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 treatment modalities and prognosis of 636 retinoblastoma (RB) cases diagnosed and treated in our specialist center between 1963 and 1994 were evaluated. Patient age ranged from 20 days to 16 years, the mean age being 2.2 years (26.4 months). Of the 636 cases, 441 were unilateral and 195 were bilateral. Enucleation was the most frequent treatment employed in unilateral RB patients (412 cases). Follow-up treatment included exenteration (48 cases), radiotherapy (154 cases) and chemotherapy (108 cases) for cases with optic nerve invasion and/or orbital recurrence following enucleation. Seventeen cases displayed massive proptosis, ocular damage and blindness at initial presentation and underwent exenteration as the initial treatment. Two cases were subjected to external beam radiotherapy without invasive surgical procedures. Ten cases regressed spontaneously without treatment. For bilateral cases, the most frequent treatment used was enucleation for one eye and radiotherapy for the other (132 cases). Adjuvant treatment included exenteration (9 cases) and chemotherapy (50 cases) depending on orbital recurrence and/or systemic metastasis. Spontaneous bilateral regression was noted in one case. Six cases underwent bilateral external beam radiotherapy without surgery. One eye of the remaining 56 bilateral cases underwent enucleation. The treatment for the contralateral eyes included cryotherapy in 14 cases, enucleation in 11 cases, Cobalt plaque (Co plaque) therapy in 10 cases, photocoagulation in 6 cases and exenteration in one case. No treatment was undertaken in the contralateral eyes of 14 cases. Secondary treatment modalities employed in these 56 bilateral cases were radiotherapy (11 cases), chemotherapy (8 cases), Co plaque (8 cases) and exenteration (5 cases). Treatment complications were detected in 25 cases followed for at least 18 months. Eighteen cases had radiation cataracts and 6 of these 18 patients underwent intraocular lens implantation. Post-radiation orbital malignancy (osteosarcoma) was noted in two cases aged 14 and 15 years. Phthisis bulbi was observed in three cases and radiation keratitis in two cases. The overall survival rate was 82.2% after a mean follow-up of 5 years. The survival rate of unilateral cases was 82.8% and that of bilateral cases was 81.1% at 5 years.
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PMID:Retinoblastoma in Turkey--treatment and prognosis. 873 6

The transfer factor (TF) was described in 1955 by S. Lawrence. In 1992 Kirkpatrick characterized the specific TF at molecular level. The TF is constituted by a group of numerous molecules, of low molecular weight, from 1.0 to 6.0 kDa. The 5 kDa fraction corresponds to the TF specific to antigens. There are a number of publications about the clinical indications of the TF for diverse diseases, in particular those where the cellular immune response is compromised or in those where there is a deficient regulation of the immune response. In this article we present our clinical and basic experiences, especially regarding the indications, usage and dosage of the TF. Our group demonstrated that the TF increases the expression of IFN-gamma and RANTES, while decreases the expression of osteopontine. Using animal models we have worked with M. tuberculosis, and with a model of glioma with good therapeutic results. In the clinical setting we have worked with herpes zoster, herpes simplex type I, herpetic keratitis, atopic dermatitis, osteosarcoma, tuberculosis, asthma, post-herpetic neuritis, anergic coccidioidomycosis, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, mucocutaneous candidiasis, pediatric infections produced by diverse pathogen germs, sinusitis, pharyngitis, and otits media. All of these diseases were studied through protocols which main goals were to study the therapeutic effects of the TF, and to establish in a systematic way diverse dosage schema and time for treatment to guide the prescription of the TF.
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PMID:Indications, usage, and dosage of the transfer factor. 1829 53

Pathogenic strains of the genus Acanthamoeba are causative agents of severe infections, such as fatal encephalitis and a sight-threatening amoebic keratitis. Antimicrobial therapy for these infections is generally empirical, and patient recovery is often problematic, due to the existence of a highly resistant cyst stage in these amoebae. In previous studies, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) against the catalytic domains of extracellular serine proteases and glycogen phosphorylase from Acanthamoeba were designed and evaluated for future therapeutic use. The silencing of proteases resulted in Acanthamoeba failing to degrade human corneal cells, and silencing of glycogen phosphorylase caused amoebae to be unable to form mature cysts. After the siRNA design and concentration were optimized in order to avoid toxicity problems, cultures of Acanthamoeba were treated with a combination of both siRNAs, and cells were evaluated under an inverted microscope. This siRNA-based treatment dramatically affected the growth rate and cellular survival of the amoebae. These results were observed less than 48 h after the initiation of the treatment. In order to check possible toxic effects of the siRNA combination, three eukaryotic cell lines (HeLa, murine macrophages, and osteosarcoma cells) were treated with the same molecules, and cytotoxicity was examined by measuring lactate dehydrogenase release. The future use of the combination of these siRNAs is proposed as a potential therapeutic approach against pathogenic strains of Acanthamoeba.
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PMID:Therapeutic potential of a combination of two gene-specific small interfering RNAs against clinical strains of Acanthamoeba. 2085 32