Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0392680 (shortness of breath)
 5,217 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Combination drug therapy and enhanced patient management techniques result in increased survival for many AIDS patients. This phenomenon has brought the issue of fatigue, a common and difficult side effect of HIV/AIDS treatment, to the forefront. Three-quarters of the AIDS patients surveyed in a recent study indicated that fatigue negatively affects their quality of life and influences their willingness to continue aggressive treatment. New advances for combating fatigue include the use of nutritional therapy, anti-depressants, anti-infectives, medications that boost the production of red blood cells, hormone replacement, exercise, massage, and acupuncture. The most common source of fatigue in HIV-positive patients is anemia, which also causes shortness of breath and dizziness. Anti-HIV medications may inhibit red blood cell production. An alternative treatment, Epoetin alfa, works by increasing low levels of naturally producing erythropoietin, a protein manufactured in the kidneys. Fatigue resulting from low testosterone levels can be treated with anabolic steroids. Poorly functioning adrenal glands can be the cause of fatigue in patients with advanced disease. Taking hydrocortisone pills is often effective. Depression is the fourth most common cause of fatigue. Antidepressants work well without traditional side effects.
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PMID:More awareness needed in treatment of fatigue. 1136 53

The health-related quality of life (HRQOL) claims in the current Epoetin alfa label are based on the reanalyses of the exercise and physical function data from the Canadian Erythropoietin Study Group trial. The reanalysis was done to comply with the Food and Drug Administration's requirement of using statistical methods that are currently standard in evaluating clinical trial data. Presented here are HRQOL results associated with anemia. The Canadian Erythropoietin Study Group trial was a multicenter, double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the effects of Epoetin alfa on HRQOL in anemic hemodialysis patients. A total of 118 patients who were 18-75 years old, on hemodialysis for >3 months, who had a hemoglobin <9.0 g/dL, and did not have coronary artery disease or diabetes mellitus, were randomized to either receive placebo (n=40), or receive intravenous Epoetin alfa to achieve a target hemoglobin of 9.5-11.0 g/dL (n=40) or a target of 11.5-13.0 g/dL (n=38). Patients were followed for 6 months. The two Epoetin alfa-treatment groups were combined for all analyses performed. This post hoc analysis was conducted using an intent-to-treat repeated measures mixed model analysis of variance using Bonferroni's multiplicity correction. The Epoetin alfa-treated group showed a statistically significant improvement in the Kidney Disease Questionnaire symptom of fatigue in comparison with placebo. Additionally, the change in hemoglobin at 2 months was correlated with change in fatigue, energy, shortness of breath, and weakness, but had minimal effect on depression. These analyses confirm previously reported results, which indicate that treating hemodialysis patients with an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent improves HRQOL.
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PMID:Dialysis patients treated with Epoetin alfa show improved anemia symptoms: A new analysis of the Canadian Erythropoietin Study Group trial. 2034 90