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

The metabolism of amphetamine was studied in three groups of mice, including normal mice (N), mice given chronic doses of phenobarbital via their drinking water (PB), and mice exposed to carbon tetrachloride vapors daily during the course of chronic phenobarbital consumption (PB/CCl4). Renal and hepatic tissue from animals of each group were examined by electron microscopy. Mice in the PB/CCl4 group demonstrated the classical symptoms of carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic cirrhosis, and structural damage to the kidney. The PB group presented a normal renal pathology, but ultrastructural changes including swollen mitochondria and dilation of the endoplasmic reticulum were evident in the hepatocytes. The N, PB and PB/CCl4 mice excreted 84.5, 61.5 and 72.3 percent respectively of a dose of 14C-amphetamine sulfate in the 0-72 hour urine. Seven major urinary metabolites were detected in the normal group, 4 in PB group, and 3 in the PB/CCl4 group. Unchanged amphetamine, rho-hydroxyamphetamine and benzoic acid were tentatively identified by combined techniques of gas chromatography and thin-layer chromatography with autoradiography.
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PMID:Amphetamine metabolism in mice exposed chronically to phenobarbital and to phenobarbital with carbon tetrachloride. 44 95

The capacity of the liver to metabolize intravenously loaded benzoic acid to hippuric acid was examined in 7 healthy adults and 18 patients with liver cirrhosis. Blood samples were withdrawn at 5 to 120 min after infusion of benzoic acid (15 mg/Kg), and then serum was obtained to determine the contents of the fatty acids by HPLC as well as to examine several pharmacokinetic parameters under a two-compartment model program. The urinary samples were collected at 60 min after the infusion. In the serum of the patient group, the maximum concentration (Cmax) and area under the concentration curve from zero time to the infinity (AUC) for benzoic acid remained in the normal range, but the mean transit time(MRT) and half-life time(T1/2) were significantly delayed. In serum of the patient group, the AUC for hippuric acid was hardly reduced but the Cmax was significantly reduced. Moreover, MRT, T1/2 and time to reach Cmax(Tmax) were significantly delayed. In urine at 60 min after the loading, benzoic acid was below the limit of detection and was recovered as hippuric acid with a recovery rate of 70% in the healthy adult group and 40% in the patient group.
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PMID:[Clinical usefulness of benzoate tolerance test in patients with liver cirrhosis]. 130 35

Benzoate-metabolizing capacity was studied in control subjects and in liver disease patients after intra-venous loading of 15 mg benzoate per kg of body weight. In the 7 control subjects, the mean level (+/- SEM) of Cmax for serum benzoate was 104.1 +/- 6.8 micrograms/ml, AUC was 2.57 +/- 0.32 mg.min/ml, MRT was 21.5 +/- 1.5 min and T1/2 was 15.5 +/- 1.3 min. For serum hippurate, on the other hand, Tmax was 27.9 +/- 6.0 min, Cmax was 33.4 +/- 2.1 micrograms/ml, AUC was 1.96 +/- 0.13 mg.min/ml, MRT was 39.6 +/- 2.9 min and T1/2 was 30.7 +/- 2.4 min. In 12 patients with chronic hepatitis, Cmax, AUC, MRT and T1/2 for benzoate and Tmax, MRT and T1/2 for hippurate remained at control levels, but Cmax and AUC for hippurate were slightly decreased compared to controls. However, in 18 patients with liver cirrhosis, Cmax and AUC for benzoate were in the control range but MRT and T1/2 were significantly delayed (p less than 0.01 for both). Moreover, the MRT value was increased in proportion to the severity of liver disease (p less than 0.01). AUC for hippurate was not changed to any extent, and Tmax, MRT and T1/2 were slightly delayed, while Cmax was significantly reduced. AUC, MRT and T1/2 for benzoate and Tmax, MRT and T1/2 for hippurate showed significant correlation with serum albumin levels, prothrombin time and indocyanine green clearance rate. These results suggest that benzoate-metabolizing capacity, especially as indicated by the MRT value for serum benzoate, appears to be a better index than the indocyanine green clearance rate for determining hepatic functional reserve in chronic liver disease.
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PMID:Clinical significance of benzoate-metabolizing capacity in patients with chronic liver disease: pharmacokinetic analysis. 151 61

It is unclear whether patients with chronic liver disease have impaired pancreatic exocrine function. This study was designed to answer this question. Pancreatic exocrine function was evaluated with pancreatic function diagnostic (PFD) test in 16 patients with chronic hepatitis, 32 patients with liver cirrhosis, and 26 patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and in 26 control subjects. The values of PFD test were significantly lower in both patients with liver cirrhosis (70.5 +/- 10.7%, P < 0.01) and patients with cirrhosis and HCC (68.5 +/- 11.2%, P < 0.01) than in controls (77.8 +/- 6.5%). Although the value was also lower in patients with chronic hepatitis (71.8 +/- 11.4%) than in that in controls, the difference did not reach the level of significance. To evaluate potential effect of the impairment of para-amino-benzoic acid (PABA) absorption on the results of PFD test, we further performed a PABA absorption test in 16 patients with chronic liver disease who had abnormal PFD tests. There were no significant differences of the values of PABA test between control group and any patients groups. These results suggest that patients with chronic liver disease have an abnormal pancreatic exocrine function.
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PMID:Pancreatic exocrine function in patients with chronic liver disease. 971 45

Portal hypertension resulting from increased intrahepatic resistance is a common complication of chronic liver diseases and a leading cause of death in patients with liver cirrhosis, a scarring process of the liver that includes components of both increased fibrogenesis and wound contraction. A reduced production of nitric oxide (NO) resulting from an impaired enzymatic function of endothelial NO synthase and an increased contraction of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) have been demonstrated to contribute to high intrahepatic resistance in the cirrhotic liver. 2-(Acetyloxy) benzoic acid 3-(nitrooxymethyl) phenyl ester (NCX-1000) is a chemical entity obtained by adding an NO-releasing moiety to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a compound that is selectively metabolized by hepatocytes. In this study we have examined the effect of NCX-1000 and UDCA on liver fibrosis and portal hypertension induced by i.p. injection of carbon tetrachloride in rats. Our results demonstrated that although both treatments reduced liver collagen deposition, NCX-1000, but not UDCA, prevented ascite formation and reduced intrahepatic resistance in carbon tetrachloride-treated rats as measured by assessing portal perfusion pressure. In contrast to UDCA, NCX-1000 inhibited HSC contraction and exerted a relaxing effect similar to the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine. HSCs were able to metabolize NCX-1000 and release nitrite/nitrate in cell supernatants. In aggregate these data indicate that NCX-1000, releasing NO into the liver microcirculation, may provide a novel therapy for the treatment of patients with portal hypertension.
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PMID:NCX-1000, a NO-releasing derivative of ursodeoxycholic acid, selectively delivers NO to the liver and protects against development of portal hypertension. 1858 15

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, frequently associated with obesity, can lead to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis. The pathophysiology of NASH is poorly understood, and no effective treatment is available. In view of a potential deleterious role for reactive oxygen species (ROS), we investigated the origin of ROS overproduction in NASH. Mitochondrial production of ROS and its alterations in the presence of antioxidant molecules were studied in livers from ob/ob mice that bear a mutation of the leptin gene and develop experimental NASH. N-acetyl-cysteine and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimics ambroxol, manganese [III] tetrakis (5,10,15,20 benzoic acid) (MnTBAP), and copper [II] diisopropyl salicylate (CuDIPS) were used to target different checkpoints of the oxidative cascade to determine the pathways involved in ROS production. Liver mitochondria from ob/ob mice generated more O(2)*- than those of lean littermates (P <.01). Ex vivo, all three SOD mimics decreased O(2)*- generation (P <.001) and totally inhibited lipid peroxidation (P <.001) versus untreated ob/ob mice. Those modifications were associated with in vivo improvements: MnTBAP and CuDIPS reduced weight (P <.02) and limited the extension of histological liver steatosis by 30% and 52%, respectively, versus untreated ob/ob mice. In conclusion, these data demonstrate deleterious effects of superoxide anions in NASH and point at the potential interest of nonpeptidyl mimics of SOD in the treatment of NASH in humans.
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PMID:Pivotal role of superoxide anion and beneficial effect of antioxidant molecules in murine steatohepatitis. 1512 56

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious but usually reversible neuropsychiatric complication of cirrhosis, inborn errors of metabolism involving disorders of the urea cycle, and noncirrhotic portosystemic shunting that most commonly arises from a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting procedure. Symptoms can include alterations in cognitive function, neuromuscular activity, and consciousness, as well as sleep disorders and mood changes. HE is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and, if not properly treated, will lead to increased hospital admissions and healthcare costs. Although the standard therapies of lactulose and rifaximin (Xifaxan, Salix) are effective for most patients, these drugs may be associated with significant adverse effects and expense and, in some patients, inadequate therapeutic response. A need for adjunctive therapies exists. Drugs that target serum and tissue ammonia metabolism and elimination may be important adjuncts to drugs that reduce ammonia production and absorption from the gastrointestinal tract for patients with severe or persistent overt symptoms of HE. Sodium benzoate is an inexpensive adjunctive agent that can be used in addition to lactulose and rifaximin and may provide an option for some select patients with refractory HE who have failed to respond to standard therapies or who cannot afford them. Although sodium benzoate does not share the same adverse effect profiles of standard therapies for HE, its efficacy has not been well established. Given the significant dose-dependent sodium content of this therapy, it may not be appropriate for patients with significant fluid retention or kidney dysfunction.
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PMID:Sodium benzoate for treatment of hepatic encephalopathy. 2471 66