Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0043352 (xerostomia)
 4,250 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The recognition of the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome associated with L-tryptophan in the United States during 1989 as a disorder resembling the previously described 1981 toxic oil syndrome of Spain has established an increased level of consciousness regarding drug and toxin associated diseases. Both of these disorders were characterized by the development of acute and chronic multisystem features that parallel many idiopathic connective tissue diseases. Common manifestations have included generalized myalgias, fever, transient pulmonary infiltrates, and xerostomia during the early months followed by late stage neuromuscular and cutaneous disease. The most conspicuous laboratory abnormality was a peripheral eosinophilia. One of the most striking clinical findings has been scleroderma-like skin disease manifesting as diffuse fasciitis or hidebound induration. A sensory neuropathy and proximal myopathy in association with skin thickening have established these syndromes as chronic disabling diseases for many of their victims. Mononuclear perimysial and epineurial infiltrates have been distinctive pathological findings. Although the etiology of the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome and the toxic oil syndrome are unknown, there is epidemiologic evidence to support the presence of contaminants in L-tryptophan and rapeseed oil, respectively, as the causative agents. No therapy has been demonstrated to arrest the evolution of the chronic sequelae in either disorder.
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PMID:The eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome and related disorders. 188 55

Evidence from published studies and clinical experience indicates that neuroleptic drugs, tricyclic and heterocyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressants, and lithium all possess varying abilities to increase appetite, stimulate carbohydrate craving, and cause weight gain over prolonged periods of administration. Sedatives and benzodiazepine-type antianxiety drugs fail to stimulate appetite or induce weight gain, and it is unlikely that the sedative or calming effects of other psychotropic drugs contribute significantly to changes in appetite or weight. Studies of the endocrine and metabolic aspects of psychotropic drugs suggest that these mechanisms do not contribute significantly to explaining the observed effects on appetite or weight. Numerous studies indicate that a wide variety of compounds, including the serotonin precursor, tryptophan, the serotonin receptor stimulant, fenfluramine, and the serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, are all capable of decreasing carbohydrate hunger, reducing consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods, and inhibiting weight gain in humans and animals. Widely divergent psychotropic drugs produce antagonistic effects at serotonin receptor sites, and it is likely that this action contributes to their ability to stimulate appetite, carbohydrate craving, and weight gain. Those psychotropic drugs that inhibit serotonin reuptake mechanisms, increasing serotonin activity within the central nervous system, either fail to stimulate carbohydrate hunger and weight gain or are actually capable of decreasing carbohydrate craving and facilitating weight loss. Because many antidepressants, including trazodone and amitriptyline, the neuroleptic, chlorpromazine, and the mood stabilizer, lithium, may all, under some circumstances, inhibit serotonin reuptake mechanisms and may simultaneously block serotonin receptor sites, their effects on appetite and weight gain may represent a balance between serotonergic and antiserotonin activities. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, which slow the metabolic degradation of monoamines, including serotonin and norepinephrine, allow for increased levels of these neurotransmitters within the brain. It is conceivable that the relative noradrenergic effect related to an amphetamine-like structure of tranylcypromine may explain its lesser ability to stimulate appetite and weight gain than the appetite and weight effects observed with phenelzine. Furthermore, the production of dry mouth and thirst by psychotropic drugs appears to contribute to weight gain, secondary to consumption of high-calorie beverages.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Induction of obesity by psychotropic drugs. 288 2

Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) is a multisystemic disease that occurs in patients who have consumed products containing L-tryptophan. Prominent features include incapacitating myalgias, arthralgias, neuropathies, and eosinophilia. Despite the frequent association of dysphagia, dyspnea, and the potential for aspiration, the otolaryngology literature is devoid of information on EMS. In order to determine the frequency of otolaryngic symptoms, questionnaires were distributed to patients with EMS in 33 different US states. Among the 28 various head and neck manifestations studied, 70% of EMS patients complained of generalized muscle spasms, 66% xerostomia, 62% dyspnea, and 56% dysphagia. In addition, the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic criteria, and treatment options are discussed. This paper assesses the frequency of otolaryngic manifestations of EMS, as well as introduces this syndrome to the otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon. It is important for the otolaryngologist to be aware of EMS and its manifestations and treatments so that patients with this potentially lethal disease can receive appropriate evaluation and expeditious treatment.
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PMID:Head and neck manifestations of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome. 785 25

1. Men and women may differ in their pharmacokinetic responses to tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), in a number of autonomic indices, and in various adrenergic receptor mediated responses. Emerging evidence also suggests that women may have a lower rate of serotonin synthesis in brain and a greater sensitivity to the depressant effects of tryptophan depletion, relative to men. However, sex-related differences in TCA-induced side-effects, including increases in heart rate (HR), dry mouth, constipation, and difficulty urinating, has not been systematically investigated. 2. The authors examined potential sex-related differences in the pattern of side-effects during treatment with nortriptyline (NT), a TCA that is still widely used. Seventy-eight healthy outpatients who met Research Diagnostic Criteria and DSM-III-R criteria for major depression participated in a double-blind, randomized parallel trial of NT versus placebo. 3. Each subject was acutely challenged with either placebo or 50 mg NT prior to and after a 6-week treatment with NT. NT doses were adjusted weekly to maintain therapeutic plasma levels. Patients were assessed at multiple time points to detect the presence of NT-induced side-effects. 4. The initial, single (50 mg) dose of NT significantly increased supine HR. Six-week treatment with NT was found to significantly increase supine and sitting HRs, irrespective of sex. In rechallenge with the single NT dose, there were no significant effects on HR. 5. When sex-related differences were examined, HR increases were greater in men than women during weeks 4 through 6 of the NT treatment, although no sex-related differences were present in plasma NT levels or metabolites. In addition, there was a significant NT to placebo difference in self-rated dry mouth for women during all 6-weeks of treatment, whereas men showed a significant NT-placebo difference during weeks 3 and 5. 6. The results suggest the presence of sex-related differences in elevated supine HR response during the course of 6-week NT treatment. Depressed men may be more susceptible to NT-induced increases in supine HR than women.
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PMID:Sex-related differences in nortriptyline-induced side-effects among depressed patients. 1144 76