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)

The somatosensory evoked potentials from the lower extremities were measured postoperatively in 15 patients with biliary atresia to investigate whether they were free of neurologic dysfunction. Because long-standing cholestasis causes progressive neuropathy due to malabsorption of vitamin E, the serum vitamin E, D, and A levels were also examined to evaluate the fat-soluble vitamin status. The cerebral evoked potentials to posterior tibial nerve stimulation were recorded in all 15 patients as well as in 45 controls, but spinal evoked potentials examined at the level of the cauda equina could not be recorded in five patients more than 8 years of age with long-standing icterus. The remaining 10 patients exhibited spinal evoked potentials as observed in the controls, but the mean neural conduction velocity at the cauda equina was significantly lower than that of the 45 controls (42.0 +/- 5.1 m/s vs 52.3 +/- 6.8 m/s, P = .0002). The serum vitamin E, D, and A levels were within the normal range in 13, 9, and 1 of 15 patients, respectively. These results suggest that the patients with long-term follow-up are still at risk of developing neural disturbances even with normal serum vitamin E status.
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PMID:Evoked potential abnormalities in postoperative patients with biliary atresia. 916 10

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are important for the growth and early development of the central nervous system. Cholestatic infants suffer from fat malabsorption and disturbed lipid metabolism and therefore may be at risk of developing polyunsaturated fatty acid depletion. The aims of this study were to determine essential fatty acid status in cholestatic infants and to study the relationship to disease severity, degree of undernutrition, antioxidant status and mode of feeding. Twenty-four-hour dietary records were obtained in 34 cholestatic infants, and measurements were taken of skin fold thicknesses, bilirubin levels, activities of serum alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, prothrombin time, serum concentrations of albumin, bile acids, total lipids, phospholipids, cholesterol, vitamins A and E, the fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids and plasma lipid peroxides expressed as thiobarbiturate reactive substance (TBARS). Plasma phospholipid fatty acids and TBARS were also determined in 12 age-matched healthy control infants. The cholestatic patients had very low percentage values of phospholipid essential fatty acids, particularly linoleic acid ( 18:2omega-6, median 14.74% vs 20.76% in controls, p < 0.001) and its major metabolite arachidonic acid (20:4omega-6, 6.80 vs 7.87%, p=0.04). The patients' essential fatty acid depletion was reflected by increased levels of the non-essential fatty acids, Mead acid (20:3omega-9, 0.74 vs 0.21%, p < 0.001) and palmitoleic acid (16:1omega-7, 2.20 vs 0.43%, p < 0.001). Polyunsaturated fatty acid profiles did not differ between infants with biliary atresia (n=13) and those with intrahepatic cholestasis (n=21), or between 17 infants with severe malnutrition (all skin folds < 10th percentile) and mild malnutrition (at least two skin folds > 10th percentile). TBARS were significantly higher in cholestatic patients than in controls (2.74 vs 0.85 nmol ml(-1), p < 0.001) and correlated with direct (r=0.41, p=0.02) and total bilirubin. The daily dietary intake of linoleic acid (per 100 kcal) correlated with plasma phospholipid linoleic acid (r=0.38,p=0.037) and total omega-6 fatty acids (r=0.38,p=0.036). Breastfed cholestatic infants (n=6) had higher values of the omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids docosapentanoic acid (22:5omega-3, 0.47 vs 0.28%, p=0.0006) and docosahexanoic acid (22:6omega-3, 2.39 vs 1.73%, p=0.01) than formula-fed infants, while disease severity was similar in the two groups. In conclusion, cholestatic infants are at high risk of essential fatty acid depletion, which appears to be related to fat malabsorption, hepatic essential fatty metabolism, enhanced lipid peroxidation and dietary intake.
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PMID:Essential fatty acid metabolism in infants with cholestasis. 956 34

Bile acids normally undergo enterohepatic circulation. When this circulation is interrupted, bile acids enter the colon in increased concentrations. Here, they produce Cl- secretion by a calcium- and cyclic AMP-dependent mechanism, resulting in diarrhea. Cholestasis may lead to serum bile acid concentrations high enough to produce colonic secretion by serosal surface effects. When resection or disease interferes with ileal function, the resulting diarrhea can be clearly attributed to bile acid malabsorption. In other states, such as postcholecystectomy diarrhea and idiopathic bile acid diarrhea, the role of bile acids is less well defined. 23-75Selena-25-homotaurocholic acid provides a way of tracing the metabolism of bile acids and their enterohepatic circulation in vivo. Metabolized similarly to natural bile acids, its circulation is easily traced by scintigraphy. Barium x-rays, serum concentrations of bile acids or bile acid intermediates, and tests of vitamin B12 absorption provide indirect measures of ileal function. Careful history and examination combined with one of many the available tests of ileal function allow a diagnosis. A therapeutic trial with a bile acid binding resin confirms the impression and treats the diarrhea.
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PMID:Bile acid diarrhea. 957 77

A 46-year old nurse complaining of multiple hematomas including bleeding into the tongue was referred for hemostasis evaluation. A very low Quick percentage value, i.e. a severely prolonged prothrombin time with severely depressed vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors (FII:C, FVII:C, FX:C) and normal FV:C and fibrinogen level was found. In the absence of cholestasis, malabsorption and broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, ingestion of vitamin K antagonists was suspected. Three years previously, she had been on oral anticoagulant treatment with phenprocoumon (Marcoumar) for postoperative pulmonary embolism. She denied having voluntarily ingested anticoagulant drugs. A high plasma level of coumarins was found. To exclude accidental ingestion, the patient's son living in the same household was tested as well. Surprisingly, a low level of coumarin was found also in his plasma. We suspect that the patient voluntarily intoxicated herself and gave a low dose of coumarin anticoagulant to her son as well.
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PMID:[46-year-old woman with multiple hematomas and bleeding of the base of the tongue: phenprocoumon poisoning]. 1051 30

Bile acids, the water-soluble, amphipathic end products of cholesterol metabolism, are involved in liver, biliary, and intestinal disease. Formed in the liver, bile acids are absorbed actively from the small intestine, with each molecule undergoing multiple enterohepatic circulations before being excreted. After their synthesis from cholesterol, bile acids are conjugated with glycine or taurine, a process that makes them impermeable to cell membranes and permits high concentrations to persist in bile and intestinal content. The relation between the chemical structure and the multiple physiological functions of bile acids is reviewed. Bile acids induce biliary lipid secretion and solubilize cholesterol in bile, promoting its elimination. In the small intestine, bile acids solubilize dietary lipids promoting their absorption. Bile acids are cytotoxic when present in abnormally high concentrations. This may occur intracellularly, as occurs in the hepatocyte in cholestasis, or extracellularly, as occurs in the colon in patients with bile acid malabsorption. Disturbances in bile acid metabolism can be caused by (1) defective biosynthesis from cholesterol or defective conjugation, (2) defective membrane transport in the hepatocyte or ileal enterocyte, (3) defective transport between organs or biliary diversion, and (4) increased bacterial degradation during enterohepatic cycling. Bile acid therapy involves bile acid replacement in deficiency states or bile acid displacement by ursodeoxycholic acid, a noncytotoxic bile acid. In cholestatic liver disease, administration of ursodeoxycholic acid decreases hepatocyte injury by retained bile acids, improving liver tests, and slowing disease progression. Bile acid malabsorption may lead to high concentrations of bile acids in the colon and impaired colonic mucosal function; bile acid sequestrants provide symptomatic benefit for diarrhea. A knowledge of bile acid physiology and the perturbations of bile acid metabolism in liver and digestive disease should be useful for the internist.
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PMID:The continuing importance of bile acids in liver and intestinal disease. 1059 55

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a presumed autoimmune disease of the liver, which predominantly affects women once over the age of 20 years. Most cases are diagnosed when asymptomatic (60%). The antimitochondrial antibody is present in serum in most, but not in all, patients with PBC. The disease generally progresses slowly but survival is less than an age- and gender-matched general population. The symptomatic patient may have fatigue, generalized pruritus, portal hypertension, osteoporosis, skin xanthomata, fat soluble vitamin deficiencies, and/or recurrent asymptomatic urinary tract infections. Many nonhepatic autoimmune diseases are found in association with PBC and may prompt initial presentation. To date, immunosuppressive therapy has not been shown to prolong survival in PBC. The hydrophilic bile acid, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), has been shown when given in a dose of 13 to 15 mg/kg daily for up to 4 years to delay the time to liver transplantation or death. This therapy also causes a significant improvement of all the biochemical markers of cholestasis but has no beneficial effects on any of the symptoms or associated disorders. Treatment with UDCA does not obviate the need for liver transplantation. Therapies to prevent complications arising from malabsorption, portal hypertension, and/or osteoporosis are required as well. Good control of pruritus can be achieved in most patients. PBC is diagnosed with increasing frequency, but the agent(s) responsible for this slowly progressive destruction of the interlobular bile ducts remains elusive and hence a specific therapy remains unavailable.
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PMID:Management of primary biliary cirrhosis. The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases practice guidelines. 1073 59

Cholestasis is decrease or absence of bile flow into the duodenum. It can be either or in combination pathology of hepatocytes, intrahepatic bile ducts or extrahepatic bile ducts. Hepatocyte with their bile secretory apparatus and tight junction between hepatocytes are of specific importance in this. Bile is formed by several different energy-dependent transport processes. Secretion of bile is a complex metabolic process, which depends upon multiple structural and functional components in the hepatocytes and bile duct cells. The regulation of bile flow is regulated by many hormones. Bile is secreted in bile ducts having pressure of 15-25 cm of water. Rise in pressure in these bile ducts of more than 35 cm of water result suppression of bile flow and jaundice. A rise of conjugated serum bilirubin above the value of 400-500 mumol/L finds an alternate excretory pathway like urine. Various conditions are responsible for infantile cholestasis and can have different outcome of chronic cholestasis. These can be extrahepatic or intrahepatic and acute or chronic. Pathological consequences of infantile cholestasis are mainly because of malabsorption of fat and fat-soluble vitamins and hepatocellular dysfunctions. A battery of tests are required to diagnose the early infantile cholestasis. In the management of cholestasis diet rich in MCT is needed. Further, a high caloric intake up to 200 kcal/day to get adequate weight gain is desirable. Phototherapy, phenobarbitone and rifampicin is helpful in the pruritus of cholestasis by enhancing the excretion of bile. Ursodeoxycholic acid is specifically helpful in the cholestasis. A number of anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive agents and a new compound, FK 506 has specific role in the management.
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PMID:Infantile cholestasis--advances in its understanding: new concepts. 1091 May 52

Alagille syndrome (AGS) is frequently associated with growth failure, which has been attributed to concurrent congenital anomalies, cholestasis, and malabsorption and/or malnutrition. However, the underlying cause of the growth failure is not well understood. Our objective is to analyze the growth pattern in 26 patients with AGS and the possible effect that orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) may have on this pattern. The standardized height, weight, and growth velocity of 26 pair-matched patients with AGS were compared. Thirteen patients underwent OLT. Repeated-measure ANOVA methods were used for the statistical analysis. The overall mean standardized height (z score) was -2.92 in the OLT group versus -1.88 in the non-OLT group (P =.03). The overall mean standardized weight was -1. 21 in the non-OLT group and -1.67 in the OLT group (P =.23). In 15 patients, birth weight was 2.82 +/- 0.4 kg, for a mean standardized weight of -0.95, and weight at diagnosis was 4.53 +/- 2.12 kg, for a mean standardized weight of -1.56. Bone age was delayed in the 9 patients who underwent bone-age analysis. Growth hormone therapy administered to 2 patients did not improve growth. Patients with AGS had growth failure secondary to other factors in addition to liver disease. Growth failure beginning in the prenatal period supports a genetic basis for this feature. Growth improvement up to normal levels should not be expected as a benefit of OLT in these patients. Growth failure as a primary indication for OLT should be cautiously examined in patients with AGS.
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PMID:Does liver transplantation affect growth pattern in Alagille syndrome? 1098 57

Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are common in patients with liver diseases. The pathogenesis of protein-energy malnutrition in cirrhosis involves many factors, including poor oral intake, malabsorption, and metabolic abnormalities similar to stress. Encephalopathy may complicate cirrhosis but is usually not caused by diet. Protein restriction is only necessary in rare patients with refractory encephalopathy. The use of branched-chain amino-acid solutions is not supported by the literature. Chronic liver diseases without cirrhosis are not usually associated with protein-energy malnutrition, but vitamin and mineral deficiencies are common, especially with significant cholestasis. Fatty liver may result from excessive triglyceride uptake and production by the liver or by a secretory defect. Therapy for fatty liver depends on its cause. Chronic total parenteral nutrition may induce fatty liver and inflammation especially in patients with short-bowel syndrome. Deficiency of choline in parenteral nutrition has been proposed as the mechanism for liver disease. Acute liver diseases such as fulminant hepatic failure or alcoholic hepatitis are considered hypercatabolic diseases and thus require prompt nutritional intervention with a high-calorie enteral or parenteral formula. In fulminant hepatic failure, low-protein, fluid-restricted formulas are recommended.
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PMID:Nutrition and liver diseases. 1098 Sep 70

Nutritional support to patients in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units is critical not only to minimize negative nitrogen balance but also to promote growth and development. Continuous technological and logistical advances in the Western countries have improved the efficacy and reduced the complications of parenteral nutrition (PN) to the extent that despite the constraints of cost and infrastructure, PN is now fast growing in India. Although widespread availability is very much desired, it is important that the technique is developed with considerable expertise and used judiciously with full knowledge of its indications, limitations, dangers and benefits. Indications for PN include surgical conditions (short gut syndrome), very low birth weight infants (particularly with necrotizing enterocolitis and surgical anomalies), malabsorption syndromes, conditions requiring bowel rest (acute pancreatitis, severe ulcerative colitis and necrotizing enterocolitis) and several non-gastrointestinal indications (end stage liver disease, renal failure, multiple trauma and extensive burns). Provision of PN is associated with significant and sometimes life threatening complications. The possible complications are technical (thrombosis, perforation of vein, thrombophlebitis), infections, metabolic disturbances, hepatobiliary stenosis, cholestasis, fibrosis, cirrhosis or cholelithiasis and bone related complications like osteopenia and fractures. Meticulous monitoring is necessary not only to detect complications but also to document clinical benefit.
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PMID:Pediatric parenteral nutrition in India. 1113 60


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