Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0030567 (Parkinson's disease)
 63,064 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In a 16-year mortality followup of some 293,000 insured U.S. veterans, specific causes of death were studied in relation to smoking status. The main results confirmed earlier findings.Mortality ratios for cigarette smokers as compared with nonsmokers were 1.73 for all causes of death, 1.58 for all cardiovascular diseases, 2.12 for all cancers, and 4.31 for all respiratory diseases. The highest ratios (those greater than 5.0) were observed for cor pulmonale, aortic aneurysm, emphysema and bronchitis, cancer of the pharynx, cancer of the esophagus, cancer of the larynx, and cancer of the lung and bronchus. The greatest excess in deaths in terms of observed numbers minus expected was found for the cardiovascular diseases, in particular for coronary heart disease.Mortality ratios for ex-cigarette smokers who had stopped smoking for reasons other than physicians' orders were much lower compared with nonsmokers than the mortality ratios for current cigarette smokers: 1.21 for all causes, 1.15 for all cardiovascular diseases, 1.39 for all cancers, and 2.08 for all respiratory diseases. For most causes of death, the mortality ratios for ex-cigarette smokers who had stopped smoking for reasons other than physicians' orders varied inversely with the number of years of cessation. For some diseases, the mortality risk for the ex-cigarette smoker returned to normal almost immediately after the cessation of smoking, whereas for others, the return to normal was more gradual. The first group included stroke and the combined category of influenza and pneumonia; the second group included cardiovascular diseases as a whole and coronary heart disease. For still other diseases, although the mortality ratio declined with the length of time smoking was discontinued, substantial excess risks remained even after 20 years of cessation. In this third group were aortic aneurysm, bronchitis and emphysema, and lung cancer-diseases with very high mortality ratios for current cigarette smokers. Parkinson's disease remained the one disease that clearly exhibited a negative association with cigarette smoking.
 ...
PMID:Smoking and causes of death among U.S. veterans: 16 years of observation. 738 6

Low back pain in the elderly has a much wider range of possible causes than in younger patients. In addition to nonspecific mechanical causes, malignancy presenting as back pain occurs more often in older patients. Other systemic and visceral causes of back pain such as polymyalgia rheumatica, aortic aneurysm, Paget disease, Parkinson disease, and osteoporosis with compression fracture occur almost exclusively in persons over age 50. Keys to diagnosis and management of low back pain in older patients are presented.
 ...
PMID:Evaluating back pain in older patients. 998 54

The members of the NOX/DUOX family of NADPH oxidases mediate such physiologic functions as host defense, cell signaling, and thyroid hormone biosynthesis through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, ROS are involved in a broad range of fundamental biochemical and cellular processes, and data accumulated in recent years indicate that the NOX enzymes comprise one of the most important biological sources of ROS. Given the high biochemical reactivity of ROS, it is not surprising that they have been implicated in a wide variety of pathologies and diseases. Prominent among the settings that feature ROS-mediated tissue injury are disorders associated with inflammation, aging, and progressive degenerative changes in cells and organ systems, and it appears that essentially no organ system is exempt. Among the disorders currently believed to be mediated at least in part by NOX-derived ROS are hypertension, aortic aneurysm, myocardial infarction (and other ischemia-reperfusion disorders), pulmonary fibrosis and hypertension, amyotropic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, ischemic stroke, diabetic nephropathy, and renal cell carcinoma. Several small-molecule and peptide inhibitors of the NOX enzymes have been useful in experimental studies, but issues of specificity, potency, and toxicity militate against any of the existing published compounds as candidates for drug development. Given the broad array of disease targets documented in recent work, the time is here for vigorous efforts to develop clinically useful inhibitors of the NOX enzymes. As most (though not all) NOX-related diseases appear to be mediated by a single member of the NOX family, agents with isoform specificity will be preferred, although broadly active NOX inhibitors may prove to be useful in some settings.
 ...
PMID:NOX enzymes as novel targets for drug development. 1850 46

An 80-year-old woman with Parkinson's disease was scheduled for open heart surgery to repair thoracic aortic aneurysm. Parkinson's symptoms were normally treated using oral levodopa (200 mg), selegiline-hydrochloride (5 mg), bromocriptine-mesilate (2 mg), and amantadine-hydrochloride (200 mg) daily. On the day before surgery, levodopa 50mg was infused intravenously. Another 25 mg of levodopa was infused immediately after surgery. Twenty hours later, the patient developed tremors, heyperventilation, but no obvious muscle rigidity. Two days after surgery, the patient exhibited high fever, hydropoiesis, elevated creatine kinase, and a rise in blood leukocytes. She was diagnosed with neuroleptic malignant syndrome. She was intubated, and received dantrolene sodium. Symptoms of neuroleptic malignant syndrome disappeared on the fourth postoperative day. The stress of open heart surgery, specifically extracorporeal circulation and concomitant dilution of levodopa, triggered neuroleptic malignant syndrome in this patient. Parkinson's patients require higher doses of levodopa prior to surgery to compensate and prevent neuroleptic malignant syndrome after surgery.
 ...
PMID:[Case of neuroleptic malignant syndrome following open heart surgery for thoracic aortic aneurysm with parkinson's disease]. 2449 82

A 70-year-old man with severe Parkinson's disease was scheduled for thoracic aortic aneurysm resection and aortic valve replacement. We administered levodopa intravenously during the perioperative period to avoid the malignant syndrome which is reported to arise with abrupt cessation of anti-Parkinson's drugs. The dose of intravenous administration was tapered with the resumption of oral intake. No manifestation of malignant syndrome was observed. We measured blood concentrations of levodopa several times during the perioperative period. The concentration of levodopa during the surgery was relatively high; however no adverse events of overdose (e.g. dyskinesis) occurred. In the postoperative period, administration of levodopa was changed to the oral route and serum levels of levodopa showed a notable decrease, the cause of which may be poor absorption through the digestive system during the perioperative period. Therefore, in the peri- and post-operative periods, it is necessary to take great care when reducing the infusion dose.
 ...
PMID:[Perioperative Management of a Patient with Severe Parkinson's Disease with Intravenous Levodopa Administration]. 2644 21

An association between arteriosclerosis and homocysteine (Hcy) was first demonstrated in 1969. Hcy is a sulfur containing amino acid derived from the essential amino acid methionine (Met). Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) was subsequently shown in several age-related pathologies such as osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Also, Hcy is associated with (but not limited to) cancer, aortic aneurysm, hypothyroidism and end renal stage disease to mention some. The circulating levels of Hcy can be increased by defects in enzymes of the metabolism of Met, deficiencies of vitamins B6, B12 and folate or by feeding Met enriched diets. Additionally, some of the pharmaceuticals currently in clinical practice such as lipid lowering, and anti-Parkinsonian drugs are known to elevate Hcy levels. Studies on supplementation with folate, vitamins B6 and B12 have shown reduction in Hcy levels but concomitant reduction in certain associated pathologies have not been definitive. The enormous importance of Hcy in health and disease is illustrated by its prevalence in the medical literature (e.g. > 22,000 publications). Although there are compelling data in favor of Hcy as a modifiable risk factor, the debate regarding the significance of Hcy mediated health effects is still ongoing. Despite associations between increased levels of Hcy with several pathologies being well documented, whether it is a causative factor, or an effect remains inconclusive. The present review though not exhaustive, is focused on several important aspects of Hcy metabolism and their relevance to health.
 ...
PMID:The metabolism and significance of homocysteine in nutrition and health. 2929 40