Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023380 (lethargy)
 5,697 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 7-year-old castrated male Golden Retriever cross was evaluated because of intermittent blood-tinged diarrhea, severe weight loss, anorexia, and lethargy of 2 months' duration; the dog was unresponsive to antimicrobial and standard anthelmintic treatment. Results of fecal flotations for parasite ova were negative. Alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase activities and total protein and globulin conentrations were greater than reference ranges. Biopsy specimens were obtained during laparotomy and examination revealed multiple granulomatous lesions with helminth ova nidi in the intestine, pancreas, liver, and mesenteric lymph node. Saline solution direct smear and saline solution sedimentation of feces yielded trematode ova that were morphologically consistent with Heterobilharzia americana. Identification was confirmed when miracidia were hatched from these ova and produced characteristic cercariae from infected snails. An antigen capture ELISA, typically used for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis in humans, was performed, and schistosome circulating anodic antigen was detected. Treatment with 30 mg of praziquantel/kg (14 mg/lb) of body weight stopped ova shedding, removed detectable circulating antigens, and caused the dog's body weight and attitude to return to normal. Although this is the first report of canine heterobilharziasis in North Carolina, it suggests that heterobilharziasis is underdiagnosed in dogs that have contact with water frequented by raccoons. Inappropriate diagnostic procedures can foil accurate detection of this parasitic disease.
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PMID:Heterobilharzia americana infection in a dog. 1212 29

Table salt can now be fortified with iodine and iron without interaction and without loss of potency. According to Levente Diosady, professor of Food Engineering at the University of Toronto, the amounts of the two micronutrients available to the human body have been significantly reduced when the two interacted. In the new technology, the iodine is covered with a dextrin (a water soluble starch) capsule that serves as a physical barrier to the iron. Micronutrient Initiative (an international secretariat based at IDRC that works to eliminate health problems resulting from iron, iodine, and vitamin A deficiencies) and IDRC supported the development of the technology. The efficiency of absorption of the two micronutrients in the new double fortified salt in the human body is being tested at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Later testing will be conducted by University of Ghana scientists in IDRC-funded trials that will focus on women and their families in areas of Ghana where these deficiencies are endemic. Iodine is part of thyroid hormone, which contributes to brain development in the fetus and regulates human metabolism; iodine deficiency is the most frequent cause of preventable mental retardation. Related disorders include lethargy, physical disabilities, goiter, stillbirth, and neonatal death. Iron deficiency, the most common nutritional problem in the world (particularly among women, infants, and children), is associated with anemia, fatigue, learning problems, pregnancy complications, premature births, and maternal mortality. The two deficiencies together affect more than one-third of the world's population. Approximately 1.6 billion people, in more than 100 countries, live in areas where iodine is not available in sufficient amounts; those most at risk include about one-third of China's population. It is also a severe problem in the Himalayas, the Andes, India, and West Africa.
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PMID:Micronutrient deficiencies. Reports from the field -- Africa. 1229 Mar 27

West Nile Virus (WNV) infection has been reported in over 300 species of birds and mammals. Raptors such as eagles, hawks and falcons are remarkably susceptible, but reports of WNV infection in Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are rare and reports of WNV infection in grebes (Podicipediformes) even rarer. We report an unusually large wild bird mortality event involving between 15,000-20,000 Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) and over 40 Bald Eagles around the Great Salt Lake, Utah, in November-December 2013. Mortality in grebes was first reported in early November during a period when the area was unseasonably warm and the grebes were beginning to gather and stage prior to migration. Ten out of ten Eared Grebes collected during this period were WNV RT-PCR and/or isolation positive. This is the first report of WNV infection in Eared Grebes and the associated mortality event is matched in scale only by the combined outbreaks in American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) colonies in the north central states in 2002-2003. We cannot be sure that all of the grebes were infected by mosquito transmission; some may have become infected through contact with WNV shed orally or cloacally from other infected grebes. Beginning in early December, Bald Eagles in the Great Salt Lake area were observed to display neurological signs such as body tremors, limb paralysis and lethargy. At least 43 Bald Eagles had died by the end of the month. Nine of nine Bald Eagles examined were infected with WNV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest single raptor mortality event since WNV became endemic in the USA. Because the majority of the eagles affected were found after onset of below-freezing temperatures, we suggest at least some of the Bald Eagles were infected with WNV via consumption of infected Eared Grebes or horizontal transmission at roost sites.
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PMID:West nile virus transmission in winter: the 2013 great salt lake bald eagle and eared grebes mortality event. 2476 10