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Query: UMLS:C0033774 (pruritus)
 14,546 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The clinical and immune modulatory effects of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon (INF) alfa-2a were examined in a phase II study in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (six patients) and melanoma (eight patients). Treatment consisted in IL-2 3 MU/m2 continuous infusion days 1-4 and INF alfa-2a 6 MU/m2 subcutaneously day 1 and 4, both given on alternate weeks. Tumour response was assessed after four cycles of treatment or earlier, if necessary. Patients with stable disease or response were to be continued for another nine cycles or up to disease progression. The 14 patients received a total of 60 cycles of treatment. Major toxicities (WHO Grade III/IV) were fever, capillary leak syndrome with hypotension, nausea and vomiting, erythema with pruritus, leuco- and thrombopenia and sepsis with staphylococcus aureus. Five of 14 patients (36%) developed a self limiting autoimmune thyroiditis with HLA-DR expression on thyrocytes. Long term treatment toxicity was moderate with an average weight loss of 5% and an average fall in Karnofsky index of 10% compared to baseline. No responses were seen in renal cell carcinoma, two patients with melanoma had a partial and two a minor response with a duration of 1-7 months. Serial measurements of immune modulatory parameters showed a functional response to treatment with an increase of NK- and LAK-activity during the first two cycles, followed by a plateau and decrease during the third and fourth cycles. These findings were paralleled by a successive decline in treatment induced INF gamma response. These findings suggest, that alternative weekly treatment with IL-2 and INF alfa-2a results in an exhaustion of lytic capacity of NK- and LAK-cells and an attenuation of secondary cytokine release.
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PMID:Clinical and immune modulatory effects of alternative weekly interleukin-2 and interferon alfa-2a in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma and melanoma. 199 8

A study was carried out on 36 geriatric diabetic females (above 60 years). Marked exhaustion and significant loss of weight were common presenting complaints (60%) besides usual symptomatology. Only 25% patients were asymptomatic for diabetes. Generalised itching (20%) and pruritus vulvae (33.3%) were other common presenting complaints. Neuropathy was found to be the commonest complication being present in 77.7% patients, followed by retinopathy (50%) and nephropathy (27.7%). Hypertension was found to be associated in 44% patients and evidence of ischaemic heart disease was found in 42%. Development of nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy, and hypertension showed direct correlation with duration of illness ie, longer the history of diabetes higher was the incidence of complications.
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PMID:Diabetes mellitus in geriatric females. 258 30

Twelve healthy women and twelve healthy men were tested on an exercise bicycle until exhaustion in a climate chamber at ozone levels of 0, 0.06 and 0.12 ppm. Under high ozone, a clear decrease of performance was seen at maximal efforts as well as a shift of the anaerobic threshold to somewhat lower performance values. These changes are probably caused by increasingly difficult breathing due to a reflex bronchial constriction. At high ozone concentrations, further symptoms were recognized: itching in throat and neck region, thirst, fatigue and itching eyes.
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PMID:[Effect of ozone on physical performance capacity]. 368 21

Although oral contraceptives (OCs) are yet to be legalized in Japan, it is estimated that at least 500,000 women were on pills in 1975. Intrahepatic cholestasis has been associated with OC in the Western countries, but only a few cases have been reported in Japan. A case of pill-related intrahepatic cholestasis in a 25-year old housewife will be presented in terms of clinical/pathological findings, changes in plasma and bile acid levels, and the effect of phenobarbital on bile stagnation. The patient had been taking 1 pill (Anovlar)/day, 25 days a month, for 5 months, and had experienced exhaustion, nausea, and constipation after 3 months of use; body itch and jaundice symptoms after 4 months. Cholangiography showed neither enlargement of the bile duct nor obstruction of the bile duct outside the liver. The condition was diagnosed as pill-related intrahepatic cholestasis. Total bilirubin was considerably raised; serum transaminase was moderately raised. Electromicroscopy showed the enlargement of bile canaliculi, which had electron dense bile content. Hepatic cellular peroxisome significantly increased. Plasma bile acid level, which was slightly raised initially, came down to the normal range when total bilirubin was back to normal with daily administration of phenobarbital 2 mg/kg. Studies which included experiments with rats as well as clinical-pathological results mentioned above suggested that bile stagnation was caused by ethinyl estradiol. By lowering bile canaliculi Na-K ATPase activity, ethinyl estradiol decreased bile acid independent of bile flow. Phenobarbital was effective for cholestasis by increasing bile canaliculi Na-K ATPase activity.
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PMID:[Intrahepatic cholestasis caused by oral contraceptives]. 714 55

The athlete who suffers from atopic diseases such as seasonal allergic rhinitis has an arsenal of antihistamines from which to choose for relief of symptoms. The decision to select a particular medication involves consideration of its efficacy and its side effects. Many of the standard antihistamines have sedative side effects which render them undesirable for use by athletes during competition. For example, a survey of studies suggests that some of these medications may compromise the performance of psychomotor skills important to the athlete (e.g. reaction time and visual discrimination). The newer, nonsedating antihistamines are equal to the standard agents in efficacy and comparable with placebo in central nervous system effects. Thus, psychomotor performance is not adversely affected by the newer antihistamines. Despite their widespread use, the effects of treatment with antihistamines on exercise performance (e.g. metabolic responses and time to exhaustion) have scarcely been addressed. The few studies available indicate that single oral administrations of antihistamines neither compromise nor enhance exercise performance or tolerance in asymptomatic individuals. Yet the research conducted has not examined the effects of antihistamine ingestion on exercise performance in symptomatic individuals. Whether treatment with an antihistamine would improve exercise performance relative to nontreatment in symptomatic, atopic athletes remains to be determined. Whereas there is a dearth of information on the effects of antihistamine medications on exercise performance, there is growing evidence that pretreatment with antihistamines may prevent or attenuate some exercise-induced histamine-mediated disorders such as urticaria, pruritus, anaphylaxis and gastrointestinal bleeding. A survey of studies suggests that prophylactic treatment with antihistamines may increase tolerance to exercise in individuals susceptible to these disorders.
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PMID:Effects of antihistamine medications on exercise performance. Implications for sportspeople. 768 Aug 15

Vibration exercise (VE) is a new neuromuscular training method which is applied in athletes as well as in prevention and therapy of osteoporosis. The present study explored the physiological mechanisms of fatigue by VE in 37 young healthy subjects. Exercise and cardiovascular data were compared to progressive bicycle ergometry until exhaustion. VE was performed in two sessions, with a 26 Hz vibration on a ground plate, in combination with squatting plus additional load (40% of body weight). After VE, subjectively perceived exertion on Borg's scale was 18, and thus as high as after bicycle ergometry. Heart rate after VE increased to 128 min-1, blood pressure to 132/52 mmHg, and lactate to 3.5 mM. Oxygen uptake in VE was 48.8% of VO2max in bicycle ergometry. After VE, voluntary force in knee extension was reduced by 9.2%, jump height by 9.1%, and the decrease of EMG median frequency during maximal voluntary contraction was attenuated. The reproducibility in the two VE sessions was quite good: for heart rate, oxygen uptake and reduction in jump height, correlation coefficients of values from session 1 and from session 2 were between 0.67 and 0.7. Thus, VE can be well controlled in terms of these parameters. Surprisingly, an itching erythema was found in about half of the individuals, and an increase in cutaneous blood flow. It follows that exhaustive whole-body VE elicits a mild cardiovascular exertion, and that neural as well as muscular mechanisms of fatigue may play a role.
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PMID:Acute physiological effects of exhaustive whole-body vibration exercise in man. 1073 81

Pruritus is an unpleasant sensory perception of the skin associated with the desire to scratch. As a physiological nociception, pruritus leads to the removal of harmful agents such as parasites and plants from the skin surface. More often, pruritus occurs as a severe and therapy-refractory symptom of various underlying dermatological and systemic diseases. Comparable to chronic pain, chronic pruritus worsens the general condition and may lead to physical and psychological exhaustion. Until the 1990s, pruritus had been regarded as an incomplete pain sensation. Only recently, itch was defined as a separate, pain-independent sensation with its own mediators, spinal neurons and cortical areas. These observations led to the development of new therapeutic modalities. This paper gives an overview of itch pathophysiology, clinical types and therapies.
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PMID:[Pruritus--pathophysiology, clinical features and therapy--an overview]. 1628 78

The misery of living with atopic eczema (syn. dermatitis, AD) cannot be overstated for it may have a profoundly negative effect on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children and their family unit in many cases. As it is one of the commonest chronic relapsing childhood dermatosis (UK lifetime prevalence 16-20% by 20 years), with increasing worldwide prevalence, this has major social and financial implications for individuals, healthcare providers and society as a whole. This review explores the impact of AD on the lives of children and their family units and the use of some of the recently developed HRQoL measures, which have enabled investigation and categorisation of the physical, psychological and psycho-social effects of childhood eczema across all aspects of life. These effects include symptoms of itching and soreness, which cause sleeplessness in over 60%. Sleep deprivation leads to tiredness, mood changes and impaired psychosocial functioning of the child and family, particularly at school and work. Embarrassment, comments, teasing and bullying frequently cause social isolation and may lead to depression or school avoidance. The child's lifestyle is often limited, particularly in respect to clothing, holidays, staying with friends, owning pets, swimming or the ability to play or do sports. Restriction of normal family life, difficulties with complicated treatment regimes and increased work in caring for a child with eczema lead to parental exhaustion and feelings of hopelessness, guilt, anger and depression. The hidden costs involved in eczema management can be significant and have particular impact on lower income families. The impairment of quality of life caused by childhood eczema has been shown to be greater than or equal to other common childhood diseases such as asthma and diabetes, emphasising the importance of eczema as a major chronic childhood disease. HRQoL measures are proving to be valuable tools for use in the clinical setting, as outcome measures for pharmaceutical studies, for health economics and audit purposes. It is therefore recommended that in future, they should be used in conjunction with objective measures of severity, as part of the assessment process of a child with atopic eczema. Lack of information on eczema and treatments heightens parental anxiety. Education of all individuals involved in the care of children with eczema is fundamental in the management of AD and it is essential to provide simple clear, unambiguous information on treatment and disease management in order to reduce the negative impact on HRQoL.
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PMID:Quality of life and childhood atopic dermatitis: the misery of living with childhood eczema. 1689 32

Chronic urticaria (CU) is an inflammatory skin disease characterized by the recurrence of transient and itching maculopapular skin lesions for more than 6 weeks. Clinical diagnosis is easy but eliciting factors are rarely evidenced. Recently, autoimmune mechanisms have been recognized as a cause of CU. Carefully history and physical examination are the most important elements of the etiological diagnosis. Exhausted tests are expensive and their cost-effectiveness is low. In the vast majority of cases this disease is benign but the quality of life can be severely affected. Second generation non-sedating antihistamines are the cornerstone of the treatment.
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PMID:[Chronic urticaria: which evaluation? Which management?]. 1894 96

Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) is an apex predator from coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific region. A food surveillance project using a validated mouse bioassay revealed the presence of ciguatoxins in significantly greater amounts in its flesh than in groupers and other coral reef fishes commonly available in Hong Kong wholesale market. Humphead wrasse has long been known to cause ciguatera, but there was a lack of clinical reports. A 45-year-old woman developed ciguatera after eating humphead wrasse. She required ICU care and infusions of intravenous fluids and dopamine for management of severe hypotension. All 5 published case series are also reviewed to characterise the types, severity and chronicity of ciguatera symptoms after its consumption. In addition to the gastrointestinal, neurological and other features that were typical of ciguatera, some subjects developed sinus bradycardia, hypotension, shock, neuropsychiatric features (e.g. mental exhaustion, depression, insomnia and memory loss), other central nervous system symptoms (e.g. coma, convulsions and ataxia) and myocardial ischaemia. Other subjects still experienced residual symptoms 6 months later; these were mainly neurological or neuropsychiatric complaints and skin pruritus. To prevent ciguatera, the public should avoid eating humphead wrasse and other large coral reef fishes. They should realise that consumption of the high-risk fish may result in more severe and chronic illness, including life-threatening complications and neuropsychiatric features.
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PMID:Ciguatera caused by consumption of humphead wrasse. 2414 Oct 55


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