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)

Effects of ethanol on the gastrointestinal tract are reviewed, and an overview of possible mechanisms of ethanol damage to the alimentary tract is presented. Ethanol toxicity most commonly results in metabsorption. Mechanisms contributing to ethanol-induced calcium malabsorption are considered in detail as a prototype for problems encountered in evaluating effects of toxicants on intestinal function. Effects at the local level in the intestine must be differentiated from systemic effects. The mechanism of suppression of calcium absorption by chronic ethanol ingestion differs from that produced by acute administration. Effects of acute administration appear to be due to local mucosal damage and are reversed in 18 hr. Such damage is not present with chronic administration, which affects only duodenal transport. Treatment with vitamin D and its metabolites does not reverse the inhibition of calcium transport. The overall findings suggest that ethanol inhibition of calcium transport is mediated at the intestinal level, probably affecting vitamid D independent mechanisms.
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PMID:Ethanol and development of disease and injury to tha alimentary tract. 59 53

In the United States and other developed countries thiamin deficiency is often related to chronic alcoholism. A number of mechanisms may be involved in the pathogenesis of thiamin deficiency in the alcoholic population. An important cause is inadequate intake of thiamin. Moreover, there may be decreased converstion of thiamin to the active coenzyme, reduced hepatic storage of the vitamin in patients with fatty metamorphosis, ethanol inhibition of intestinal thiamin transport, and impaired thiamin absorption secondary to other states of nutritional deficiency. The present discussion focuses on the mechanism of ethanol-related thiamin malabsorption. Under normal conditions thiamin transport in animals and humans is biphasic. At low or physiological thiamin concentrations, transport is a saturable, carrier-mediated, active process; but at higher concentrations, the transport of thiamin is predominantly passive. Ethanol reduces the rate of intestinal absorption and the net transmural flux of thiamin. Furthermore, ethanol inhibits only the active and not the passive component of thiamin transport by impeding the cellular exit of thiamin across the basolateral or serosal membrane. The impairment of thiamin movement out of the enterocyte correlates with a fall in the activity of Na-K ATPase. Bound to the basolateral membrane, Na-K ATPase is believed to be involved in the kinetics of active transport. Ethanol also increases the fluidity of enterocyte brush border and basolateral membranes. Since ethanol increases membrane fluidity it is possible that tahe impairment of thiamin transport and the diminution of Na-K ATPase activity may be related, at least partly, to a physical perturbation of the enterocyte membrane.
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PMID:Mechanisms of thiamin deficiency in chronic alcoholism. 625 54

Ethanol has important effects on the alimentary tract. Nearly every study in the literature documents some aberration of absorption or metabolism of multiple vital nutrients. Malnutrition related to both poor dietary intake and malabsorption plays an important role in the clinical problems of chronic alcoholics. From a clinical viewpoint, the assessment of nutritional status by standard techniques, including serum assays for vitamins and trace elements may add to the ability to treat the alcoholic for potentially detrimental disorders. Malabsorption of ingested nutrients is common, despite the lack of salient physical findings. Therefore, parenteral administration of nutrients may be advisable, pending the reversal of the exocrine and intestinal mucosal defect. Increasing awareness of such deficiencies may lead to their earlier recognition, appropriate therapy, and prevention of further complications.
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PMID:The effect of alcohol on the human alimentary tract: a review. 635 Apr 22

A 28 year old woman with Hashimoto's disease was treated with desiccated thyroid and triiodothyronine (T3). She improved steadily during the first 2 to 3 months and thyroidal function tests turned to normal. Then, in spite of continuing treatment, her serum T4 level decreased gradually and she became fatigued. A serum T3 radioimmunoassay manifested an interference pattern suggested anti-T3 antibody in her serum. Ethanol-extracted serum T3 and T4 levels were low in spite of ingestion of desiccated thyroid or synthetic T3 and T4, suggesting intestinal malabsorption of T3 and T4. Antibodies against T3 and T4 were identified in her serum; affinity constants were 1.16 X 10(10) and 8.73 X 10(8) l/mol respectively. After treatment with synthetic T3 and/or T4 for 20 months, the titer of anti-T3 and anti-T4 antibodies decreased, and impaired intestinal absorption of thyroid hormone improved. Then, after desiccated thyroid treatment was reinstituted, the anti-T3 antibody titer again increased and intestinal absorption of thyroid hormone decreased. These results suggest the oral immunization against thyroid hormones. There was associated impairment in intestinal absorption of thyroid hormone presumably secondary to the anti-T3 and anti-T4 antibodies.
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PMID:[Impaired intestinal absorption of thyroid hormone in a case of Hashimoto's disease with anti-T3 and anti-T4 antibody]. 689 78

Vitamin A and zinc metabolism are affected both by ethanol and by hepatic cirrhosis. Ethanol causes abnormal dark adaptation by acting as a competitive inhibitor with retinol for alcohol dehydrogenase in the eye. In animals oral ethanol intake results in increased losses of zinc by the urinary and fecal routes. Vitamin A malnutrition in cirrhotics may be caused by poor diet, malabsorption, decreased hepatic vitamin A uptake, and decreased hepatic storage capacity for vitamin A. In some cirrhotic patients zinc deficiency and or protein deficiency may limit the ability to respond to vitamin A. Combined vitamin A and zinc deficiencies are common in cirrhotics and either may result in abnormal dark adaptation or impaired taste and smell. The interaction of these two micro-nutrients must be kept in mind by the clinician caring for alcoholic or alcoholic cirrhotic patients.
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PMID:Vitamin A and zinc metabolism in alcoholism. 700 92

Until the 1960s, liver disease of the alcoholic patient was attributed exclusively to dietary deficiencies. Since then, however, our understanding of the impact of alcoholism on nutritional status has undergone a progressive evolution. Alcohol, because of its high energy content, was at first perceived to act exclusively as 'empty calories' displacing other nutrients in the diet, and causing primary malnutrition through decreased intake of essential nutrients. With improvement in the overall nutrition of the population, the role of primary malnutrition waned and secondary malnutrition was emphasized as a result of a better understanding of maldigestion and malabsorption caused by chronic alcohol consumption and various diseases associated with chronic alcoholism. At the same time, the concept of the direct toxicity of alcohol came to the forefront as an explanation for the widespread cellular injury. Some of the hepatotoxicity was found to result from the metabolic disturbances associated with the oxidation of ethanol via the liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) pathway and the redox changes produced by the generated NADH, which in turn affects the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins and purines. Exaggeration of the redox change by the relative hypoxia which prevails physiologically in the perivenular zone contributes to the exacerbation of the ethanol-induced lesions in zone 3. In addition to ADH, ethanol can be oxidized by liver microsomes: studies over the last twenty years have culminated in the molecular elucidation of the ethanol-inducible cytochrome P450IIE1 (CYP2E1) which contributes not only to ethanol metabolism and tolerance, but also to the selective hepatic perivenular toxicity of various xenobiotics. Their activation by CYP2E1 now provides an understanding for the increased susceptibility of the heavy drinker to the toxicity of industrial solvents, anaesthetic agents, commonly prescribed drugs, 'over the counter' analgesics, chemical carcinogens and even nutritional factors such as vitamin A. Ethanol causes not only vitamin A depletion but it also enhances its hepatotoxicity. Furthermore, induction of the microsomal pathway contributes to increased acetaldehyde generation, with formation of protein adducts, resulting in antibody production, enzyme inactivation and decreased DNA repair; it is also associated with a striking impairment of the capacity of the liver to utilize oxygen. Moreover, acetaldehyde promotes glutathione depletion, free-radical mediated toxicity and lipid peroxidation. In addition, acetaldehyde affects hepatic collagen synthesis: both in vivo and in vitro (in cultured myofibroblasts and lipocytes), ethanol and its metabolite acetaldehyde were found to increase collagen accumulation and mRNA levels for collagen. This new understanding of the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease may eventually improve therapy with drugs and nutrients.
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PMID:Aetiology and pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease. 821 1

Alcohol causes primary malnutrition by displacing nutrients in the diet and secondary malnutrition via malabsorption and cellular injury through direct cytotoxicity. Hepatotoxicity results from metabolic disturbances associated with the oxidation of ethanol via liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and the redox changes produced by the generated NADH (the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), which in turn affects the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and purines. Ethanol is also oxidized in liver microsomes by an ethanol-inducible cytochrome P450, which contributes to the alcoholic's tolerance and his increased vulnerability to the toxicity of industrial solvents, anesthetics, commonly prescribed drugs, over-the-counter analgesics, chemical carcinogens, and retinoids. Increased acetaldehyde generation, with formation of protein adducts, results in antibody production, enzyme inactivation, decreased DNA repair, impaired utilization of oxygen, glutathione depletion, free radical-mediated toxicity, lipid peroxidation, and increased collagen synthesis. Therapy may eventually improve with the use of supernutrients such as S-adenosyl-L-methionine, which replenishes glutathione, restores methylation, and attenuates liver injury, as well as dilinoleoylphosphatidylcholine, which prevents cirrhosis.
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PMID:Herman Award Lecture, 1993: a personal perspective on alcohol, nutrition, and the liver. 823 56

Folates are members of the B-class of vitamins, which are required for the synthesis of purines and pyrimidines, and for the methylation of essential biological substances, including phospholipids, DNA, and neurotransmitters. Folates cannot be synthesized de novo by mammals; hence, an efficient intestinal absorption process is required. Intestinal folate transport is carrier-mediated, pH-dependent and electroneutral, with similar affinity for oxidized and reduced folic acid derivatives. The various transporters, i.e. reduced folate carrier, proton-coupled folate transporter, folate-binding protein, and organic anion transporters, are involved in the folate transport process in various tissues. Any impairment in uptake of folate can lead to a state of folate deficiency, the most prevalent vitamin deficiency in world, affecting 10% of the population in the USA. Such impairments in folate transport occur in a variety of conditions, including chronic use of ethanol, some inborn hereditary disorders, and certain diseases. Among these, ethanol ingestion has been the major contributor to folate deficiency. Ethanol-associated folate deficiency can develop because of dietary inadequacy, intestinal malabsorption, altered hepatobiliary metabolism, enhanced colonic metabolism, and increased renal excretion. Ethanol reduces the intestinal and renal uptake of folate by altering the binding and transport kinetics of folate transport systems. Also, ethanol reduces the expression of folate transporters in both intestine and kidney, and this might be a contributing factor for folate malabsorption, leading to folate deficiency. The maintenance of intracellular folate homeostasis is essential for the one-carbon transfer reactions necessary for DNA synthesis and biological methylation reactions. DNA methylation is an important epigenetic determinant in gene expression, in the maintenance of DNA integrity and stability, in chromosomal modifications, and in the development of mutations. Ethanol, a toxin that is consumed regularly, has been found to affect the methylation of DNA. In addition to its effect on DNA methylation due to folate deficiency, ethanol could directly exert its effect through its interaction with one-carbon metabolism, impairment of methyl group synthesis, and affecting the enzymes regulating the synthesis of S-adenosylmethionine, the primary methyl group donor for most biological methylation reactions. Thus, ethanol plays an important role in the pathogenesis of several diseases through its potential ability to modulate the methylation of biological molecules. This review discusses the underlying mechanism of folate malabsorption in alcoholism, the mechanism of methylation-associated silencing of genes, and how the interaction between ethanol and folate deficiency affects the methylation of genes, thereby modulating epigenome stability and the risk of cancer.
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PMID:New perspectives on folate transport in relation to alcoholism-induced folate malabsorption--association with epigenome stability and cancer development. 1929 60

Folic acid is an essential nutrient that is required for one-carbon biosynthetic processes and for methylation of biomolecules. Deficiency of this micronutrient leads to disturbances in normal physiology of cell. Chronic alcoholism is well known to be associated with folate deficiency which is due, in part to folate malabsorption. The present study deals with the mechanistic insights of reduced folate absorption in pancreas during chronic alcoholism. Male Wistar rats were fed 1 g/kg body weight/day ethanol (20% solution) orally for 3 months and the mechanisms of alcohol associated reduced folate uptake was studied in pancreas. The folate transport system in the pancreatic plasma membrane (PPM) was found to be acidic pH dependent one. The transporters proton coupled folate transporter (PCFT) and reduced folate carrier (RFC) are involved in folate uptake across PPM. The folate transporters were found to be associated with lipid raft microdomain of the PPM. Ethanol ingestion decreased the folate transport by reducing the levels of folate transporter molecules in lipid rafts at the PPM. The decreased transport efficiency of the PPM was reflected as reduced folate levels in pancreas. The chronic ethanol ingestion led to decreased pancreatic folate uptake. The decreased levels of PCFT and RFC expression in rat PPM were due to decreased association of these proteins with lipid rafts (LR) at the PPM.
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PMID:Biochemical and molecular mechanisms of folate transport in rat pancreas; interference with ethanol ingestion. 2216 44

Alcoholism has been associated with growth impairment, osteomalacia, delayed fracture healing, and aseptic necrosis (primarily necrosis of the femoral head), but the main alterations observed in the bones of alcoholic patients are osteoporosis and an increased risk of fractures. Decreased bone mass is a hallmark of osteoporosis, and it may be due either to decreased bone synthesis and/or to increased bone breakdown. Ethanol may affect both mechanisms. It is generally accepted that ethanol decreases bone synthesis, and most authors have reported decreased osteocalcin levels (a "marker" of bone synthesis), but some controversy exists regarding the effect of alcohol on bone breakdown, and, indeed, disparate results have been reported for telopeptide and other biochemical markers of bone resorption. In addition to the direct effect of ethanol, systemic alterations such as malnutrition, malabsorption, liver disease, increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, alcoholic myopathy and neuropathy, low testosterone levels, and an increased risk of trauma, play contributory roles. The treatment of alcoholic bone disease should be aimed towards increasing bone formation and decreasing bone degradation. In this sense, vitamin D and calcium supplementation, together with biphosphonates are essential, but alcohol abstinence and nutritional improvement are equally important. In this review we study the pathogenesis of bone changes in alcoholic liver disease and discuss potential therapies.
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PMID:Bone changes in alcoholic liver disease. 2601 41


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