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 investigated the effects of once-daily oral administration of 10 mg/kg ursodeoxycholic acid (generic name, ursodiol) on elevated serum enzyme activities, bilirubin, cholesterol, bile acids and symptoms in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. A 30-mo, open-label, pilot trial was designed to cover four periods: (a) 3 mo of pretreatment observation (period 1), (b) 6 mo on ursodiol (period 2), (c) 3 mo withdrawal of treatment (period 3) and (d) 18 mo of extended retreatment (period 4). Diagnosis was confirmed by cholangiography and liver biopsy specimens. We enrolled 12 patients with persistently elevated pretreatment alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyltransferase levels (at least twice the upper limit of normal), and observed them for a median of 37 mo. Significant reductions in serum total cholesterol levels and in serum enzyme activities indicating cholestasis and hepatocellular injury occurred during ursodiol treatment in both treatment periods 2 and 4 and relapsed with treatment interruption in period 3. Elevated serum bilirubin and symptoms of disabling fatigue, pruritus and diarrhea were improved by ursodiol. Improvements have continued after 2 yr of treatment in 10 patients (1 patient had a transplantation after he relapsed on withdrawal of ursodiol therapy; another died of postoperative complications of colon resection for carcinoma). No other cases of clinical deterioration were observed in the retreatment period. The longer term reductions of alkaline phosphatase, transaminases, bilirubin and cholesterol after 2 yr of treatment were even greater than the initial reductions after 6 mo of treatment. These results justify initiation of larger, controlled clinical trials, with serial morphological evaluations of the liver and biliary tree.
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PMID:Ursodeoxycholic acid for the treatment of primary sclerosing cholangitis: a 30-month pilot study. 193 90

Components in the insect venom and probably also in their saliva may have direct toxic effects or may cause sensitization and may result in allergic reactions to subsequent stings. In Denmark, only the stings of honey bees and wasps (yellow jackets) are of clinical significance and it is important to be aware that these insects contain separate allergenic components. Clinical manifestations following stings are observed from all of the organ systems on the whole. The commonest are itching of the skin, urticaria, possibly angioedema and slight generalized symptoms with vertigo, headache and fatigue. Life-threatening reactions may also occur and one or two fatal cases are registered annually in Denmark. It may be difficult to decide whether an allergic or a toxic reaction is involved on the basis of the symptoms. Possible IgE-sensitization must therefore be assessed by means of a prick test and measurement of specific IgE. The main treatment in cases of acute systemic reactions is adrenaline which may possibly be supplemented with antihistamine and corticosteroid. In cases of massive local reactions and urticaria, antihistamines will, as a rule, prove sufficient. Hyposensitization with insect venom preparations eliminates the future risk for systemic insect sting reactions practically entirely and this must be recommended for patients with demonstrated IgE-sensitizing and generalized reactions. At present, treatment should be continued for three to five years and protection lasts for a series of years after cessation of treatment.
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PMID:[Allergy to insect stings]. 194 33

The effects of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA, 750-1250 mg/day) were evaluated prospectively in 15 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Five patients had associated inflammatory bowel disease. After 6 months of treatment, the proportion of patients suffering from fatigue or pruritus decreased from 60% to 20% and from 33% to 20%, respectively. No exacerbation of associated disorders was observed. Serum alkaline phosphatase levels (normal less than 100 IU/l) decreased from 401 +/- 53 to 222 +/- 42 (mean +/- S.E.; p less than 0.001), those of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, (normal less than 40 IU/l) from 520 +/- 89 to 185 +/- 32 (p less than 0.001) and those of alanine aminotransferases, (normal less than 30 IU/l) from 79 +/- 12 to 42 +/- 6 (p less than 0.02). In three patients, the discontinuation of UDCA was associated with an aggravation of the liver test results. In conclusion, this study shows that 6 months of treatment with UDCA leads to clinical and biochemical improvements in patients with PSC. These results suggest that UDCA could be an effective treatment for PSC, and may justify a controlled therapeutic trial.
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PMID:Ursodeoxycholic acid for primary sclerosing cholangitis. 197 18

Based on uncontrolled observations, we have proposed ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) as a novel therapeutic approach in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). To confirm and extend our original findings, we have designed a double-blind multicentre randomized clinical trial. An interim analysis was planned at 6 months, involving all subjects included in the trial, with a final analysis at 2 years. The UDCA-PBC trial began in June 1987 and will be completed in March 1990. Seventy patients were randomized to receive UDCA and 68 a placebo. The two groups were well matched with respect to age, sex, duration and prevalence of symptoms and histologic severity (50% of the UDCA group had stage III-IV disease vs. 37% of the placebo group). During the first 6 months of follow-up, six patients withdrew from the trial. At 6 months, the proportion of patients with jaundice was significantly lower (p less than 0.01) in UDCA recipients than in the placebo group. There was a similar decrease in the proportion of patients with pruritus and fatigue in both groups. The following laboratory test values were significantly lower in UDCA recipients than in the placebo group after 6 months of therapy: serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activities (p less than 0.001), cholesterol (p less than 0.003) and IgM levels (p less than 0.03). The results of this interim analysis confirm and extend the biochemical data provided by our previous pilot study. However the final analysis of the trial is necessary for a definitive assessment of the safety and efficacy of UDCA therapy in PBC.
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PMID:Ursodeoxycholic acid for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. Interim analysis of a double-blind multicentre randomized trial. The UDCA-PBC Study Group. 197 19

There is a strong association between PSC and IBD. PSC is the most common hepatobiliary lesion seen in association with IBD. Whether there are two subsets of PSC, one associated with IBD and one unassociated, is controversial. A lower male to female ratio in patients without IBD supports this view. The demonstration of the haplotype DRw52a in 100% of patients with PSC, irrespective of the absence of IBD, speaks against this view. Patients with isolated PSC tend to present with jaundice, pruritus, and fatigue more frequently than those with combined PSC and IBD. There may also be a difference in bile duct involvement between patients with and without IBD combined with PSC. Apart from usually being a total colitis, either Crohn's colitis or UC, the IBD associated with PSC cannot be distinguished from IBD without PSC with respect to symptoms and clinical course. Patients with combined IBD and PSC may have somewhat worse prognosis than those with isolated PSC. The majority of patients developing BDC have concomitant IBD, suggesting that patients without IBD represent a different subgroup of PSC and run a different clinical course. Most studies have, however, found no differences in epidemiology, pathogenetic factors, clinical findings related to the hepatobiliary disease and prognosis between those who present with PSC alone and those who present with combined PSC and IBD. A major problem when discussing the relationship between IBD and PSC is that the bowel is inadequately examined in many of the studies relating to this question.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Relationship of inflammatory bowel disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis. 204 87

We examined the predictive value of urea kinetics for patient outcomes in CAPD by measuring dialysis index (DI; a means of quantifying CAPD dose using urea kinetics), KT/V and normalized protein catabolic rate (PCRN) on 222 occasions in 76 new patients at the time of starting CAPD and at subsequent six month intervals. We investigated how these indices altered with time and in relation to each other, and how they correlated with a wide range of subsequent patient outcomes. DI, KT/V and PCRN all tended to decrease with time on CAPD (P less than 0.0004, less than 0.0001 and 0.0005, respectively). DI and KT/V were highly correlated with each other (r = 0.89, P less than 0.0001) and both correlated with PCRN (r = 0.57, P less than 0.0001 and r = 0.60, P less than 0.0001, respectively). DI and KT/V both correlated inversely with subsequent values for serum creatinine (P less than 0.0001), urea (P less than 0.0002), potassium (P less than 0.02) and phosphate (P less than 0.002), and directly with bicarbonate (P less than 0.0001). PCRN correlated inversely with serum creatinine (P less than 0.0002) and directly with urea (P less than 0.0001) and with the number of blood transfusions received (P less than 0.03). None of these indices correlated with levels of hemoglobin, PTH, alkaline phosphatase or albumin, or with nerve conduction velocity or any other subsequent clinical outcomes including death, technique failure, hospital days, peritonitis rate and subjective indices of fatigue, pruritus and insomnia. We conclude that the urea kinetic model is predictive of some biochemical outcomes but not of clinical outcomes in CAPD patients.
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PMID:Lack of correlation between urea kinetic indices and clinical outcomes in CAPD patients. 205 26

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a chronic cholestatic disease which usually affects middle-aged women and is characterized by portal vein inflammation and by segmental and focal necrosis of small intrahepatic bile ducts. The prevalence of the disease is estimated at 8 to 12 cases for 100,000 inhabitants. Genetic, infectious and/or immunological factors acting together may be responsible for small bile duct destruction. The main consequence of this destruction is cholestasis. As in all types of mechanical cholestasis, so-called lobular lesions such a fibrosis or even cirrhosis may then develop. Clinically, primary biliary cirrhosis evolves in three phases: (1) a preclinical asymptomatic phase where the disease is revealed by the accidental discovery of antimitochondrial antibodies or of a moderate rise in gammaglutamyltranspeptidase or serum alkaline phosphatase activity; (2) a clinical phase, usually lasting 5 to 10 years, characterized by fatigue, pruritus and later, clinical signs directly related to the hepatic lesions; (3) a terminal phase marked by major cholestasis with lesions of fibrosis or cirrhosis and sometimes ascites and portal hypertension responsible for gastrointestinal haemorrhages. In the last few years the prognosis of primary biliary cirrhosis has been considerably improved by the introduction and development of liver transplantation (the first choice treatment in the terminal phase) and by the introduction of ursodeoxycholic acid.
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PMID:[Primary biliary cirrhosis]. 206 16

A computer scale survey to inspect the occurrence of delayed symptoms (adverse reactions) associated with the intravenous injection of low osmolar contrast medium (LOCM) was carried out. Of the recovered 1070 questionnaires, 290 had the delayed symptoms. Excluding 59 patients having the same symptoms in the past one year without contact with the contrast medium, the overall incidence of the delayed adverse reaction is 22.8% (231/1011). The delayed symptoms include arm pain (6.0%), headache (3.6%), itching (2.3%), rash (1.5%), general fatigue (1.4%), gastrointestinal symptoms, etc. Though the chi-square test had shown significance of the occurrence of the delayed symptoms for the group with a past history of drug allergy and nasal allergy (p less than 0.05), the delayed symptoms were mainly distributed in the middle-aged female to indicate that the sexuality is the cause of the foresaid significance. Furthermore, the incidence of the objective delayed symptoms such as rash in the group who had accepted more than two examinations is lower than the incidence in the group who accepted only one examination in the survey period. The disagreement to the fact that the repeated usage of the contrast medium is the risk factor to increase the incidence of the adverse reactions indicates the contrast medium may not be the only cause for the occurrence of the delayed symptoms, e.g. other factors such as sexual and psychological factors etc. may play a more important role than the contrast medium under this type of survey.
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PMID:The delayed adverse reactions of low osmolar contrast media. 208 95

Almost all physiological and psychological functions of human beings reveal circadian variations. The parameters of those rhythms differ in various subjects dependently on their individual diurnal characteristics, named here chrono-type. The difference in phase of maximal arousal is particularly apparent so that it implies the distinction between the morning and the evening types. The comparative study of both chrono-types was done with regard to the subjective health, sleep disorders and disturbances, attitudes towards shiftwork and physical fitness as measured by indirect prediction of the maximal oxygen uptake. In spite of differences in the bedtime and awaking time, representatives of morning and evening type did not differ when considering the amount of sleep. Both groups slept about one hour less than subjectively required. The analysis of sleep disorders (during days with various shifts and days off) showed that their configuration was different in compared groups. Morning types more often woke before proper time and suffered from frequent mid-sleep awakenings. They had also more difficulties in falling asleep and felt tired after awakening when working night shift. Evening types reported more often difficulties in awakening (independently on work shift) and complained low well-being or tiredness after awakening when working morning or afternoon shift and during days off. The percentage of morning types reporting various sleep disturbances of external (noise, daylight) or internal (hunger, nervousness) origin was 13 to 74. The corresponding figures for evening types were 4 to 52%. Subjective health was assessed with use of a list of 74 symptoms. It was found that morning individuals significantly more frequently reported fevers and sub-febrile states, itching in heart region, pains or tightness in heart region when nervous and musculoskeletal pains. No significant differences in gastrointestinal complaints were found. Analysis of typical circulatory, respiratory and musculoskeletal syndromes revealed the lower frequency of circulatory and musculoskeletal complaints and more respiratory symptoms in evening types. This latter could be considered as the result of prevalence of smokers in this group. The prediction of maximal oxygen uptake with use of indirect Astrand-Rhythm method showed significantly higher values in evening types. Taking into account that the result of this method is based on the heart rate response to submaximal load--it is highly probable that the difference observed is due to chrono-type related difference in phase of circadian rhythm of heart rate reaction to the load applied on the same time of the day. Both studied groups differed significantly as to the percentage of persons approving the work in shifts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:[Chrono-type as a factor of shiftwork tolerance in women]. 213 92

S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) proved to be effective in antagonizing bile secretion impairment induced by a wide range of hepatotoxins, including ethynylestradiol, taurolithocholate, chlorpromazine and alpha-naphthyl-isothiocyanate. The anticholestatic activity of SAMe may result from its role in the intermediate metabolism as this molecule is involved in transmethylation and transsulfuration reactions. Clinical experience, carried-out on more than 1,000 cholestatic patients, supports preclinical data. In particular, controlled clinical trials have documented that intravenous SAMe (800 mg/day) induced a significant decrease of biochemical parameters of cholestasis (serum total and conjugated bilirubin, serum total bile salts, and aminotransferases), as well as a significant improvement of pruritus in women with ICP compared with placebo. In addition, other studies provided the evidence that both parenteral (800 mg/day) and oral SAMe (1600 mg/day) significantly improves subjective (pruritus, fatigue, and general discomfort) and objective (serum total and conjugated bilirubin, and serum alkaline phosphatase) parameters of cholestasis in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis complicating chronic liver diseases compared with placebo. In all these trials, SAMe treatment has been well tolerated at the same extent as placebo. In conclusion, experimental and clinical investigations indicate that SAMe represents an effective and safe approach to the management of intrahepatic cholestasis.
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PMID:A review of the studies on the clinical use of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) for the symptomatic treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis. 217 53


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