Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0022568 (keratitis)
 5,133 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The clinical features of xerophthalmia are described in a 60-year-old patient, who was known to have alcoholic cirrhosis. In this patient, vitamin A deficiency, which presumably had been overlooked for 15 years, was confirmed by determination of the serum vitamin A level. After substitutive vitamin A therapy, superficial punctate keratitis and conjunctival xerosis disappeared completely. Although xerophthalmia has only sporadically been described in developed countries, we point out that the possibility of a vitamin A deficiency should also be considered in cases of recurrent conjunctival and corneal lesions.
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PMID:[Xerophthalmia in liver cirrhosis. Correct diagnosis after 15 years]. 159 82

Vitamin A-deficient rabbits were used to evaluate the role of secondary bacterial infection in the development of keratomalacia and to describe the resultant clinical and morphologic alterations. The conjunctival sacs of vitamin A-deficient rabbits at different stages of corneal involvement were inoculated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa topically. Approximately two weeks after inoculation, corneal ulceration with stromal melting developed in one of three eyes with severe punctate keratitis and in four of seven eyes with xerosis. Ulceration did not develop in any of the eight eyes with early epithelial graying or mild punctate keratitis. Inflammatory cells (primarily polymorphonuclear leukocytes) infiltrated the anterior corneal stroma of infected corneas. Liquefaction of collagen was observed in association with bacteria alone, as well as in association with polymorphonuclear leukocytes. No signs of infection were observed after conjunctival inoculation of Pseudomonas in the eyes of nine control rabbits.
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PMID:Increased susceptibility to infection in experimental xerophthalmia. 679 31

THE CONCLUSIONS WHICH MAY BE DRAWN FROM THE RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENTS HERE PRESENTED ARE: 1. The cornea of the rabbit is highly sensitive to the action of various injected bacteria. The lesions vary from insignificant, transient changes to severe, destructive panophthalmitis, with fine gradations from the mildest to the violent form of inflammation. Moreover, animals that receive the same organisms show like changes. 2. The varying degree of inflammatory reaction is related to the pathogenicity of the special culture employed; as, for example, is shown by the reactions to Type I pneumococci and to Bacterium granulosis. It is evident that when a microorganism having a certain degree of virulence is used, a lesion of localized vasculonebulous keratitis resembling pannus tenuis or vasculosus of human trachoma can be induced. Thus Bacterium granulosis, Bacillus xerosis, Hemophilus influenzae, Pneumococcus Type II, Streptococcus viridans, and gonococcus can cause the pannus-like corneal changes in the rabbit. Of these organisms, however, only Bacterium granulosis induces early, uncomplicated and enduring keratitic lesions; the others cause first, diffuse keratitis with suppurative lesions; then, as a residual effect, transient, localized, vasculonebulous changes in the cornea. These changes, in contradistinction to the granulosis lesions, are, therefore delayed, complicated, and transient. When, on the other hand, the invasiveness and infecting power of the organisms are low, as is the case with the filtrable, Gram-negative bacillus and the small, Gram-negative bacilli ultimately derived from cases of folliculosis, no marked effect is produced by their intracorneal inoculation. If the pathogenicity of bacteria is high (as shown by Pneumococcus Type I, hemolytic streptococcus, and the remaining bacteria), intracorneal inoculation of the microorganisms leads to serious suppurative or destructive changes. 3. The results of experiments with monkeys indicate that while pannus is not a sequel of experimental trachomatous conjunctivitis, a lesion resembling it follows intracorneal inoculation of Bacterium granulosis. 4. One can infer from these results, therefore, that the stimulus necessary to produce corneal changes in animals, similar to those of trachomatous pannus, is an agent having a definite but extremely low power of invasiveness and infectivity.
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PMID:CORNEAL REACTIONS TO BACTERIUM GRANULOSIS AND OTHER MICROORGANISMS. 1987 32

Corneal perforation may be associated with prolapse of ocular tissue and requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Although infectious keratitis is an important cause, corneal xerosis and collagen vascular diseases should be considered in the differential diagnosis, especially in cases that do not respond to conventional medical therapy. Although medical therapy is a useful adjunct, a surgical approach is required for most corneal perforations. Depending on the size and location of the corneal perforation, treatment options include gluing, amniotic membrane transplantation, and corneal transplantation.
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PMID:Management of corneal perforation. 2211 86

Sulfur mustard (2,2'-dichlorodiethyl sulfide; SM) is a potent vesicating chemical warfare agent that poses a continuing threat to both military and civilian populations. Significant SM injuries can take several months to heal, necessitate lengthy hospitalizations, and result in long-term complications affecting the skin, eyes, and lungs. This report summarizes initial and ongoing (chronic) clinical findings from SM casualties from the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), with an emphasis on cutaneous injury. In addition, we describe the cutaneous manifestations and treatment of several men recently and accidentally exposed to SM in the United States. Common, chronic cutaneous problems being reported in the Iranian casualties include pruritis (the primary complaint), burning, pain, redness, desquamation, hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation, erythematous papular rash, xerosis, multiple cherry angiomas, atrophy, dermal scarring, hypertrophy, and sensitivity to mechanical injury with recurrent blistering and ulceration. Chronic ocular problems include keratitis, photophobia, persistent tearing, sensation of foreign body, corneal thinning and ulceration, vasculitis of the cornea and conjunctiva, and limbal stem cell deficiency. Chronic pulmonary problems include decreases in lung function, bronchitis with hyper-reactive airways, bronchiolitis, bronchiectasis, stenosis of the trachea and other large airways, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, decreased total lung capacity, and increased incidences of lung cancer, pulmonary infections, and tuberculosis. There are currently no standardized or optimized methods of casualty management; current treatment strategy consists of symptomatic management and is designed to relieve symptoms, prevent infections, and promote healing. New strategies are needed to provide for optimal and rapid healing, with the goals of (a) returning damaged tissue to optimal appearance and normal function in the shortest period of time, and (b) ameliorating chronic effects. Further experimental research and clinical trials will be needed to prevent or mitigate the acute clinical effects of SM exposure and to reduce or eliminate the long-term manifestations.
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PMID:Historical perspective on effects and treatment of sulfur mustard injuries. 2381 2