Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0034065 (pulmonary embolism)
 14,979 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Certain febrile diseases are unaccompanied by infection or apparent hypersensitivity. In myocardial infarction or pulmonary embolism, for example, fever has been attributed to inflammation and/or tissue necrosis. Exogenous (microbial) pyrogens stimulate both human and animal monocytes/macrophages to produce endogenous pyrogen (EP) in vitro. To determine if plasma and cellular endogeneous mediators (EMs) of inflammation induced EP production, human mononuclear cells (M/L) were incubated for 18 hours with varying amounts of EM and the supernates assayed for EP in rabbits. Neutrophils (PMNs), which do not generate EP and yet are a feature of acute inflammation, were tested. Neither viable, phorbol myristic acetate-stimulated PMNs nor sonicated PMNs, red blood cells, or M/L stimulated human monocytes to produce EP. Human C3b and C5a, which mediate phagocytosis and chemotaxis, respectively, were also inactive. Despite its chemoattractant properties, the synthetic peptide FMLP failed to induce EP release. Since Poly I:Poly C (PIC: a synthetic, double-stranded RNA) is a potent pyrogen in rabbits, we investigated PIC, as well as a native, single-stranded RNA (from E. coli) and DNA (from calf thymus). None was active in vitro, and only PIC caused fever when given to rabbits intravenously. In summary, we have been unable to find an endogenous activator of EP from human monocytes to explain fevers associated with inflammation alone.
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PMID:The search for an endogenous activator. 387 36

The case reports are presented of two siblings with familial thymoma. The thymomas developed at the same age in both siblings. The tumours were removed by thoracotomy and classified histologically as identical thymic squamous cell carcinomas. The brother is still alive and well four years after treatment; the sister died of pulmonary embolism, but without residual or recurrent mediastinal mass, one year after surgery. Familial thymomas are very rare. This is the first report of a familial squamous cell carcinoma of thymus. The problem of classification and malignancy of thymomas are discussed.
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PMID:[Familial thymoma]. 661 40

We report a 40-year-old Japanese woman with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) associated with myasthenia gravis (MG). She had a history of miscarriage at the age of 27 followed by pulmonary embolism 3 weeks later. At the age of 40, she developed diplopia, bilateral ptosis and easy fatigability. Serum anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody and tensilon test were positive. She was diagnosed as having MG. The laboratory test revealed mild thrombocytopenia, prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and positive findings for both beta 2-glycoprotein I-dependent anticardiolipin antibody and lupus anticoagulant. She fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of APS, but did not the criteria proposed by American Rheumatism Association for SLE. An extended total thymectomy was performed after administration of oral prednisolone and low-dose aspirin. This is a patient who had APS associated with MGs: both are known to result from autoimmune abnormality. The clinical and laboratory manifestations of APS were ameliorated after removal of the thymus, suggesting that thymectomy alleviates APS symptoms.
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PMID:[A case of antiphospholipid syndrome associated with myasthenia gravis]. 939 64

A 76-year-old woman presented to a clinic with fever and loss of body weight. Abdominal echogram showed bilateral adrenal swelling (left adrenal 90x80 mm, right adrenal 50x20 mm) and she was admitted to the hospital for further examination. A tumor was also found inside nasal cavity by enhanced computed tomography (CT), and abnormal uptake in the nasal cavity and adrenal gland was shown in gallium scintigraphy. Laboratory tests revealed the elevation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and sIL-2R. Biopsy of the nasal tumor revealed nasal natural killer or thymus-derived (NK/T) cell lymphoma. No Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) -encoded RNA was detected in tissue. After THP-COP chemotherapy regimen, both the nasal and adrenal tumors decreased in size. However, a CT scan taken on admission revealed a pulmonary embolism. After treatment with heparin and warfarin, emboli disappeared. Chemotherapy was continued, but perforation of the small intestine occurred. Since the prognosis was poor, no operation was performed. Her condition slowly, and she died 60 days after admission. Since she had a high level of plasma ACTH (158.0 pg/ml) and normal serum cortisol (14.6 microg/dl), partial adrenal insufficiency was suspected. In addition, since her cortisol circadian rhythm was lost and cortisol levels were not completely suppressed by the 1 mg and 8 mg dexamethasone test, she met the criteria of the diagnosis of preclinical Cushing syndrome. NK/T cell lymphoma with giant adrenal tumor is extremely rare, but should be considered as one of the differential diagnoses of bilateral adrenal tumor.
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PMID:[A case of nasal NK/T cell lymphoma presenting with bilateral giant adrenal tumors]. 1917

Continuous dopaminergic stimulation (CDS) is an important drug development strategy in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Rotigotine is a non-ergoline D(3)/D(2)/D(1) dopamine receptor agonist for treating PD. As a new treatment option for CDS, rotigotine-loaded microspheres (RoMS), long-acting sustained-release microspheres with poly(lactide-co-glycolide) as drug carrier, are now being evaluated in clinical trial. In the present study, the subchronic toxicity in Cynomolgus monkeys has been characterized via intramuscular administration with RoMS at 0, 10, 40 and 160 mg/kg, weekly for 3 months with a 1-month recovery period. The NOAEL was 10 mg/kg/week. One male at 160 mg/kg died from an extensive pulmonary embolism. The major toxicological effects were associated with dopamine agonist-related pharmacodynamic properties of rotigotine (e.g., hyperactivity and stereotype, decreased serum prolactin level) and foreign body removal reaction induced by poly(lactide-co-glycolide) and carboxymethycellulose sodium (e.g., increased mononuclear cells and neutrophils, thymus atrophy and vacuolar degeneration of adrenal cortex, foreign body granuloma with foam cells accumulation at injection sites and foam cells accumulation in spleen and multiple lymph sinuses). At the end of recovery period, above findings recovered to a normal level or to a certain degree except vacuolar degeneration of adrenal gland. RoMS has exhibited high safety on monkeys.
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PMID:Three-month subchronic intramuscular toxicity study of rotigotine-loaded microspheres in Cynomolgus monkeys. 2316 54

The thymus is a lymphatic organ that plays a vital role in the development of immunity in childhood. The thymus involutes during periods of stress and may acutely decrease in size but usually recovers to its normal size. The thymus also involutes during pregnancy, a process that is possibly hormonally mediated and thought to be necessary for fetal survival. This report describes two pregnant patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of pulmonary embolism who were incidentally found to have thymic enlargement on computed tomography. Follow-up imaging postpartum in both cases demonstrates a significant reduction in thymus size, suggesting thymic hyperplasia. Both patients delivered healthy babies at term. Thymic involution does not universally occur in pregnancy, challenging the theory of its necessity to fetal survival.
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PMID:Thymic involution in pregnancy: a universal finding? 2758 70

Thymic enlargement (TE) in Graves' disease (GD) is often diagnosed incidentally when chest imaging is done for unrelated reasons. This is becoming more common as the frequency of chest imaging increases. There are currently no clear guidelines for managing TE in GD. Subject 1 is a 36-year-old female who presented with weight loss, increased thirst and passage of urine and postural symptoms. Investigations confirmed GD, non-PTH-dependent hypercalcaemia and Addison's disease (AD). CT scans to exclude underlying malignancy showed TE but normal viscera. A diagnosis of hypercalcaemia due to GD and AD was made. Subject 2, a 52-year-old female, was investigated for recurrent chest infections, haemoptysis and weight loss. CT thorax to exclude chest malignancy, showed TE. Planned thoracotomy was postponed when investigations confirmed GD. Subject 3 is a 47-year-old female who presented with breathlessness, chest pain and shakiness. Investigations confirmed T3 toxicosis due to GD. A CT pulmonary angiogram to exclude pulmonary embolism showed TE. The CT appearances in all three subjects were consistent with benign TE. These subjects were given appropriate endocrine treatment only (without biopsy or thymectomy) as CT appearances showed the following appearances of benign TE - arrowhead shape, straight regular margins, absence of calcification and cyst formation and radiodensity equal to surrounding muscle. Furthermore, interval scans confirmed thymic regression of over 60% in 6 months after endocrine control. In subjects with CT appearances consistent with benign TE, a conservative policy with interval CT scans at 6 months after endocrine control will prevent inappropriate surgical intervention. Learning points: Chest imaging is common in modern clinical practice and incidental anterior mediastinal abnormalities are therefore diagnosed frequently. Thymic enlargement (TE) associated with Graves' disease (GD) is occasionally seen in view of the above. There is no validated strategy to manage TE in GD at present. However, CT (or MRI) scan features of the thymus may help characterise benign TE, and such subjects do not require thymic biopsy or surgery at presentation. In them, an expectant 'wait and see' policy is recommended with GD treatment only, as the thymus will show significant regression 6 months after endocrine control.
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PMID:Managing thymic enlargement in Graves' disease. 3070 65