Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023890 (cirrhosis)
 42,195 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The RAS is part of an extremely powerful feedback system for long-term control of blood pressure and volume homeostasis. Disturbances that tend to lower blood pressure, such as heart failure, cirrhosis, and peripheral vasodilation, cause sodium and water retention until blood pressure returns to normal due, in large part, to the combined actions of ANGII and reduced arterial pressure. In response to increased sodium intake, decreased ANGII formation greatly amplifies the effectiveness of pressure natriuresis, thereby preventing large increases in body fluid volumes and blood pressure. In circumstances in which the RAS is inappropriately activated, the sodium retaining effects of ANGII necessitate increased blood pressure to maintain sodium balance via pressure natriuresis. Because the RAS is so powerful in regulating blood pressure, blockade of the system with ACE inhibitors offers a powerful therapeutic tool in diseases such as hypertension and congestive heart failure. The control of sodium excretion and blood pressure by ANGII is exerted through multiple intrarenal as well as extrarenal effects, including stimulation of aldosterone secretion, which can influence renal excretion. Current evidence suggests that the intrarenal effects of ANGII are quantitatively more important than those mediated by aldosterone in controlling blood pressure and renal excretion. The most important intrarenal effects of ANGII include efferent arteriolar constriction as well as direct effects on sodium transport. The constrictor effect on efferent arterioles also is important in preventing reductions in GFR in circumstances associated with impaired renal perfusion. Therefore blockade of ANGII formation in circumstances such as renal artery stenosis may caused marked reductions in GFR. However, in many patients efferent arteriolar vasodilation caused by ANGII blockade may not lower GFR markedly because of other autoregulatory mechanisms that compensate by causing parallel reductions in afferent arteriolar resistance. In these individuals, chronic ACE inhibition may prove to be beneficial in slowing the progression of renal disease because a reduction in glomerular hydrostatic pressure may help to prevent glomerular damage.
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PMID:The renin-angiotensin system: renal actions and blood pressure regulation. 187 29

Despite great improvement in patient and graft survival, the long-term morbidity and mortality in renal transplant recipients are still significant. Cardiovascular disease accounts for much of the mortality in long-term survivors; screening before the transplant procedure and adequate control of hypertension should help improve patient survival. Many of the gastrointestinal complications are due to overimmunosuppression and sepsis. Adequate management must include withdrawal of all immunosuppressive medications in order to save the patient's life. Liver disease is usually of viral origin; patients with chronic active hepatitis or cirrhosis should remain on dialysis. Chronic rejection is the major cause of graft loss in long-term survivors; it is unresponsive to antirejection treatment and its progression may be mediated by nonimmunologic mechanisms. Correctable problems such as renal artery stenosis and ureteral obstruction should be ruled out before a late deterioration in graft function is disregarded as chronic rejection. Post-transplant diabetes, osteonecrosis, cataracts, and nephrotoxicity are directly related to the various immunosuppressive drugs currently used. The lowest dose compatible with graft acceptance should help reduce the incidence of these nonfatal but significant complications. Recurrence of disease is a common histologic finding in many transplant recipients but, except for a few diseases such as HUS, FSGS, and oxalosis, it usually does not lead to graft failure. Successful transplantation restores fertility in many uremic patients. Adequate counseling on contraception is imperative in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies and to delay parenthood for at least 1 year. Current immunosuppressive agents are not teratogenic, no dose adjustments are necessary, and an ill-advised decrease in medication may precipitate a rejection episode. Premature delivery is the major problem in these patients and can be avoided by maintaining adequate graft function and controlling hypertension and infections. It is evident from this review that most of the long-term morbidity and mortality seen in renal allograft recipients are due to overimmunosuppression with sepsis or to side effects of the individual drugs, steroids being a common denominator in almost all cases. New immunosuppressive protocols must aim not only to improve patient and graft survival but also to avoid the many complications that limit the full rehabilitation of these patients.
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PMID:Problems in the long-term renal allograft recipient. 226 90

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may produce acute renal failure, papillary necrosis and interstitial nephritis. These adverse drug reactions are rare but have been reported in patients with congestive heart failure, cirrhosis, renal parenchymal disease, lupus nephritis and hypertension. All these conditions may be associated with hypovolaemia and an activated renin-angiotensin system, when renal blood flow and glomerular filtration depend on local renal prostaglandin biosynthesis. A severe impairment of renal function may occur when this synthesis is inhibited by NSAID treatment. It is possible that 1 in 100 of elderly patients have renal parenchymal disease, 1 in 100 arteriolar nephrosclerosis, 1 in 200 unilateral or bilateral renal artery stenosis and an unknown number suffer from atheroembolic renal disease. Fortunately, only a small proportion of 'at risk' patients given NSAIDs appear to develop renal failure. Perhaps bilateral renal disease or salt depletion are necessary factors? Whatever the explanation, NSAIDs should be used with caution in the elderly.
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PMID:Pharmaco-epidemiological considerations in patients with arthritis and vascular disease of the kidney. 349 36

Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) continues to be a challenge in both diagnosis and treatment. GAVE has a diverse group of associations and presumed causes, including cirrhosis, chronic renal failure and autoimmune connective tissue diseases. However, in most occasions, the management plan of GAVE itself is the same whatever the underlying disease by using Argon plasma coagulation (APC). Herein, we will discuss three cases of systemic sclerosis-associated GAVE presenting with either acute or chronic gastrointestinal bleeding showing variable responses to APC. Anemia and telangiectasia may be the first striking presentation of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Renal artery stenosis, aortic stenosis, widespread cutaneous and mucosal telangiectasia and hypertension seem to be associated with poor prognosis and should prompt rapid intervention and careful follow-up. Moreover, the hunt for molecular underpinnings of the broad array of vascular lesions in SSc has to include von Willebrand factor and endoglin. Eventually, we will review the recent alternatives that can be effective in SSc-GAVE, such as band ligation, hematopoietic stem cells transplantation and immunotherapy.
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PMID:Gastric antral vascular ectasia in systemic sclerosis: Where do we stand? 2821 87

The occurrence of ascites after Renal Transplant (RT) is infrequent, and may be a consequence of surgical or medical complications. Case report: 61 year-old, male, history of arterial hypertension, tongue carcinoma and alcoholic habits 12-20g/day. He had chronic kidney disease secondary to autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, without hepatic polycystic disease. He underwent cadaver donor RT in September 2017. He had delayed graft function by surgically corrected renal artery stenosis. He was admitted in January 2018 for ascites de novo, with no response to diuretics. HE had visible abdominal collateral circulation. Graft dysfunction, adequate tacrolinemia, Innocent urinary sediment, mild anemia, without thrombocytopenia. Serum albumin 4.0g / dL. Normal hepatic biochemistry. Peritoneal fluid with transudate characteristics and serum albumin gradient > 1.1. Ultrasound showed hepatomegaly, permeable vascular axes, without splenomegaly. Mycophenolate mofetil was suspended, with reduced remaining immunosuppression. He maintained refractory ascites: excluded infectious, metabolic, autoimmune and neoplastic etiologies. No nephrotic proteinuria and no heart failure. MRI: micronodules compatible with bile cysts. Upper Digestive Tract Endoscopy did not show gastroesophageal varicose veins. Normal abdominal lymphoscintigraphy. He underwent exploratory laparoscopy with liver biopsy: incomplete septal cirrhosis of probable vascular etiology some dilated bile ducts. He maintained progressive RT dysfunction and restarted hemodialysis. The proposed direct measurement of portal pressure was delayed by ascites resolution. There was further recovery of the graft function. Discussion: Incomplete septal cirrhosis is an uncommon cause of non-cirrhotic portal hypertension. Its definition is not well known, morphological and pathophysiological. We have not found published cases of post-RT ascites secondary to this pathology, described as possibly associated with drugs, immune alterations, infections, hypercoagulability and genetic predisposition.
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PMID:Refractory ascites and graft dysfunction in early renal transplantation. 3089 91