Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024523 (malabsorption)
 7,319 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A diagnosis of coeliac disease was confirmed in 57 patients referred to a gastroenterology clinic over a 5 1/2-year period. Although diarrhoea was present in two-thirds of the patients, this was the major symptom leading to referral in less than half of them. When present, diarrhoea was usually intermittent and frequently not typical of steatorrhoea. Symptoms were of less than six months' duration in half the patients, but a review of the past and family history strongly indicated the possibility of coeliac disease in 39 of the 57 patients. A high spontaneous abortion rate during pregnancy was noted. The frequent absence of the classical features of malabsorption, diarrhoea with typical steatorrhoea and chronic debility was noted. All screening tests for malabsorption were found to be unreliable and their routine use was rarely justified. A random serum folate and carotene assay proved as valuable as more expensive and troublesome tests. It is stressed that in any case in which there is a clinical suspicion of this diagnosis, a small intestinal biopsy should be undertaken.
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PMID:The changing clinical presentation of coeliac disease in adults. 55 20

Celiac disease represents one of the most frequent chronic inflammatory diseases. In Italy the prevalence among school-age population has been calculated in 1:180 subjects. Along with typical forms of the disease characterized by overt symptoms and signs of malabsorption, many cases are undiagnosed because they are subclinical, atypical or even symptomless. In adults, the disease may present with infertility; in particular celiac disease may be responsible of multiple abortions. These manifestations, whose pathogenesis is unknown, are not related to the severity of the disease; the gluten-free diet strongly ameliorates the fertility. In this paper we have focused the connection between abortion and celiac disease. A better knowledge of this relationship may lead to correctly diagnose and consequently to treat the cause of some cases of abortion, previously labelled as cases of unidentified origin.
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PMID:[Celiac disease and abortion: focusing on a possible relationship]. 1074 51

3 conditions may be responsible for absence of menstruation in women taking the minipill: pregnancy, extrauterine pregnancy, or endometrial atrophy which is the most frequent cause but should be treated only after the other 2 possibilities are excluded. The most frequent cause of pregnancy while taking minipills is error in pill consumption due to forgetting, but malabsorption due to vomiting less than 2 hours after taking the pill or an interaction with some other medication may be responsible. The possibility of extrauterine pregnancy should be systematically considered, and the possibility that a micropill and not a minipill is involved should be ruled out. With a sequential minipill contraceptive efficacy does not reach 100% but iatrogenic amenorrhea is infrequent because of the strong dose of ethinyl estradiol. In the case of a preexisting amenorrhea that does not respond to the estrogen or progestin dose, a prolactin adenoma may be suspected. After 2 consecutive beta tests of pregnancy 8 days apart have been negative, it may be concluded that endometrial atrophy is the cause of the amenorrhea. Unprotected sexual relations should be avoided and the patient should be given a fast-acting combined oral contraceptive such as Lutestral to induce bleeding, after which the minipill can be resumed. If unprotected intercourse occurs there is a risk of pregnancy since amenorrhea and anovulation are not synonymous. A morning after pill can be used if the unprotected sexual relations occurred within the last 72 hours. If a pill was forgotten or probably forgotten before the emenorrhea, the most prudent attitude would be to consider the pill to have been ineffective during the preceding 21 days and to test for pregnancy. Unprotected intercourse should be avoided, a fast-acting combination pill should be prescribed to induce bleeding, and the minipill should then be resumed. Amenorrhea in the 1st month of use after an abortion is not significant. This secondary effect of the minipill should be explained to the patient to avoid unnecessary worry.
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PMID:[Do's and don'ts in treating amenorrhea in women taking the minipill]. 1226 2

Celiac disease (CD) is a permanent intolerance to gluten characterized by destructions of the small intestinal villi and malabsorption. The gluten-free diet (GFD) results in healing of the mucosa, resolution of the malabsorpitive states, and reversal of great part of CD effects. Among the extradigestive complications associated with CD, unexplained infertility has been reported since the 70's. The prevalence of CD among women with unexplained infertility is 2.5-3.5%, higher, although not always significantly, than control population. To date, it is widely accepted that untreated CD represents a risk for abortion, low birth weight babies and short-breast feeding period. These features can be corrected by GFD. Some discrepancies could stem from the heterogeneity of the studies. Regarding a potential pathogenic mechanism, since CD causes malabsorption of folic acid and other nutrients, this pathway has been proposed to explain the unfavourable outcomes of pregnancy. However, this remains a speculation. In conclusion, each woman with unexplained infertility should be screened for CD.
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PMID:Women and celiac disease: association with unexplained infertility. 1759 43