Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0033774 (pruritus)
 14,546 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We report here the long-term toleration of treatment with a highly purified human leukocyte alpha-interferon (Interferon Alfanative) in patients with midgut carcinoid tumours with liver metastases. During an 18-month period, 13 consecutive patients with this diagnosis commenced treatment with a-interferon. Five patients died during the first 2 years of treatment due to tumour progression, and in 2 patients the treatment with a-interferon had to be stopped due to severe adverse effects (mainly joint pain and tiredness). Hence, 6 patients tolerated the treatment for a long-term period (greater than 2 years), and in these patients the treatment has continued for more than 3 years; in 3 of them for more than 4 years. In these 6 patients, adverse effects of mild or moderate degree have been observed in 2 patients: itching and hair loss in one and joint pain and hair loss in another. Except for a significant reduction in the blood number of WBC and thrombocytes (although in no patient did leukocytopenia or thrombocytopenia develop) and the development of hypothyroidism in one patient, no biochemical tests have shown significant changes during the long-term treatment. In these 6 patients, objective tumour regression has been observed in 2 patients, stable disease in 3 patients and progression in 1 patient. We conclude that, of the patients initiated on treatment with a-interferon for midgut carcinoids with liver metastases, only approximately 50% are still on the treatment after 2 years. These patients, on the other hand, may continue for a longer period of time with a low degree of adverse effects.
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PMID:Tolerance to long-term treatment of malignant midgut carcinoid with a highly purified human leukocyte alpha-interferon. 162 46

The National Biotherapy Study Group (NBSG) conducted a broad phase II trial using interleukin-2 (IL-2) by continuous infusion and alpha interferon (IFN) subcutaneously in 267 patients with a variety of advanced cancers, including 29 with breast cancer, 89 with renal cancer, and 69 with melanoma. IL-2 [18 million international units (MIU)/m2] was given by continuous infusion for 108 hours with 3 mu/m2 subcutaneous IFN every other day during the IL-2 infusion. The patients were treated for 1 week followed by a 2-week rest. After two cycles of treatment, patients were evaluated for response. Of the 237 patients evaluable for response, 20 (8%) had a complete or partial response and 128 (54%) were stable. Therefore, 62% of the evaluable patients were nonprogressive during the first 90 days of IL-2/IFN therapy. The objective response rate was 11% in melanoma, 7% in renal cancer, 14% in breast cancer, and 3% in patients with a variety of malignancies for an overall response rate of 7% in these patients with advanced cancer. The patients were treated on a general medical ward and tolerated treatment well with fatigue and fever being nearly universal. Dyspnea, pruritus, chills, and elevated creatinines were frequent but less common. This combination biotherapy regimen has minimal activity in a variety of advanced cancers and must be compared with the best existing chemotherapy for each cancer type in randomized, prospective trials.
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PMID:Combination biotherapy utilizing interleukin-2 and alpha interferon in patients with advanced cancer: a National Biotherapy Study Group Trial. 162 72

We report a case of intestinal capillariasis in a 32-year-old Italian man. After he made a trip to Indonesia that lasted approximately one month, he developed heartburn, abdominal pain, irregular bowel movements, headache, fatigue, weight loss, low-grade fever, and severe itching. The diagnosis was provided by the recovery of Capillaria philippinensis eggs in the stool. Treatment with oral albendazole, 200 mg twice a day for 21 days, resulted in clinical and parasitologic cure. This is the first report of C. philippinensis infection acquired in Indonesia.
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PMID:Intestinal capillariasis (Capillaria philippinensis) acquired in Indonesia: a case report. 163 74

Symptoms as an important sign of the effects of methyl bromide were studied in 56 male workers (37 currently exposed and 19 previously exposed) in a methyl bromide factory. The workers were 18 to 62 yr of age (mean age: 41) and were exposed from 1 to 25 yr (mean: 7 yr). They were compared to 56 age-matched referents with a standardized questionnaire. The results of pairwise comparison of the symptoms of the age-matched pairs of exposed and referent subjects showed that the occurrence of dizziness, numbness, paresthesia and weakness of extremities, nightmares, fatigue and dry and scaly skin was statistically significantly higher among the workers than among the referents. When the symptoms during the work shift (acute symptoms) were compared, irritation symptoms such as itching, bullae or reddish swollen hands and runny noses with nasal irritation were reported significantly more often in the exposed groups. The correlation of the symptoms among the exposed workers suggested that chronic symptoms are closely related to acute irritation symptoms and exposure duration. The results suggest that symptom inquiry is useful for detecting the possible effects of exposure to methyl bromide.
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PMID:Symptoms among workers with long-term exposure to methyl bromide. An epidemiological study. 165 69

This double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group study was undertaken in 40 patients with seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis during the 1990 hay fever season. The patients were randomized and treated for seven days with either 120 mg terfenadine or 10 mg loratadine, each drug taken once daily in the morning. The severity of nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasopharyngeal itching, and itchy, watery, red eyes was evaluated before and at the end of treatment. The global severity of symptoms was ranked daily by the patient on a diary card. Both treatment groups experienced a significant improvement of symptoms after treatment (p < 0.01), without any significant difference between the two study drugs. Terfenadine and loratadine significantly improved symptom severity by 69 and 55% compared with the baseline values, respectively. Headache and fatigue were reported in three loratadine-treated patients, and sedation in one patient. No side effects were observed in patients receiving terfenadine. This study confirmed that terfenadine 120 mg once daily is a safe and effective treatment for hay fever.
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PMID:Comparative effects of terfenadine and loratadine in the treatment of hay fever. 166 95

Initial symptoms in a hitherto healthy 23-year-old man were jaundice (bilirubin 21.7 mg/dl) and pruritus, but extensive radiological, endoscopical, microbiological and laboratory investigations failed to reveal the cause. Stool culture positive for Salmonella agona suggested intrahepatic cholestasis resulting from a Salmonella cholangitis. However, antibiotic treatment was not successful. As he was in generally good health the patient declined further investigations. He returned two years later because of fatigue, lack of appetite and weight loss. Further tests now revealed lymphogranulomatosis in stage IVb of the nodular sclerosing type. The case demonstrates that cholestasis as an isolated early symptom of Hodgkin's disease can precede by years any further signs of the disease.
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PMID:[Icteric cholestasis as an early symptom in Hodgkin's disease]. 169 16

A case of right ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy associated with primary biliary cirrhosis is described. The patient was a middle aged woman, who initially complained of fatigue and itching. The diagnosis of primary biliary cirrhosis was made based on clinical, biochemical and histological evidence of the disease. Seven years later severe right-sided heart failure developed. The diagnosis of right ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy was made based on echocardiographic and angiographic evidence of a globally dilated and poorly contracting right ventricle. Left ventricular function was within normal limits. Autoimmune serology screening at this time revealed the presence of organ-specific cardiac antibody (titre 1/20) and of antinuclear antibody (titre 1/80) by indirect immunofluorescence. There were no findings of mitochondrial antibody or other non-organ specific or organ-specific antibodies. Overall, this assessment demonstrates autoimmunity in both hepatic and heart muscle disease in a patient with primary biliary cirrhosis and right ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy.
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PMID:Right ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy associated with primary biliary cirrhosis. 178 56

To evaluate the consequences of receiving human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-seropositive blood, 90 HIV-1-seronegative recipients of HIV-1-seropositive blood (case patients) and 90 HIV-1-seronegative recipients of HIV-1-seronegative blood, matched for age, sex, number of transfusions, diagnosis, and severity of illness (controls), were followed for 12 months after transfusion at Mama Yemo Hospital in Kinshasa, Zaire. Of case patients and controls, 72% were children transfused for anemia caused by malaria. Of the 46 case patients case patients alive 6 months after transfusion and for whom HIV-1 serologic results were obtained, 44 (96%) had seroconverted. Significantly more case patients (47%) than controls (16%) died within 1 year after transfusion (P less than .001). In the first 3 months after transfusion, fatigue, diarrhea, fever, cough, pruritus, pallor, oral candidiasis, polyadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and rhinorrhea were observed more often among seroconverters than controls (P less than .04). Six percent of case patients and no controls had developed clinical AIDS after 12 months of follow-up. These findings underscore the urgent need for appropriate HIV screening facilities in transfusion centers worldwide.
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PMID:Seroconversion rate, mortality, and clinical manifestations associated with the receipt of a human immunodeficiency virus-infected blood transfusion in Kinshasa, Zaire. 186 35

In a pilot study 5 females with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), histological stages I-III, were treated with methotrexate (7.5-15.0 mg by mouth weekly) for 15 months. Pruritus and fatigue decreased in 3 patients and cholestyramine could be reduced or discontinued. The concentration of alkaline phosphatase decreased significantly until the 6th month of treatment (P less than 0.002), but only after the methotrexate dosage had been increased to 15 mg weekly. However, the improvement in cholestasis parameters persisted until the end of the period of observation in only 3 patients in stages I and II. In only one case, initially in stage III with increased serum bilirubin concentration of 3.5 mg/dl, was there a change in the histological stage, to stage IV, after treatment. These preliminary results indicate that methotrexate can influence the symptoms and cholestasis enzymes in the early stages of PBC. Controlled studies should therefore only be conducted on anicteric patients in an early stage of the disease.
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PMID:[Methotrexate in the therapy of primary biliary cirrhosis]. 188 74

Nine women with symptomatic precirrhotic primary biliary cirrhosis have been treated with oral pulse methotrexate, 15 mg/wk, for 12-34 months. Three women had pruritus, two fatigue, and four pruritus and fatigue. Itching disappeared and fatigue lessened or disappeared in all within 4-11 months after starting methotrexate. All who itched were able to discontinue cholestyramine (five) or antihistamines (two). Biochemical tests of liver function improved in all patients and then worsened in three when methotrexate was discontinued or the dose lowered. Mean serum alkaline phosphatase decreased from 471 to 171 U/L (P less than 0.01), serum bilirubin from 0.99 to 0.59 mg/dL (P less than 0.05), and serum alanine aminotransferase from 132 to 61 U/L (P = 0.02), and serum cholesterol fell from 265 to 213 mg/dL (NS). The decrease in serum cholesterol was significant, P = 0.05, if data were used just from the six women whose baseline serum cholesterol levels were elevated. Serum albumin remained normal in all. The serum bilirubin levels became normal in three of four patients with elevated levels. The serum alkaline phosphatase levels became normal in four patients and the alanine aminotransferase levels in three. Liver histology improved in five patients and was stable in the remaining four based on a quantitative evaluation of coded liver biopsy specimens. The improvement in histology was primarily due to decreased portal inflammation and bile duct injury. The titer of antimitochondrial antibody decreased in seven patients. The data suggest that methotrexate may be effective treatment for precirrhotic primary biliary cirrhosis. Controlled trials are needed to evaluate long-term efficacy and toxicity.
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PMID:Treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis with low-dose weekly methotrexate. 193 16


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