Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0432222 (SEM)
 47,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Skeletal muscle function, body composition (total body nitrogen and total body potassium) and standard parameters of nutritional assessment were measured in six severely depleted patients with primary anorexia nervosa, both on admission and during oral refeeding. The function of the adductor pollicis muscle was assessed by electrical stimulation of the ulnar nerve. On admission muscle function was markedly abnormal in the patients with anorexia nervosa (n = 6) compared with normal subjects (n = 22), with a significant increase in the force of contraction at 10 Hz, with a mean +/- SEM of 48.0 +/- 3.7% and 28.8 +/- 1.2%, respectively (p less than 0.001). There was slowing of the maximal relaxation rate, 6.6 +/- 0.6% and 9.6 +/- 0.2%, respectively (p less than 0.001) and increased muscle fatigue 18.6 +/- 5.9% and 3.5 +/- 0.8%, respectively (p less than 0.01). Initially, the mean serum albumin was normal (4.0 +/- 0.1 g/dl), although there was evidence of severe depletion of somatic protein stores, with a low total body nitrogen and creatinine-height index. Within 4 wk of oral refeeding, maximal relaxation rate and muscle fatigability were restored to normal, and within 8 wk all parameters of muscle function were normal. During the study total body nitrogen increased by only 13% and was still 19.4% below the predicted normal total body nitrogen, whereas total body potassium increased by 32% and body fat by 46%. Normalization of muscle function may be related to restoration of muscle electrolytes rather than repletion of body nitrogen.
 ...
PMID:A comparison between muscle function and body composition in anorexia nervosa: the effect of refeeding. 688 Oct 81

Experiments with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at steady state conditions, indicated that testosterone, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone, 3 alpha-androstanediol and 3-beta-androstanediol bound only to albumin in rat serum. The extent of binding of several C19-steroids to serum proteins was measured in rat blood utilizing equilibrium dialysis. The values for the adult male rat were as follows (mean +/- SEM): testosterone 78.3 +/- 0.4% 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone 81.8 +/- 0.4%, 3 alpha-androstanediol 95.5 +/- 0.1%; 3 beta-androstanediol 95.2 +/- 0.1%. The values for the latter two are significantly higher than those for the first two which in turn differ significantly from each other. The values for adult female and castrated male serum samples were not significantly different from those of the normal male. The results obtained for the extent of binding of C19-steroids in a 5-g% albumin solution (which is similar to male rat serum albumin concentration) did not differ significantly from values for serum indicating that the binding in the latter is due primarily to albumin. The KA's for C19-steroid binding to albumin were: testosterone 2.22 X 10(4)l/mol; 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone 3.46 X 10(4)l/mol; 3 alpha-androstanediol 1.36 X 10(5)l/Mol and 3 beta-androstanediol 1.20 XC 10(5)l/mol. When correlated to our previously reported metabolic clearance rats (MCR) it was concluded that binding to serum proteins does not account for the significant difference between the MCR for testosterone and 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone but may account for the lower MCR's for the 3 alpha- and 3 beta-androstanediols.
 ...
PMID:Binding of testosterone, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone and 5 alpha-androstane (3 alpha- and 3 beta-), 17 beta-diols to serum proteins in the rat. 709 77

Sixteen obese patients 9 to 16 years of age were treated with a protein-sparing modified fast for four weeks in a metabolic unit, using lean meat as the sole calorie-containing nutrient. Total weight loss was 7.11 +/- 0.33 kg (mean +/- SEM). One-half of the patients achieved positive daily nitrogen balance by the fourth week. Cumulative N balance was -28.8 +/- 10.0 gm. Serum albumin concentration remained normal. Hemoglobin and hematocrit values were stable, but decreases in total lymphocyte (P less than 0.005) and neutrophil counts (P less than 0.01) were noted. Cell-mediated immunity (four patients) remained normal. Protein synthetic and catabolic rates (two patients) revealed only minimal changes. Cumulative N balance correlated (P less than 0.01) with mean fasting serum insulin concentration, which was related (P less than 0.005) to body fat mass. The PSMF has therapeutic potential for achieving safe, rapid weight loss in severely obese older children and adolescents.
 ...
PMID:Consequences of modified fasting in obese pediatric and adolescent patients. I. Protein-sparing modified fast. 735 Feb 93

We directly estimated plasma aldosterone radioimmunologically with use of an antiserum raised against an aldosterone-3-oxime/bovine serum albumin conjugate, the estimation being on samples with and without heating (60 degrees C), and diluted and undiluted. Values so obtained were compared with those by radioimmunoassay after extraction and chromatography. The correlation--even negative values were obtained--was poorest when the steroid was directly estimated in nonheated, undiluted plasma. Correlations were best (r = 0.918) for preheated and diluted native plasma, and the interassay CV was 9.8% (n = 57). However, there were some extraordinarily high values. After equilibrium dialysis of native and preheated (60 degrees C) plasma (15 plasma samples), the percentages of apparent free aldosterone and cortisol increased from 51.4 +/- 2.6% (SEM) to 64.3 +/- 1.6% and from 11.5 +/- 2.2% to 61.1 +/- 1%, respectively. We conclude that aldosterone-binding proteins play a role in direct radioimmunoassays of aldosterone in plasma, but by heating (with or without diluting) the plasma, direct assay can be used as a simple, fast, and inexpensive screening method.
 ...
PMID:Screening radioimmunoassay for aldosterone in preheated plasma without extraction and chromatography. 735 70

The liver is thought to be the major source of circulating insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and IGF-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1), whereas the primary production site of circulating IGFBP-3 remains unknown. As other tissues may contribute to the circulating pool of IGF-I and IGFBP, the aim of the present study was to assess the hepatic and renal arterio-venous difference and production rates of IGF-I, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3, and GH in cirrhotic patients (n = 22) and matched control subjects (n = 27). IGFBP-1 and -3, IGF-I, and GH levels were measured by RIA in hepatic, renal, and peripheral veins and in the femoral artery. Levels of IGFBP-1 to -4 were additionally determined by Western ligand blotting. Hepatic venous IGFBP-1 was significantly increased in the cirrhotic patients (mean +/- SEM, 33.6 +/- 9.1 vs. 10.4 +/- 1.9 micrograms/L; P < 0.001), and arterio-renal-venous extraction was significant in both patients (6 +/- 2%; P < 0.01) and controls (11 +/- 1%; P < 0.001). Conversely, IGFBP-3 was decreased in the cirrhotic patients (1265 +/- 149 vs. 2712 +/- 137 micrograms/L; P < 0.001). IGFBP-3 correlated significantly with the wedged hepatic venous pressure (r = -0.49; P < 0.05), serum aspartate aminotransferase (r = -0.66; P < 0.01), serum bilirubin (r = -0.65; P < 0.01), serum albumin (r = 0.64; P < 0.01), and the Child score (r = -0.57; P < 0.01). IGF-I was significantly lower in the cirrhotics (57 +/- 10 vs. 143 +/- 11 micrograms/L; P < 0.001). No significant IGFBP-3 proteolysis was demonstrated in cirrhotics or controls. No significant differences were found in the values obtained simultaneously from hepatic, renal, and brachial veins or femoral artery, which suggests that no major net production or release of IGFBP-3 or IGF-I occurs in these tissues. No differences in IGFBP-2 or IGFBP-4 determined by Western ligan blot were found between patients and controls. The IGF-I concentrations correlated significantly with parameters of biochemical liver function. Basal GH concentrations were significantly higher in the cirrhotics (1.19 +/- 0.13 vs. 0.58 +/- 0.08 micrograms/L; P < 0.001). A significant hepatic disposal of GH was found in the patients (P < 0.05) and controls (P < 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Concentrations, release, and disposal of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding proteins (IGFBP), IGF-I, and growth hormone in different vascular beds in patients with cirrhosis. 753

Protectin (CD59) is a low molecular weight glycophosphoinositol-anchored inhibitor of the membrane attack complex of complement (MAC) that is present, for example, on the membranes of endothelial cells and on epithelial cells of glomeruli and distal tubuli. To examine for the possibility that CD59 becomes detached from cell surfaces following cell injury, this study evaluated renal excretion of CD59 in patients with idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN; N = 21), diabetic nephropathy (DNP; N = 15) and in healthy control subjects (N = 13). CD59 in human urine was quantitated by a competitive solid-phase radioimmunoassay having approximately 13 kDa soluble urinary CD59 as a standard. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated a decreased expression of CD59 in the glomeruli of MGN patients. Using a Triton X-114 phase separation method 91 to 97% of urinary CD59 was found to be in a soluble form without anchor-associated phospholipid. The mean (+/- SEM) level of urinary CD59 was 5.6 +/- 0.2 micrograms/ml in MGN patients, 3.7 +/- 0.4 micrograms/ml in healthy controls (P < 0.001) and 2.6 +/- 0.1 in DNP patients (P < 0.001). When related to urinary creatinine (UCr) the corresponding values were 11.9 +/- 5.6, 4.8 +/- 0.3 (P = 0.021) and 4.4 +/- 0.2 (P < 0.002), respectively. The amount of CD59 in urine correlated with the urinary excretion of soluble terminal complement complexes, SC5b-9 (r = 0.594, P < 0.006) in MGN patients. The excretion of CD59 also correlated with the excretion of the inflammatory mediator IL-1 beta (r = 0.671, P = 0.001) but not with TNF-alpha (r = 0.314, P = 0.178). No correlation of CD59 excretion was observed with duration of the disease level of proteinuria, serum albumin concentration or serum creatinine level. Based on these findings we speculate that the increased excretion of CD59 into urine in MGN patients is due to complement activation and inflammation induced shedding of CD59 from glomerular cells.
 ...
PMID:Urinary excretion of protectin (CD59), complement SC5b-9 and cytokines in membranous glomerulonephritis. 754 24

Eosinophils are supposed to play a critical role in the pathology of several allergic diseases because after activation they can release toxic and proinflammatory agents. In this study we have investigated whether IgE-mediated rat pleurisy could be affected by an ongoing pleural eosinophilic inflammatory response. IgE-passively sensitized rats were challenged with an intrapleural (i.pl.) injection of allergen (dinitrophenylated bovine serum albumin, 1 microgram/cavity) and exudation assessed by measuring the amount of protein extravasated into the pleural cavity within 4 h. We have confirmed that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation (250 ng/cavity i.pl.) was followed by a marked pleural neutrophilia, apparent at 3 h, which was followed by an eosinophil accumulation noted within 48-72 h postchallenge. We have also confirmed that a boiled sample of LPS pleural washing (LPS-PW, 200 microliters i.pl.) caused selective eosinophilia in recipient rats. Pleural exudation remained unaltered when the allergenic challenge was performed 3 h after LPS in a condition of intense pleural fluid neutrophilia. In contrast, this was significantly reduced (P < .001) when the challenge occurred 72 h after LPS or 24 h after LPS-PW in selective pleural fluid eosinophilia. In another series of experiments repeated daily i.pl. injections of platelet-activating factor (PAF; 1 microgram/cavity) resulted in a progressive increase in eosinophil number recovered from the pleural cavity. The values were 1.2 +/- 0.2, 3.0 +/- 0.2, and 5.8 +/- 0.5 x 10(6) eosinophils/cavity (mean +/- SEM) after 0, 1, and 4 injections, respectively. Allergen challenge performed after 0, 1, or 4 PAF stimulations led to pleural protein levels of 88.6 +/- 5.7, 33.7 +/- 0.7, and 19.4 +/- 2.3 mg/cavity, respectively, indicating that the allergic pleurisy is inhibited in a manner dependent on the magnitude of eosinophil accumulation. Furthermore, the impairment of PAF-induced eosinophil accumulation by cetirizine (30 mg/kg i.p.) restored the exudatory response. Exudation triggered by compound 48/80 (25 micrograms/cavity), histamine (200 micrograms/cavity), or 5-hydroxytryptamine (100 micrograms/cavity) was not affected by four previous PAF daily injections. The findings indicate that allergen-induced exudation is selectively down-regulated in the eosinophil-enriched pleural space of rats, a suppression that increased with increasing eosinophil number and disappeared after chemical impairment of the eosinophilia.
 ...
PMID:Pleural fluid eosinophils suppress local IgE-mediated protein exudation in rats. 756 15

The aim was to study the effect of the type of polymer solvent on characteristics of microspheres produced by spray drying. The water-soluble model protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was microencapsulated into biodegradable poly(D,L-lactic acid) using the following 10 different polymer solvents: acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal, acetone, dichloromethane, dioxane, ethyl acetate, ethyl vinyl ether, nitromethane, tetrahydrofuran, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and 1,1,2-trichloroethylene. These solvents having similar toxicity levels differ greatly in their physico-chemical characteristics such as boiling point, vapour pressure, miscibility and interfacial tension with an aqueous phase, and solubility parameter. The effect of these solvents on microsphere morphology was studied by SEM-micrographs. Regular particle morphology was obtained when dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, or nitromethane was used as the polymer solvent, whereas the trichlorinated solvents, tetrahydrofuran, and dioxane produced a substantial number of coalesced particles. The results are interpreted in terms of boiling point, vapour pressure, and polymer-solvent affinity. Further, BSA-loading and -integrity in the microspheres, and burst release were analysed. The theoretical loading of 2.9% was attained with dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and nitromethane, in agreement with observations of particle morphology. HPLC- and SDS-PAGE analysis of the microencapsulated BSA did not show any protein degradation or dimerization, whereas solid-phase ELISA clearly revealed that the in vitro protein antigenicity was substantially reduced (50%), particularly by water miscible solvents. Dichloromethane and ethyl acetate did not show any detrimental effect on protein antigenicity. Finally, burst release could be related again to particle morphology, with dichloromethane and nitromethane giving a burst release of only 5%. In conclusion, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and nitromethane proved to be the most suitable solvents for the polymer-protein system studied.
 ...
PMID:Quality improvement of spray-dried, protein-loaded D,L-PLA microspheres by appropriate polymer solvent selection. 773 Sep 60

The use of cyclosporin A (Cy A) in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, particularly lesions of focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, is controversial. A retrospective study of 10 adult patients with nephrotic syndrome treated with Cy A was performed. Histological diagnosis was established in all patients: focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (n = 6), focal global sclerosis (n = 1), mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (n = 1), focal proliferative glomerulonephritis (n = 1) and minimal change disease (n = 1). All patients had previously received immunosuppressive therapy (duration of steroids 1-76 months; 35.0 +/- 12.1, mean +/- SEM). Cy A in a dose of 3-5 mg/kg/day, reduced proteinuria from 16.85 +/- 6.67 to 3.37 +/- 1.48 g/24 hours (P = 0.008), with an associated increase in serum albumin from 15.2 +/- 2.6 to 34.3 +/- 2.5 g/l (P < 0.001). In six patients steroid therapy was discontinued. Cy A was well tolerated for up to 5 years. There was no significant nephrotoxicity. In conclusion, Cy A was effective treatment of refractory idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, including those cases with focal segmental glomerular sclerosis.
 ...
PMID:Cyclosporin A in refractory idiopathic nephrotic syndrome: 5 years clinical experience. 787 Jun 36

The significance of isolated proteinuria in pediatric patients is uncertain. Therefore, we retrospectively studied all children evaluated for this urinary abnormality during the 6-year period from 1986 to 1992. Thirty-one patients (19 males), age 2 to 20 years, were identified as having isolated proteinuria that had persisted for a mean interval of 9.6 +/- 1.9 (SEM) months. The diagnosis was based upon the presence of a urine protein:creatinine ratio > 0.2 in an early-morning specimen. None of the patients had hematuria, edema, or azotemia. Seventeen children underwent a renal biopsy. There was no difference between the patients who were biopsied and those who were not with respect to age, magnitude of proteinuria, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), or serum albumin and cholesterol concentrations. The renal histopathology revealed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (n = 8), membranous nephropathy (n = 1), postinfectious nephritis (n = 2), focal global glomerulosclerosis (FGGS) (n = 1), and normal kidney tissue (n = 5). Twelve of the patients who did not undergo a kidney biopsy and four of the five children with a normal renal biopsy were followed for at least 12 months; there was complete resolution of the proteinuria in 11 (69%) of these patients. The level of proteinuria did not predict the presence or absence of important kidney disease. However, if isolated proteinuria persists for more than 1 year, it is then unlikely to spontaneously remit and a renal biopsy is indicated to clarify the nature of any underlying glomerulopathy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Isolated proteinuria in children. Natural history and indications for renal biopsy. 795 87


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>