepatocellular [correction of hepatocullular] necrosis: was it caused by Orlistat? 1248 15

In this cross-sectional study, 8,481 women aged 15-49 who had at least one pregnancy outcome were considered. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of Filipino women having had a pregnancy loss, and to test the association between domestic violence and pregnancy loss. To control for the confounding effect of the number of pregnancies, the sample was divided into seven groups classified by the number of pregnancies. The risk factors considered were demographic characters (age and partner's age, marital status, and place of residence), socioeconomic status (education and partner's education, having a paid helper at home, having a say in how income was spent), domestic violence (physical abuse and forced sex), sexual behavior of partner, whether the pregnancy was wanted, and disease history (tuberculosis, diabetes, hypertension, malaria, hepatitis, kidney disease, heart disease, anemia, goiter and other medical problems). The major risk factors were found to be physical abuse, region, faithfulness of partners, hypertension, hepatitis, kidney disease, anemia, and the other medical problems, respectively. The risk of pregnancy loss for the women suffering domestic violence was 1.59 (95% CI 1.28-1.97) times higher than for the women who did not. Women aged 15-19 years had a much higher risk of pregnancy loss than the other age groups (OR = 1.49, 95% CI 1.22-1.82). There were similar risk for women aged 20-24 years (OR = 1.08, 95% CI 0.94-1.25) and 35-39 years (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.92-1.19). No association emerged with marital status, socioeconomic status, forced sex, the number of partners, unwanted pregnancy, tuberculosis, diabetes, malaria, heart disease, and goiter. Although women's age, partner's age, residence, women's education, partner's education, and paid helper at home were significantly associated with pregnancy loss, they were likely to be confounders rather than risk factors.
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PMID:Pregnancy loss in the Philippines. 1297 77

Birth weight is a popular topic, because it is precisely recorded, a major determinant of infant survival, associated with infant mortality, and health outcomes later in life. Low birth weight (LBW) is a predisposing factor for metabolic abnormalities such as atherosclerosis, renal disease, non-insulin diabetes mellitus, asthma, low IQ, hypertension, obesity, psychological distress. They have all been reported to be more common among those who were small at birth. Due to lack of studies suggesting a linkage between LBW and diseases of liver; evidences, which support the hypothesis on the creation of a link between LBW, an indicator of unfavourable intrauterine environment, and liver diseases emerging in the adult life, and possible direct associations of LBW with liver diseases, e.g., hepatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, hepatoblastoma, or hepatocellular carcinoma were discussed. The associations between LBW and hepatitis vaccination as well as paediatric parental nutrition were also noted.
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PMID:Low birth weight: a possible risk factor also for liver diseases in adult life? 1367 7

Liver diseases specific of pregnancy, the most common hepatic complications of pregnancy, are always associated with a sometimes asymptomatic increase in serum aminotransferase activity. The most frequent of the liver diseases specific of pregnancy in normotensive pregnant women is cholestasis of pregnancy, the cause of generalised pruritus, and, in those with pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia which requires short-term cessation of pregnancy. Similar treatment is required by acute fatty liver of pregnancy the diagnosis of which must be done in the third trimester when recent polydipsia, nausea or vomiting occurs. Moreover, pregnancy increases the incidence and/or the severity of herpes simplex hepatitis (for which acyclovir therapy is urgently required) and hepatitis type E. Pregnancy may also unmask untreated cases of autoimmune hepatitis, Wilson's disease or Budd-Chiari syndrome.
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PMID:[Hepatic complications of pregnancy]. 1472 76

Summary. interviewed with questionnaires on their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and motivations about blood donations. It was found that a large number of them (92.9%) donated because of the benefits they will obtain from the hospital. Such benefits include antenatal registration (67.1%) and saving the lives of relations (25.8%). Even though many of the donors are educated (98.9%), majority of whom have university degrees (36.1%) and have heard about blood donation before, 52.4% of them believe they can contact human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or hepatitis infection from blood donation. A good number (47.0%) are afraid of what they regard as side effects, such as weight loss (23.8%), sexual failure (5.9%), high blood pressure (5.2%), sudden death (3.3%), and convulsion (1.47%). About 41.0% prefers certificates as an incentive for donation, whereas 13.6% prefers money; less than 3% will like their names announced or published on the media and 2.58% will donate for nothing. It is recommended that an intensive blood donation campaign should be maintained. This will allow people to be well informed, turning the positive attitude of saving life through blood donation to a regular practice.
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PMID:Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and motivations towards blood donations among blood donors in Lagos, Nigeria. 1504 88

Faced with explosive growth in its prison population and a legal mandate to improve medical care for incarcerated offenders, the state of Texas implemented a novel correctional managed health care program in 1994. The organizational structure of the program is based on a series of contractual relationships between the state prison system, 2 of the state's academic medical centers, and a separate governing body composed of 9 appointed members, which include 5 physicians. All medical, dental, and psychiatric care for more than 145,000 offenders, incarcerated under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, is provided by the University of Texas Medical Branch and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The health delivery system is composed of several levels of care, including primary ambulatory care clinics in each prison unit, 16 infirmaries at strategic locations throughout the state, several regional medical facilities, and a dedicated prison hospital with a full range of services. Specialized treatment programs have been established at various units for patients with chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, major psychiatric disorders, hepatitis, and human immunodeficiency virus infection. Significant improvements in health outcomes have occurred since the managed care program was established.
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PMID:Health care delivery in the Texas prison system: the role of academic medicine. 1553 4

Oxidative stress has emerged as a constant feature of chronic renal failure (CRF). The presence of oxidative stress in CRF is evidenced by an overabundance of lipid, carbohydrate, and protein oxidation products in the plasma and tissues of uremic patients and animals. We recently have shown that oxidative stress in CRF animals is associated with and, in part, owing to up-regulation of superoxide-producing enzyme, nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD(P)H) oxidase, and down-regulation of superoxide dismutase (SOD). The functional significance of these findings was confirmed by favorable response to administration of the cell-permeable SOD-mimetic agent, tempol, in CRF rats. Oxidative stress in CRF plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the associated hypertension (oxidation of NO and arachidonic acid and vascular remodeling), cardiovascular disease (oxidation of lipoproteins, atherogenesis), neurologic disorders (nitration of brain proteins, oxidation of myelin), anemia (reduction of erythrocyte lifespan), inflammation (nuclear factor kappa B activation), fibrosis, apoptosis, and accelerated aging. The CRF-induced oxidative stress is aggravated by diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, and autoimmune diseases, which independently increase production of reactive oxygen intermediates, and frequently are associated with CRF. In addition, dialysis treatment (blood interaction with dialyzer membrane and dialysate impurities), acute and chronic infections (blood access infection, hepatitis, and so forth), and excessive parenteral iron administration intensify CRF-associated oxidative stress and its adverse consequences in patients with end-stage renal disease. The problem is compounded by limited intake of fresh fruits and vegetables (K(+) restriction), which contain numerous natural phytochemicals and antioxidant vitamins.
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PMID:Oxidative stress in uremia: nature, mechanisms, and potential consequences. 1549 Apr 13

Lingzhi is the Chinese name given to the Ganoderma family of mushrooms, which was considered the most valuable medicine in ancient China and was believed to bring longevity, due to its mysterious power of healing the body and calming the mind. Today, Lingzhi is still widely revered as a valuable health supplement and herbal medicine worldwide, as studies (mostly conducted in China, Korea, Japan and the United States) into the medicinal and nutritional values of Lingzhi revealed that it does indeed contain certain bioactive ingredients (such as triterpenes and polysaccharides) that might be beneficial for the prevention and treatment of a variety of ailments, including important diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, hepatitis, cancers, and AIDS. As research into the biological activities of Lingzhi, as well as the quality assurance and quality control of Lingzhi products, require the isolation/purification of active ingredients from Lingzhi, followed by subsequent analytical and/or preparative separations, the present review summarizes the various chromatographic and electrophoretic methods (as well as sample pretreatment methods) typically employed to achieve such extraction/separation procedures.
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PMID:Chromatographic and electrophoretic methods for Lingzhi pharmacologically active components. 1555 2

Obesity, now an epidemic in the USA, northern Europe, and Italy, is associated with several co-morbidities that shorten life expectancy, in particular type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), arterial hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. The impact of obesity on mortality is evident in all ages, and is especially strong in young persons. Obesity, especially visceral obesity, associated with a sedentary lifestyle, is among the strongest risk factors for T2DM, and a diagnosis of T2DM seems to increase linearly as a function of duration of obesity. The pathogenesis of T2DM is based on a dual defect, i.e. increased insulin resistance coupled with defective insulin release. The main abnormality in obesity is increased insulin resistance, while insulin release, even though defective compared with body needs, is usually abundant. The incidence of obesity among children aged 6-16 years is now even greater than that among adults: in Italy, figures up to 30% have been reported. As in adults, obesity is a cause, among children, of arterial hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, hyperlipidemia, non-alcoholic-steato hepatitis, sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), and orthopedic, psychological, and social problems. Together with an increase in body weight, there is an increase of visceral fat. Obesity in children has also led to a tremendous increase in the prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT); the percentages span from 25% in a multiethnic cohort in the USA, to 4% in Italian Caucasians. Management of obesity and of T2DM in children has to face the issue of poor compliance; there is consensus that dietary treatment of obese T2DM children is a failure, so that drugs are required; the only drug evaluated in a formal trial is metformin, that behaves in terms of efficacy and of minor side effects as in adults. In conclusion, obesity in children is not pure obesity, but is accompanied by co-morbidities that cluster to form the "metabolic syndrome" just like in the adults. If this epidemics continues and is not properly challenged, in the next decades we will face an epidemic of early cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
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PMID:Type 2 diabetes mellitus is becoming the most common type of diabetes in school children. 1566 74


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