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)

Report of a 10-year-old boy with congenital hypoplasia of the intrahepatic bile ducts, the socalled MacMahon-Thannhauser-Syndrome. The patient had been suffering from a varying degree of jaundice since his 2nd day of life and from pruritus since his 21st month of life. Furthermore, he had hepatomegaly, a systolic cardiac murmur, hypogenitalism, retarded growth, and finally hypertension. Transitory xanthomas existed between 1 3/4 and 2 3/4 years of age. Signs of persistent intrahepatic cholestasis was manifested by increased levels of bilirubin and bile acids in serum as well as raised activities of leucine aminopeptidase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and alkaline phosphatase. Pathological values of serum glutamic dehydrogenase pointed to a persistent destruction of liver cells. Without treatment, the activities of vitamin K dependent clotting factors were decreased. Cholesterol, phosphatides and triglycerides in serum were increased and lipoprotein-X was detectable. Aortography revealed stenosis of both renal arteries. An exploratory laparotomy and 5 liver biopsies led to the diagnosis of hypoplasia of the intrahepatic bile ducts. Therapeutic trials with steroids and the anion exchange resin "cholestyramine" were ineffective. Phenobarbital relieved the pruritus. Parenteral administration of fat soluble vitamins restored the activity of vitamin K dependent clotting factors to normal. The high blood pressure fell significantly due to treatment with adelphan. The etiology of hypoplasia of the intrahepatic bile ducts is unknown. It may be a malformation or an obliteration secondary to inflammation. In our patient, narrowing of the renal arteries, increase of plasma-renin activity and hypertension were probably secondary to hyperlipidemia. It has been suggested that hyperlipemia secondary to cholestasis may be due to a disturbance of lipoprotein metabolism. A review of reports on 118 patients suffering from intrahepatic bile ducts hypoplasia is included.
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PMID:[Hypertension and bilateral stenosis of the renal artery associated with congenital hypoplasia of the intrahepatic bile ducts (author's transl)]. 124 84

Clinical and experimental investigations have suggested that ursodeoxycholic acid (ursodiol) may have cytoprotective or choleretic action and therefore be beneficial in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis or chronic liver disease. In an open-label study, we treated 45 patients with chronic hepatitis with 300 mg of ursodiol three times daily for six months. At four months, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GTP) and leucine aminopeptidase levels had decreased. SGOT and SGPT levels also decreased significantly. Evaluation of histologic changes has not yet been completed. No significant differences in improvement of liver function tests were found in a comparison with 19 historical controls. We also studied eight patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, treated for more than one and a half years with 600 mg of ursodiol per day. At one month, itching diminished in five patients who had pruritus. ALPase and gamma-GTP levels decreased significantly, and GOT and GPT levels were also reduced. IgM levels did not change, but the titer of antimitochondrial body decreased by half in two patients. Levels of glycoursodeoxycholic acid increased, and in three patients follow-up liver biopsy showed marked improvement. These preliminary results suggest that ursodiol is safe and effective for the treatment of chronic hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis, but a large-scale, controlled trial is needed.
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PMID:Effect of ursodeoxycholic acid in chronic hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. 257 57

Eighteen patients affected with biopsy-proved primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) (histological stage III and IV) received ursodeoxicholic acid (UDCA) 600 mg for 1 year. Signs and symptoms and biochemical tests (glutamic and oxalcetic transaminase, glutamic and pyruvic transaminase, bilirubine, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, bile acids, plasma proteins electrophoresis, immunoglubulins A, G and M) and antimitochondrial antibodies were evaluated before the treatment and every four months during the treatment. The results were compared with those obtained in 8 untreated patients affected PBC. The control group of patients were comparable (as far as age, histological stage, biochemical tests are concerned) to the group who received UDCA. Bilirubine, ALP, gamma-GT and LAP decreased during the treatment with UDCA and remained lower than baseline values until the end of the observation (12 months), while no changes occurred in the untreated patients. Both in the treated and untreated group plasma protein electrophoresis, serum immunoglubulins A, G and M remained unchanged, as well as anti-mitochondrial antibody. A moderate reduction of transaminases and bile acids was observed in the group of patients receiving UDCA but it did not reach statistical significance. In 16 out of the 18 treated patients pruritus disappeared and resulted diminished in the remaining 2 patients. No significant amelioration of pruritus was observed in the patients who did not receive UDCA. In conclusion, our data show that prolonged treatment with UDCA drastically reduces pruritus and improves cholestasis biochemical tests in patients affected with symptomatic PBC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Prolonged treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid for primary biliary cirrhosis. 779 69