Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0851184 (thinning)
 11,252 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The effect of dietary thiamin deficiency has been studied on intestinal functions and chemical composition of brush border membranes in rats. Intestinal uptake of glucose, glycine, alanine, and leucine was significantly stimulated in thiamin deficiency compared to pair-fed control group. Studies with glucose and glycine revealed that stimulation of the absorption process occurs only in the presence of Na+ but not in its absence. Km measured in the presence of 140 mM Na+ for glucose and glycine uptakes was reduced by 56 and 41%, respectively, but Vmax remained unaltered in vitamin deficiency. There was no change in these parameters in Na+-free medium (Km = 31.3 and 23.3 mM; Vmax = 17.2 to 19.7 and 13.5 to 16.4 mumol/10 min/g wet tissue, respectively) under these conditions. The activities of brush border sucrase, lactase, maltase, alkaline phosphatase, and leucine aminopeptidase were reduced by 42 to 66% in thiamin deficiency, compared to pair-fed controls. Kinetic studies with sucrase and alkaline phosphatase evinced that a decrease in Vmax (61 and 64%, respectively) with no change in Km (33.8 and 4.3 mM, respectively) was responsible for observed impairment in the enzyme activities in thiamin deficiency. Microvillus membrane proteins expressed on dry membrane basis were reduced by 20% in thiamin-deficient intestine. There was no difference in membrane sialic acid, cholesterol, phospholipids, and triglycerides fractions under these conditions. It is suggested that thinning of the microvillus membrane may be implicated in observed aberrations of intestinal functions in thiamin-deprived animals.
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PMID:Effect of dietary thiamin deficiency on intestinal functions in rats. 646 54

During 1990-1993, 83,000 ethnic Nepalese fled from Bhutan to refugee camps in southeast Nepal after new citizenship policies were enacted by the Bhutanese government. Although annual nutrition surveys of children aged <5 years had been conducted by international agencies, no anthropometric assessment of adolescents had been performed since the refugees arrived in 1990. After withdrawal of a fortified cereal from their rations, the number of reported cases of angular stomatitis (AS) (i.e., thinning and/or fissuring at the angles of the mouth, a sign of possible vitamin deficiency) increased six-fold during December 1998-March 1999 (from 5.5 to 35.6 cases per 1000 refugees) (Santa Tamang, MD, Save the Children Fund, United Kingdom, personal communication, 1999). The highest rates of AS were found among children and adolescents. In October 1999, CDC was invited by the World Food Programme and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to assess the health status of adolescent refugees. This report summarizes the investigation, which indicated a high prevalence of low body mass index (BMI), anemia, low vitamin A status, and signs of micronutrient deficiencies among adolescent refugees.
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PMID:Nutritional assessment of adolescent refugees--Nepal, 1999. 1103 93

Inherited retinal degenerations, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), represent leading causes of incurable blindness in humans. This is also true in dogs, where the term progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) is used to describe inherited photoreceptor degeneration resulting in progressive vision loss. Because of the similarities in ocular anatomy, including the presence of a cone photoreceptor-rich central retinal region, and the close genotype-phenotype correlation, canine models contribute significantly to the understanding of retinal disease mechanisms and the development of new therapies. The screening of the pure-bred dog population for new forms of PRA represents an important strategy to establish new large animal models. By examining 324 dogs of the Swedish vallhund breed in seven countries and across three continents, we were able to describe a new and unique form of PRA characterized by the multifocal appearance of red and brown discoloration of the tapetal fundus followed over time by thinning of the retina. We propose three stages of the disease based on the appearance of the ocular fundus and associated visual deficits. Electroretinography revealed a gradual loss of both rod and cone photoreceptor-mediated function in Stages 2 and 3 of the disease. In the few dogs that suffered from pronounced vision loss, night-blindness occurred first in late Stage 2, followed by decreased day-vision in Stage 3. Histologic examinations confirmed the loss of photoreceptor cells at Stage 3, which was associated with the accumulation of autofluorescent material in the adjacent retinal pigment epithelium. Pedigree analysis was suggestive of an autosomal-recessive mode of inheritance. Mutations in six known canine retinal degeneration genes as well as hypovitaminosis E were excluded as causes of the disease. The observed variability in the age of disease onset and rate of progression suggest the presence of genetic and/or environmental disease modifiers.
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PMID:A novel form of progressive retinal atrophy in Swedish vallhund dogs. 2566 2