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)

Congenital and neonatal viral infections usually display their acute manifestations in highly recognisable ways, for example, congenital rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella, human immunodeficiency (HIV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. By contrast, congenital hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may go undetected for years. Some of these are preventable, but what is not immediately apparent is that the long-term consequences are being prevented as well. The long-term consequences of congenital and neonatal infections include endocrine, immunological and cardiovascular disease, deafness, visual problems, intellectual handicap and cerebral palsy. With the survival of HIV-infected infants into adulthood the long-term consequences will soon be described. Maternally and neonatally transmitted HBV infection predisposes to carriage, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in young adults. Neonatal HBV vaccination prevents adult cancer. Acquired viral infections may predispose to subsequent lung disease, malabsorption, fertility problems or neurological disability. In the prevention of acquired rubella, varicella, HBV, influenza, poliovirus, measles and hepatitis A, one should mention the added bonus of preventing secondary cases by preventing transmission from infants and children to other children and adults. Preventing paediatric HSV, HBV and HIV infection in females may even be preventing subsequent transmission to future generations. Turning to paediatric bacterial infections, vaccinating infants and young children against pertussis could not only prevent transmission to older children and adults but also break the cycle, which then transmits from adults back to infants and young children. There is evidence that disease in older age groups, including adults, has been prevented by virtue of herd immunity from paediatric vaccination, e.g. Neisseria meningitidis Group C and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The add-on benefits for other generations, including for adults, arising from the prevention of paediatric infections are considerable.
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PMID:Paediatric infections: prevention of transmission and disease--implications for adults. 1575 76

Differing trajectories of infant and child growth are associated with different patterns of disease and mortality in adulthood. Since postnatal growth patterns are partially modifiable by diet, these associations raise fresh questions about what constitutes an optimal growth rate. We use data from contemporary societies that still suffer poor nutrition and high burdens of infectious disease to illustrate early growth patterns that have likely been typical of our evolutionary past. Pathogenic assault is a major suppressor of growth; populations frequently average -1.0 to -1.5 z scores (standard deviations relative to standard growth curves) for height, and -2.0 to -2.5 z scores for weight, body mass index and head circumference. Many infections are symptomatic (e.g. diarrhea, malaria, pneumonia, HIV), but others are subclinical (e.g. hepatitis B, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, herpes, Helicobacter pylori). The great majority of young children become infected by multiple pathogens which initiate a downward cycle of infection --> suppressed appetite and malabsorption --> reduced growth --> lowered immunity --> repeated infection. Examination of the evolutionary 'norm' for early growth, and the external environmental factors that influenced it, may provide clues towards identifying the current day optimum for growth.
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PMID:Growth and host-pathogen interactions. 1819 53

Growth failure is one of the most common problems in children with thalassemia with multiple etiologies. We present a case of celiac disease, an underdiagnosed cause of growth failure in a child with beta-thalassemia major. A 10-year-old boy on a hypertransfusion regimen was referred for early onset growth failure. Serology for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV was negative. Serum zinc levels were normal. Thyroid function tests and growth hormone secretion, evaluated with clonidine stimulation test were normal. Malabsorption syndrome was suspected, even in the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms. Tissue transglutaminase were highly raised >300 IU/mL (normal values <15 U/L). Characteristic mucosal lesions on jejunal biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of celiac disease. Institution of a gluten-free diet resulted in rapid gain in weight and improvement in height velocity.
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PMID:Celiac disease in a child with beta-thalassemia major: a need for improved screening and awareness. 1913 78