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)

A male presented at age 2.2 years with a 6-week history of intermittent vomiting and hyperpigmentation. Investigations showed salt wasting with hyperkalaemia, a grossly impaired cortisol response to ACTH stimulation, elevated renin and ACTH. Family history revealed that two maternal uncles had died soon after birth. A third uncle failed to thrive during infancy but improved with a course of cortisone, then being untreated until further investigation revealed adrenal insufficiency. A fourth uncle died aged 10 days, with urinary salt loss and hypoplastic adrenal glands at postmortem. Molecular studies on the proband, his mother, maternal grandmother, and surviving uncle showed a novel C to G substitution at nucleotide position 794 (missense mutation T265R) in the DAX1 (NR0B1) gene. The proband has responded well to steroid replacement but has proved sensitive to 9alpha-fludrocortisone treatment, developing hypertension on a dose of 133 microg/m(2)/day. At 8.8 years he was noted to have testicular volumes of 4 ml, despite no other evidence of secondary sexual development and prepubertal gonadotrophin levels. Novel features of this family include a novel DAX1 mutation, marked variability in age of presentation, hypertension on 'standard' doses of 9alpha-fludrocortisone and mild testicular enlargement.
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PMID:A novel missense mutation in DAX-1 with an unusual presentation of X-linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita. 1730 33

The sodium(Na)- and potassium(K)-activated adenosine-triphosphatase (Na,K-ATPase) is a membrane enzyme that energizes the Na-pump by hydrolysing adenosine triphosphate and wasting energy as heat, so playing a role in thermogenesis and energy balance. Na,K-ATPase regulation by insulin is controversial; in tissue of hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemic ob/ob mice, we reported a reduction, whereas in streptozotocin-treated hypoinsulinemic-diabetic Swiss and ob/ob mice we found an increased activity, which is against a genetic defect and suggests a regulation by hyperinsulinemia. In human adipose tissue from obese patients, Na,K-ATPase activity was reduced and negatively correlated with body mass index, oral glucose tolerance test-insulinemic area and blood pressure. We hypothesized that obesity is associated with tissue Na,K-ATPase reduction, apparently linked to hyperinsulinemia, which may repress or inactivate the enzyme, thus opposing thyroid hormones and influencing thermogenesis and obesity development. Insulin action on Na,K-ATPase, in vivo, might be mediated by the high level of non-esterified fatty acids, which are circulating enzyme inhibitors and increase in obesity, diabetes and hypertension. In this paper, we analyse animal and human tissue Na,K-ATPase, its level, and its regulation and behaviour in some hyperinsulinemic and insulin-resistant states; moreover, we discuss the link of the enzyme with non-esterified fatty acids and attempt to interpret and organize in a coherent view the whole body of the exhaustive literature on this complicated topic.
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PMID:Animal and human tissue Na,K-ATPase in normal and insulin-resistant states: regulation, behaviour and interpretative hypothesis on NEFA effects. 1744 65

The most common cause of congenital adrenal hyperplasia is 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD). The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) in children with 21OHD is unknown, and HTN has not been reported to be a component of this disorder. As children with 21OHD are at risk of developing obesity, we hypothesized that an elevated body mass index (BMI) would be a predictive factor in the development of HTN. A retrospective chart review of children with 21OHD seen in our pediatric endocrine clinics for the past 21 yr was performed. Ninety-one children with 21OHD were identified (54% female). Of these children, six (6.6%) had HTN, and five (5.6%) had essential HTN, which was defined as HTN of unknown etiology. Elevated body mass index was not a determining factor in the development of HTN. Children with 21OHD do appear to have a higher prevalence of HTN when compared to historical reports of pediatric populations. The coexistence of HTN with a salt-wasting state and mineralocorticoid deficiency in some children with 21OHD is paradoxical and of unclear etiology.
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PMID:Observation of hypertension in children with 21-hydroxylase deficiency: a preliminary report. 1752 39

Hypokalemia is a common and important finding in hospitalized patients because it may provoke cardiac arrhythmias and/or respiratory arrest. Our aim is to suggest better diagnostic tools and therapeutic principles, and summarize new molecular advances that are linked to hypokalemia. Measurements in freshly-voided urine to evaluate potassium (K+) excretion and an assessment of the acid-base status in blood can help differentiate between the various causes of hypokalemia. In patients with a low rate of K+ excretion, hypokalemia can be explained by an acute shift of K+ into cells, intestinal K+ loss, or prior renal K+ excretion. Patients with a high rate of K+ excretion usually have metabolic acid-base disorders. In patients with hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis, an assessment of the rate of excretion of ammonium (NH4+) in the urine separates those with renal tubular acidosis (RTA) (low NH4+ excretion) from those with causes other than RTA. In patients with metabolic alkalosis, a high blood pressure helps to distinguish between a state with high mineralocorticoid activity from others with extracellular fluid (ECF) volume contraction. Measurement of renin activity, aldosterone, and cortisol levels in plasma help to differentiate between the causes with mineralocorticoid excess whereas the urine chloride (Cl-) concentration may reveal the basis for renal Na+ wasting and distinguish it from non-renal Na+ loss. The treatment of hypokalemia is guided by the risk imposed by hypokalemia, magnitude of the K+ deficit, route of the K+ administration, available K+ preparations, adjuncts to therapy, and special associated conditions. Recent molecular advances in inherited hypokalemic disorders affecting transcellular K+ shift, gastrointestinal and renal K+ excretion are also discussed.
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PMID:Hypokalemia: a practical approach to diagnosis and its genetic basis. 1758 63

A retrospective study was performed on all patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) who were followed up at the King Hussein Medical Center (KHMC), Amman, Jordan, during the period from January 1996 to June 2006. The aim was to evaluate the clinical features, special problems, and corrective interventions for these patients. The records of 73 children (39 were genetic females and 34 were genetic males) with CAH were reviewed in the study. The age of the patients at last follow-up was between five months and 18 years. Diagnostic criteria for CAH were typical clinical features of the illness (salt loss, dehydration, virilization, macrogenitosomia, ambiguous genitalia, and accelerated growth) and typical hormonal abnormalities (decreased serum cortisol and elevated serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone). There were 62 patients with classical presentation; among them, salt-wasting (SW) form was seen in 41 patients (66%). There were 5 patients with the nonclassic form, while 6 others had cryptic presentation. Seven patients (9%) had hypertension, mostly due to salt-retaining CAH. Among the 39 females with CAH, 27 had developed mental anomalies of the external genitalia; 20 of them underwent surgical interventions of their external genitalia. Fourteen genetically female patients were wrongly diagnosed as 'male sex' at birth due to severe virilization. Seven of them were reassigned 'female sex' socially, legally, and surgically; the parents of one of them (a four-year-old girl) wanted the surgical intervention postponed for two to three years. Hysterectomy and gonadectomy were carried out for 6 of the other 7 patients who chose to keep the male gender. Our study indicates that newborns with developmental anomalies of the external genitalia should be diagnosed as early as possible so that medical, psychological, and social complications are minimized. A neonatal screening program for such a disorder can identify infants at risk for the development of life-threatening adrenal crisis and prevent incorrect sex assignment of affected female infants with intersex.
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PMID:Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: problems with developmental anomalies of the external genitalia and sex assignment. 1767 54

Most of the 20 million people in the US with chronic kidney disease (CKD) die before commencing dialysis. One of every five dialysis patients dies each year in the US. Although cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death among patients with CKD, conventional cardiovascular risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and obesity are paradoxically associated with better survival in hemodialysis populations. Emerging data indicate the existence of this 'reverse epidemiology' in earlier stages of CKD. There are also paradoxical relationships between outcomes and race and ethnicity. For example, the survival rate of African American dialysis patients seems to be superior to that of whites on dialysis. Paradoxes-within-paradoxes have been detected among Hispanic and Asian American CKD patients. These survival paradoxes might evolve and change over the natural course of CKD progression as a result of the time differentials of competing risk factors and the overwhelming impact of malnutrition, inflammation and wasting. Reversal of the reverse epidemiology as a result of successful kidney transplantation underscores the role of nutritional status and kidney function in engendering these paradoxes. The observation of paradoxes and their reversal might lead to the formulation of new paradigms and management strategies to improve the survival of patients with CKD. Such movement away from the use of targets set on the basis of data gathered in general populations (e.g. the Framingham cohort) would be a major paradigm shift in clinical medicine and public health.
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PMID:Racial and survival paradoxes in chronic kidney disease. 1771 62

The term "reverse epidemiology" is used to indicate that such surrogates of cardiovascular risk and metabolic syndrome as obesity, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension are paradoxically associated with greater survival in individuals with chronic disease states and wasting, including dialysis patients, in whom the short-term survival is the issue at hand. It is being debated whether the crossing curves of the obesity-mortality association in dialysis patients vs. the general population reflect the residual confounding that needs to be controlled away statistically, or whether they have biological plausibility in sharp contradistinction to the currently dominating Framingham paradigm. In the rush to define the crossing curves as statistical artifact and to dismiss the term "reverse epidemiology" as a misnomer, we may miss the opportunity to gain information housed in those crossing lines and may miss the bigger picture, i.e., how to improve longevity in dialysis patients. Even though some of the survival paradoxes in dialysis patients appear to fulfill the Hill's criteria of causation, there are still two major drawbacks: (1) convincing pathophysiologic pathways to link dialysis patient survival to obesity, fat accumulation, higher serum lipoprotein levels or slightly higher than normal blood pressure values are yet to be verified in animal and other scientifically sound models; and (2) randomized controlled trials need to show that nutritional interventions resulting in weight gain can lead to greater survival in dialysis patients. Studying the survival paradoxes may lead to a paradigm shift by establishing targets beyond the Framingham guidelines for populations with chronic disease states.
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PMID:What is so bad about reverse epidemiology anyway? 1799 Dec 10

Although ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome (EAS) is a well-known paraneoplastic phenomenon, an association with large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung (LCNEC) has not been reported. We describe a 63-year-old man with metastatic LCNEC to the left temporomandibular joint (TMJ) who presented with progressive muscle weakness and bilateral lower leg edema for 2 weeks. He did not have a typical Cushingoid appearance nor used diuretics. His newly noted hypertension, hypokalemia (plasma potassium (K) concentration 1.8 mEq/L) with renal K wasting, and metabolic alkalosis suggested a state of mineralocorticoid excess. His plasma renin activity and aldosterone concentrations were low, but cortisol and ACTH levels were extremely elevated, consistent with ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome. Nonsuppressible plasma cortisol level and normal sella turcica on magnetic resonance imaging pointed to EAS. A strongly positive stain for ACTH from the metastatic left TMJ mass supported LCNEC-related EAS. His hypokalemia and hypertension were controlled with spironolactone and K supplementation. This is the first reported case of EAS in LCNEC and should be kept in mind as a cause of hypokalemia in lung cancer patients.
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PMID:Ectopic ACTH syndrome associated with large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung. 1809 71

A 52-year-old man was noted to have severe chronic hypokalemia despite discontinuation of diuretic treatment for hypertension and aggressive oral potassium supplementation. His serum potassium normalized temporarily when he was hospitalized, but hypokalemia recurred after discharge. He complained of generalized weakness and fatigue, and occasional loose stools. Physical examination showed mild generalized muscle weakness. Laboratory testing ruled out renal potassium wasting. A dietary history revealed that he was consuming 4 liters of cola per day, with a calculated fructose load of 396 grams per day. Since fructose absorption in the small bowel is relatively inefficient, this probably led to an osmotic diarrhea and GI potassium wasting. Physicians should ask their patients about soft drink consumption when they encounter unexplained hypokalemia.
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PMID:Chronic hypokalemia due to excessive cola consumption: a case report. 1862 64

Chloride channels represent a relatively under-explored target class for drug discovery as elucidation of their identity and physiological roles has lagged behind that of many other drug targets. Chloride channels are involved in a wide range of biological functions, including epithelial fluid secretion, cell-volume regulation, neuroexcitation, smooth-muscle contraction and acidification of intracellular organelles. Mutations in several chloride channels cause human diseases, including cystic fibrosis, macular degeneration, myotonia, kidney stones, renal salt wasting and hyperekplexia. Chloride-channel modulators have potential applications in the treatment of some of these disorders, as well as in secretory diarrhoeas, polycystic kidney disease, osteoporosis and hypertension. Modulators of GABA(A) (gamma-aminobutyric acid A) receptor chloride channels are in clinical use and several small-molecule chloride-channel modulators are in preclinical development and clinical trials. Here, we discuss the broad opportunities that remain in chloride-channel-based drug discovery.
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PMID:Chloride channels as drug targets. 1915 58


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