Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Ferriprotoporphyrin IX (FP) is released from hemoglobin by oxidative denaturation or by proteolytic degradation. FP added exogenously to cells or released intracellularly is a lytic toxin. Chloroquine enhances the accumulation of exogenous FP in cellular membranes and potentiates its lytic effect. Menadione is an example of an oxidant drug that denatures hemoglobin, releases FP intracellularly, and thereby lyses cells. Chloroquine increases the accumulation of FP in the membranes of menadione-treated erythrocytes and enhances the hemolysis induced by menadione. Intraerythrocytic malaria parasites release FP from hemoglobin by proteolytic degradation, but they ordinarily survive the exposure either because FP interacts with a soluble intracellular substance, which renders it nontoxic, or because FP is sequestered in an innocuous, insoluble form in malaria pigment. Chloroquine binds tightly to FP, diverts it away from the soluble detoxifying substance in malaria parasites, and delays its sequestration into malarial pigment. Malaria parasites exposed to chloroquine while degrading hemoglobin accumulate a chloroquine-FP complex, which is sufficiently toxic to kill them. FP has a detergent-like effect on biological membranes which may account for its lytic toxicity.
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PMID:Ferriprotoporphyrin IX: a mediator of the antimalarial action of oxidants and 4-aminoquinoline drugs. 638 10

Onyalai is an acquired immune thrombocytopenia with 10% mortality. Conservative measures such as traditional medicines, corticosteroids and blood transfusion have not always controlled severe bleeding or prevented death. Five patients (2 male, 3 female) with onyalai who had uncontrollable haemorrhage, thrombocytopenia and documented previous attacks of severe bleeding, underwent splenectomy. The patients were screened for malaria, sickle-cell anaemia and bilharzia. Vitamin K and epsilon-aminocaproic acid were administered pre-operatively, and fresh blood was given during surgery. The duration of follow-up varied between 280 and 544 days. There were no operative complications. Bleeding stopped in all patients and the platelet counts increased within 24 hours. All achieved normal platelet counts, but these were not always sustained. Three patients remained free of disease with normal platelet counts up to days 539, 539 and 544 of follow-up. Two patients had a recurrence of bleeding and died from cerebral haemorrhage and haemorrhagic shock.
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PMID:Splenectomy in onyalai. A report on 5 cases. 649 94

Red Lapacho (Tabebuia impetiginosa, syn. Tabebuia avellanedae), a canopy tree indigenous to the Amazonian rainforest and other parts of South America, has been acclaimed to be one of the "miraculous" cures for cancer and tumours. For the first time, during the 1960s, it attracted considerable attention in Brazil and Argentina as a 'wonder drug'. Traditionally, the botanical drug is widely used in local and traditional phytomedicine, usually ingested as a decoction prepared from the inner bark of the tree to treat numerous conditions like bacterial and fungal infections, fever, syphilis, malaria, trypanosomiasis, as well as stomach and bladder disorders. As early as 1873, biomedical uses of Red Lapacho ("Pau D'Arco") were reported. In 1967 after reports in the Brazilian press it came back to the light of clinicians (and the public in general). The news magazine O'Cruzeiro started reporting "miraculous" cures in cancer patients in a hospital. Natural sciences interest in the plant also began in the 1960s when the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI) systematically began researching plant extracts all over the world looking for active compounds against cancer and looked at Tabebuia impetiginosa in considerable detail. Two main bioactive components have been isolated from Tabebuia impetiginosa: lapachol and beta-lapachone. beta-Lapachone is considered to be the main anti-tumour compound, and pro-apoptotic effects were observed in vitro. Some mechanistic studies on this compound's molecular effects have been conducted. The other main constituents isolated from Red Lapacho are also reviewed briefly. The drug appears to be generally safe and one of the most important interactions of Tabebuia impetiginosa has been associated with interference in the biological cycle of Vitamin K in the body. The botanical (drug) material available on the international markets seems to be of varying quality and composition, making a specific assessment of the products' therapeutic claims problematic. This also highlights the need for appropriate analytical techniques, which are reviewed as well. The bioscientific evidence for products derived from Tabebuia impetiginosa is insufficient and one of the core challenges of future research will be--based on the recognition of the drug's widespread use--to establish appropriate quality control procedures. Further research into the clinical effects and the pharmacology of chemically characterized extracts is also warranted.
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PMID:Red Lapacho (Tabebuia impetiginosa)--a global ethnopharmacological commodity? 1899 1

Not all clinicians give vitamin K to severe malaria patients with systemic bleeding. Vitamin K injections may not be useful to stop bleeding in severe malaria patients with predominant hepatocellular jaundice. However, vitamin K may be justified in bleeding patients who have prolonged fasting of more than 3-7 days, underlying malnutrition, or predominant cholestatic jaundice. The decision to give vitamin K to severe malaria patients with systemic bleeding should be based on underlying diseases, type of jaundice, risk for vitamin K deficiency, and allergy to the drug.
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PMID:Vitamin K injection in spontaneous bleeding and coagulopathy in severe malaria: pros and cons. 2057 36