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)

A large number of drugs may be associated with impaired bile flow. Drug-associated cholestasis presents like other forms of cholestasis with pale stools, dark urine, pruritus and jaundice. Abdominal pain may be present in some instances and can be so severe as to lead to a false diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. Biochemically, drug-associated cholestasis resembles other forms of cholestasis although the presence of eosinophilia may suggest drug involvement. Many types of drug-induced cholestasis run a benign course with resolution of signs and symptoms within 3 months but occasionally the jaundice can take a year or more to resolve. Progression to cirrhosis is uncommon. Some patients may develop a syndrome resembling primary biliary cirrhosis. The mechanisms of drug-associated cholestasis are uncertain but may arise from alteration of bile formation within the hepatocyte or bile excretion at the level of the canaliculus or the extrahepatic ducts. Histological examination of the liver may be helpful in classifying the types of jaundice but the diagnosis of drug-induced cholestasis is usually one of temporal association and exclusion of other causes.
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PMID:Drug-induced jaundice. 265 64

We conducted a clinical trial to study the effects of a 10-week course of prednisone therapy and its withdrawal on serum aminotransferase levels and on hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers in patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive chronic active hepatitis (CAH-B). Eighteen patients with CAH-B were treated with prednisone, while another 18 patients matched for age, sex, race and sexual preference were followed simultaneously without treatment for the same duration. Nine of 18 prednisone-treated patients became transiently DNA polymerase positive. All nine patients developed a transient rise in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels of greater than 300 U/L above baseline values, which was associated with a drop in HBsAg levels from a mean of 186 micrograms/ml prior to therapy to 92 micrograms/ml at 6 months following treatment. Six of these patients developed fatigue, anorexia and dark urine, and four also developed either ascites or hemorrhage from esophageal varices, which was accompanied by hepatic encephalopathy. All six of these patients had histologic evidence of CAH with cirrhosis. In comparison, none of the control, untreated patients with CAH-B had any change in either HBV markers or serum ALT levels. Therefore, even a short course of prednisone in patients with CAH-B with cirrhosis is detrimental and its use should be discouraged.
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PMID:Effects of short-term, high-dose prednisone treatment of patients with HBsAg-positive chronic active hepatitis. 388 51

Chronic hepatitis C virus is a major worldwide cause of hepatitis, cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinomas. Combination therapy of ribavirin with short- or long-acting interferon-alpha is now the standard treatment of chronic hepatitis C. This therapy is associated with a wide range of side effects. Although hemolysis is almost an invariable result of ribavirin, black urine due to hemoglobinuria has never been previously reported. We recently encountered two cases of black urine (hemoglobinuria) in patients treated with combination therapy. Based on reports of dark urine in many of our patients, we suggest that this phenomenon may be more common than is currently appreciated. It indicates a marked degree of hemolysis, which prompts immediate measurement of hemoglobin level.
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PMID:Hemoglobinuria with ribavirin treatment. 1264 48

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a liver disease characterized by the development of necrosis, inflammatory changes, and progressive liver fibrosis, leading to complications including cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The clinical features resemble those of other forms of acute viral hepatitis, namely, malaise, nausea, abdominal discomfort, pale stools, dark urine, and jaundice. The most frequently reported extrahepatic manifestations of HCV are lichen planus, sialadenitis, and cutaneous lesions. Sjogren's syndrome-like symptoms and lichenoid reactions have been previously reported in association with hepatitis C. This article describes a case of sicca-like syndrome and oral lichenoid reaction associated with interferon-alpha therapy for HCV infection. In this unique case, significant oral symptoms arose right after initiation of interferon-alpha treatment and resolved completely within days upon completion of treatment with interferon-alpha. Physicians and oral health care specialists should be aware of the association among HCV infection, interferon-alpha therapy, and development of possible oral signs and symptoms including lichenoid lesions and xerostomia.
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PMID:Xerostomia and lichenoid reaction in a hepatitis C patient treated with interferon-alpha: a case report. 1908 5

Biliary atresia (BA) is a cholangiodestructive disease affecting biliary tract, which ultimately leads to cirrhosis, liver failure and death if not treated. The incidence is higher in Asian countries than in Europe. Up to 10% of cases have other congenital anomalies, such as polysplenia, asplenia, situs inversus, absence of inferior vena cava and pre-duodenal portal vein, for which we have coined the term Biliary Atresia Splenic Malformation (BASM) syndrome. For these infants the aetiology lies within the first trimester of gestation. For others affected with BA, aetiology is more obscure and perinatal destruction of fully-formed ducts perhaps by the action of hepatotropic viruses has been suggested. Whatever the cause, the lumen of the extrahepatic duct is obliterated at a variable level and this forms the basis for the commonest classification (Types I, II, III). All patients with BA present with varying degree of conjugated jaundice, pale non-pigmented stools and dark urine. Key diagnostic tests include ultrasonography, biochemical liver function tests, viral serology, and (in our centre) a percutaneous liver biopsy. In some centres, duodenal intubation and measurement of intralumenal bile is the norm. Currently BA is being managed in two stages. The first stage involves the Kasai operation, which essentially excises all extrahepatic biliary remnants leaving a transected portal plate, followed by biliary reconstruction using a Roux loop onto that plate as a portoenterostomy. If bile flow is not restored by Kasai procedure or life-threatening complications of cirrhosis ensue then consideration should be given to liver transplantation as a second stage. The outcome following the Kasai operation can be assessed in two ways: clearance of jaundice to normal values and the proportion who survive with their native liver. Clearance of jaundice (<2 mg/dL or <34 micromol/L) after Kasai has been reported to be around 60%, whereas five years survival with native liver ranges from 40% to 65%.
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PMID:Biliary atresia. 2001 67