Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0409974 (lupus)
 22,386 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The causes of death were examined in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were cared for at the University of California, San Francisco and who died after 1969. Of the 44 deaths analyzed, 33 patients had autopsies. Infections were common and often determined to be the cause of death. Overall, infections were present in 55 percent (22/44), and judged to be a cause of death in 30 percent (13/44) of all deaths. The infections could be divided into 2 groups: those due to common bacterial organisms and those due to opportunistic infections. These two types of infections occurred with similar frequency. When compared to common bacterial infections, however, the opportunistic infections were more likely to be first diagnosed at autopsy (p = .001). In only 3 of the 15 patients with an opportunistic infection was the diagnosis made antemortem. Failure to diagnose an opportunistic infection early occurred when the infection simulated active SLE, and when the possibility of an opportunistic infection was not aggressively investigated. The most common opportunistic infections were Candida albicans and Pneumocystis carinii. The most common site of opportunistic infection was the lung. Seventeen patients had 27 common bacterial infections, chiefly sepsis from Staphylococcus aureus and aerobic gram-negative organisms. Eight patients had both a common bacterial and an opportunistic infection. Stepwise linear regression analysis showed that death from infection correlated most strongly with prednisone and cytotoxic drug use in the 3 months before final admission. No measure of lupus activity was found to correlate with death from infection, except that hypocomplementemia correlated with death from bacterial infections.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Fatal infections in systemic lupus erythematosus: the role of opportunistic organisms. 362 46

Between 1981 and 1982 blood samples were collected from 64 adult San Joaquin kit foxes, Vulpes macrotis mutica, in western Kern County, California. The goal of the study was to establish normal blood values for this endangered species, and to determine whether changes in them could be used to assess the possible effects of petroleum developments on these foxes. None of the values differed significantly between the sexes, or between foxes sampled in developed habitats compared with foxes sampled in undisturbed habitats. Mean values of Hb, MCH, MCHC, and WBC counts differed significantly between summer and winter. Average hematological characteristics were: RBC, 8.4 X 10(6)/microliter; Hb, 14.5 g/dl (summer), 15.6 g/dl (winter); PCV, 46.9%; MCV, 56.3 fl; MCH, 17.8 pg (summer), 18.4 pg (winter); MCHC, 31.2 g/dl (summer), 33.2 g/dl (winter); and WBC, 6,200/microliter (summer), 7,500/microliter (winter). Comparisons of hematological data for kit foxes, coyotes (Canis latrans), and wolves (Canis lupus) confirmed a previously published observation that within mammalian families RBC counts are correlated inversely with body weight, and that MCV is correlated directly with body weight.
 ...
PMID:Hematologic values of the endangered San Joaquin kit fox, Vulpes macrotis mutica. 382 Apr 16

Lupus is now regarded as a syndrome which results from several related auto-immune processes, although the exact mechanisms of how the disease arises in susceptible individuals remain obscure. When the San Carlo meetings began in 1968, much less was known about the pathogenesis of autoimmunity, but the presence of autoantibodies and autoreactive cells had been worked out, the patterns of the disease and its clinical and histological expression in the kidney were well described. At that time, however, the prognosis for severe forms of lupus nephritis was miserable, although patients either milder disease might survive for decades. During the late 1950s and 1960s relatively effective palliative treatment first with corticosteroids and then cytotoxic drugs were introduced, which disappointingly remain the principal treatments 40 years later, although they have improved the prognosis of severe lupus nephritis to equal that of milder forms. However, better understanding of the immune reaction promises newer forms of more precisely-targeted treatment for the near future.
 ...
PMID:Lupus nephritis: an historical perspective 1968-1998. 1068

Nervous system dysfunction may occur in as many as 80% of patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematous (SLE) at some point in their disease course. Upregulation of adhesion molecules has been linked to acute SLE-related disease activity and chronic damage. We evaluated the relationship between soluble adhesion molecule levels and neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) manifestations using the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) case definitions to investigate for evidence of a link between upregulation of adhesion molecules and NPSLE manifestations. Sera from the initial study visit of 133 SLE patients enrolled in the San Antonio Lupus Study of Neuropsychiatric Disease (SALUD) and 40 controls were evaluated for soluble adhesion molecule levels (VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin) and antiphospholipid antibodies. A subset of 57 SLE patients were evaluated for soluble adhesion molecule levels and antiphospholipid antibodies on two subsequent study visits, as well. NPSLE manifestations at the time of sera ascertainment were recorded using ACR case definitions and SLE-related acute activity and damage were measured. Elevated levels of all three soluble adhesion molecules were seen in SLE patients compared to normal control values. Soluble VCAM-1 levels correlated with measures of current disease activity, NPSLE manifestations and deep venous thrombosis. Persistently positive levels of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, but not E-selectin were association with increased SLE-related damage. Elevated levels of all soluble adhesion molecule levels correlated with abnormal levels of antiphospholipid antibodies, which are associated with some NPSLE manifestations and have been shown to upregulate adhesion molecule expression.
 ...
PMID:Soluble adhesion molecule levels, neuropsychiatric lupus and lupus-related damage. 1497 76

Glomerular diseases continue to be the leading cause of end-stage renal disease globally. Renal biopsy plays a fundamental role in the evaluation of glomerular diseases not only to establish an accurate diagnosis but also help deciding on appropriate treatment and assessing prognosis. The prevalence of glomerular disease and the clinical indications for kidney biopsies are poorly delineated in Puerto Rico. We undertook a retrospective analysis of the indications, clinical presentation and pathologic reports in renal biopsies performed at the University District Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico from the year 1995 to 2008. A total of 208 kidney biopsies showed a predominance of membranous nephropathy representing 20% of the studied population. Women were more frequently biopsied than men (57.2% vs. 42.7%). Lupus nephritis, a condition affecting mostly women was identified in 16.9% of the patients. Minimal change disease was reported in 13.6% of the patients, a condition that affects mostly children and adolescents. In contrast to other geographical areas IgAN was reported only in 6.3% and FSG in 0.9% of patients. In our biopsied patient population, membranous nephropathy is the most common primary glomerular disease and lupus erythematosus the most frequent secondary glomerular disease.
 ...
PMID:Registry of kidney biopsy in a single center in Puerto Rico: university district hospital. 2321 Mar 26