Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C1762617 (weakness)
 37,932 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Over a period of 2 months an 88-year-old man developed progressively more severe breathing-related pain under the right shoulder blade, loss of appetite, general weakness, depressive mood, sub-febrile temperature and nocturnal sweating. Various inflammation parameters were raised (sedimentation rate 43 mm in the first hour; C-reactive protein 26 mg/dl; white cell count 12,500/microliters). There also were pleural effusion and signs of mild nonspecific hepatitis. Antibiotics were administered because bacterial pneumonia was suspected. But the patient's condition deteriorated and he developed nightly periods of disorientation. There was no evidence for any advanced malignancy. Immunological tests pointed towards older-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: titre for antinuclear antibodies markedly raised to 1:20 480; anti-DNA titre moderately raised to 1:125 IU/ml. The patient's general condition and the pleuritic pain improved within 2 days under treatment with prednisone (50 mg daily); the depression, disorientation and fever receded within a week. The anti-DNA titre fell to 47 IU/ml after 8 weeks. He was able to resume his usual social activities and was kept on a maintenance prednisone dose of 5.0 mg daily.
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PMID:[Lupus erythematosus in old age]. 820 42

We performed a phase Ia/Ib trial of chimeric anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody 14.18 (ch14.18) in combination with recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) to determine the maximum tolerated dose as well as immunologic and biologic responses to the regimen. Sixteen patients with metastatic malignant melanoma received escalating doses of ch14.18 (15-60 mg/m2) administered intravenously for 4 h on day 1. Twenty-four hours later, subcutaneous injections of rhGM-CSF were administered daily for a total of 14 days. Significant side effects were related to ch14.18 infusion and consisted of moderate to severe abdominal and/or extremity pain, blood pressure changes, headache, nausea, diarrhea, peripheral nerve dysesthesias, myalgias, and weakness. Dose-limiting toxicity was observed at 60 mg/m2 and consisted of severe hypertension, hypotension, and atrial fibrillation in one patient each, respectively. Significant increases in white blood cell count, granulocyte count, eosinophil count, and monocyte count occurred after rhGM-CSF treatment. Significant enhancement of in vitro and in vivo monocyte and neutrophil tumoricidal activity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity along with significant elevations in C-reactive protein and neopterin were observed. Despite these immunological and biological changes, no antitumor activity was seen. In short, the combination of ch14.18 and rhGM-CSF resulted in toxicity similar to that observed with ch14.18 alone without improvement in tumor response.
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PMID:Phase Ia/Ib trial of anti-GD2 chimeric monoclonal antibody 14.18 (ch14.18) and recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) in metastatic melanoma. 881 95

We report three patients who received maintenance hemodialysis and suffered from extrapulmonary tuberculosis with unusual presentations. The first patient presented with fever of unknown origin. All studies showed negative findings except high erythrocyte sedimentation rate and high value of C-reactive protein. He failed to response to broad-spectrum antibiotics but showed a complete response to antituberculosis therapy. The second patient presented with right supraclavicular lymphadenopathy and weakness. Lymph node biopsy revealed caseating granuloma with positive acid-fast bacilli. The third patient presented with tumor mass of left sternoclavicular joint for which malignancy was suspected initially. Ultimately, tuberculosis was documented by histopathologic studies showing caseating granuloma. All three patients had normal findings of chest x-ray and did not have previous history of tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus.
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PMID:Unusual presentations of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in three hemodialysis patients. 915 66

We report a 38-year-old man systemic lupus erythematosus who presented with an acute onset of paraplegia and urinary retention. The man had a 12-year history of nodular cutaneous mucinosis and arthralgia. In 1994, he was admitted to our hospital with a sudden onset of weakness and numbness of the right leg followed by an emergence of similar symptoms in the left leg. His elder sister had died at 16 years of age after suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus for 6 years. On examination, the patient had skin rash on his chest, back, head, forehead, and extremities. The neurological examination revealed that his tongue deviated to the right on protrusion. The muscle power was reduced to 2-3/5 in the right leg and to 4/5 in the left leg. The sensory disturbance was noted in the lower extremities with predominant involvement of the right leg. Reflexes were increased in the right biceps, triceps, both patellas, and Achilles tendons. Babinski sign was noted bilaterally. Urinary retention and constipation were also noted. The results of the blood cell count and hepatic and renal function tests were normal. Serum levels of C-reactive protein and complements (C3, C4, CH50) were also normal. Serological examinations showed increased anti-DNA antibody (14 U/ml, [normal, < 6]). Antinuclear antibody was positive at a titer of 1:1380. CSF study showed an increased protein concentration of 83 mg/dl and an IgG level of 14 mg/dl with a normal number of cells. MR images revealed a T1-low, T2-high signal lesion at the upper part of the left ventral medulla. MR images of the brain and spinal cord were normal. The patient was diagnosed as having SLE. High-dose intravenous methylprednisolone (1 g/day) pulse treatment that was started 25 days after the onset of neurological symptoms, produced partial relief. Our case presented with paraplegia with a focal lesion in the left upper ventral part of the medulla on MR images. The incidence of male SLE is low, and paraplegia is a rare complication of SLE. Thus, the medullary lesion in SLE observed in our case appears to be rare. SLE should be considered as a cause of acute onset paraplegia or myelopathy.
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PMID:[A man with systemic lupus erythematosus presenting with spastic paraplegia]. 936 89

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) has antitumor activity comparable to IL-2 in murine models with less toxicity. Because the biological effects of intermittent and continuous infusions may differ, we conducted two concurrent Phase I trials of daily x5, 1-h, and continuous 120-h i.v. infusions to determine the toxicity, biological effects, and maximum tolerated dose of i.v. IL-6. Cohorts of six patients with advanced cancer received escalating doses (1, 3, 10, 30, 100, and 150 microgram/kg/day) of recombinant human IL-6 on days 1-5 and 8-12 of each 28-day course (1-h trial) or on days 1-5 of each 21-day course (120-h trial). Treatment was administered in regular inpatient wards and in outpatient clinics and was withheld in the event of grade 3 toxicity. Sixty-nine patients (1-h trial, n = 40; 120-h trial, n = 29) were enrolled, including 27 with renal cancer and 16 with melanoma. All were ambulatory, and 40 were asymptomatic. Fever (97%), anemia (78%), fatigue (56%), nausea or vomiting (49%), and elevated serum transaminase levels (42%) were the most frequent toxicities. Transient hypotension developed in 23 patients (33%). There were three deaths during the study due to progressive disease and/or infection. There were no objective responses. Dose-related increases in platelet counts and C-reactive protein levels were detected in most patients. Principal dose-limiting toxicities included atrial fibrillation (1 episode in the 1-h trial and 4 episodes in the 120-h trial) and neurological toxicities (3 episodes in the 1-h trial and 4 episodes in the 120-h trial). The neurological toxicities included confusion, slurred speech, blurred vision, proximal leg weakness, paraparesis, and ataxia. These effects were transient and reversed when IL-6 was discontinued. IL-6 can be given by i.v. infusion at biologically active doses with acceptable toxicity. Dose-limiting toxicities consisted mainly of a spectrum of severe but transient neurological toxicities and occasional episodes of atrial fibrillation. The maximum tolerated doses recommended for use with these i.v. schedules in Phase II trials are 100 microgram/kg/day by daily x5 1-h infusion and 30 microgram/kg/day by 120-h infusion. Phase II trials will be performed to determine the antitumor activity of IL-6 and better define its toxicity. Patients in these and other IL-6 studies should be monitored closely for neurological and cardiac effects.
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PMID:Concurrent phase I trials of intravenous interleukin 6 in solid tumor patients: reversible dose-limiting neurological toxicity. 981 35

We report a case of systemic sclerosis (SSc) complicated with benign pneumoperitoneum without apparent pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis (PCI). A 43-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of prominent abdominal distension in April 1997. Raynaud's phenomenon has been detected since 1991. She was suffering from recurrent diarrhea, constipation, and subileus. The diagnosis of SSc was made in 1996 based on the sclerosis in her face, forearms, and chest, and hypomotility of the esophagus. On admission, she presented no signs of peritoneal irritation. The laboratory data revealed that white blood cell count was 7,400/mm3 and C-reactive protein was 0.1 mg/dl. Chest and abdominal roentgenograms showed massive free air under the diaphragm, dilatation of small and large intestine, and air-fluid level. PCI was not apparent. Pneumoperitoneum was improved after four weeks with intravenous hyperalimentation. But she presented recurrent severe diarrhea and high fever whenever she tried to take food orally. Klebsiella pneumoniae was proved in her jejunal juice by bacteriologic examination. Intravenous prostaglandin F2 alpha and oral fosfomycin calcium intake made her condition better. Benign pneumoperitoneum without PCI is rarely reported in the patients with SSc. In her condition, weakness of intestinal wall, hypomotility of intestine, unusual bacterial overgrowth, and elevated intraluminal pressure made intraluminal gas go through the wall of the fragile intestine of SSc. As operation of intestine of SSc usually cause miserable outcome, pneumoperitoneum accompanied with SSc even if PCI is apparent or not must be treated with conventional manner while there is no signs of peritoneal irritation.
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PMID:[Pneumoperitoneum with systemic sclerosis]. 1004 21

A 22-year-old male with juvenile dermatomyositis presented with fever up to 40 degrees C and acute pain in his right thigh accompanied by muscle weakness, a skin rash and a tender swelling. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and aldolase were mildly elevated. C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen were markedly increased. The differential white blood cell count revealed relative lymphopenia. Radiography showed diffuse calcifications particularly around the thighs and knees of both legs. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated inflammatory infiltrates in the right thigh. The lesions were identified as phlegmone by immunoszintigraphy with 99mTc-labelled antigranulocyte antibodies. On the 10th day of treatment Staphylococcus aureus was cultured from blood. Patients with juvenile dermatomyositis and calcinosis may develop bacterial infections of soft tissue which sometimes mimic a disease flare. For differential diagnosis plain radiographs, CT scans and MRI are of limited value. Immunoszintigraphy is able to differentiate between infiltrates caused by granulocytes and lymphocytes.
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PMID:[Juvenile dermatomyositis--acute recidivism or sepsis?]. 1041

A 70-year-old man admitted to a local hospital because of facial muscle weakness, tinnitus and facial pain in left side, was then given corticosteroid with a tentative diagnosis of Bell's palsy and his symptoms gradually improved. Since these symptoms recurred six months later, he was referred to our neurological service. As his brain CT revealed diffuse thickening and enhancement of the dura mater, he was thought to have hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP). Intravenous antibiotics were started for aspiration pneumonia and his neurological symptoms gradually improved. HP caused by bacterial infection was thus likely and antibiotics, rifampicin and metronidazole, were administered orally as an outpatient. However, one month later, these symptoms were worsened with headache and double vision. He was then rehospitalized. MR imagings of the head with gadolinium disclosed diffuse meningeal thickening and enhancement, especially of the left-sided cerebellar tentorium. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were moderately elevated. Serum angiotensin converting enzyme was within normal range. The test for cytoplasmic antineutrohil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) in the serum was negative, however, that for perinuclear ANCA was positive at a titer of 99 EU. Lumbar puncture showed normal findings and negative culture results for bacteria, fungi or mycobacteria. Dural biopsy specimens showed non-specific granulomatous inflammation of the dura with epithelioid histiocytes and Langerhans type multinuclear giant cells with caseous necrosis, however, with no presence of fungi or tubercle bacilli. After the oral administration of cyclophosphamide (100 mg, daily) and prednisolone (40 mg, daily), his neurological symptoms and laboratory findings have been gradually improved and he is well one year after discharge. This case together with previous reports suggests that ANCA positive HP without evidence of other organ involvements may belong to the limited form Wegener's granulomatosis. In the literatures of idiopathic HP, the treatment effect with corticosteroid alone is initially favorable, but transient. On the other hand, using the combined therapy of cyclophosphamide and prednisolone, the remission has been achieved in more than 90% of patients with WG. These data suggest that P-ANCA positive HP should be treated with a combination of corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide.
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PMID:[An old man presenting with fluctuating bilateral multiple cranial nerve palsies and positive test for perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody]. 1051 63

A 72-year-old man was admitted to the emergency ward in our hospital on July 20, 2001, because of consciousness disturbance, fever, generalized skin eruption, and severe general weakness beginning 7 days previously. Physical examination on admission revealed marked systemic cyanosis, erythema, and purpura. Laboratory findings indicated disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and multiorgan failure (platelet count, 0.9 x 10(4)/micro l; fibrin degradation product, 110 micro g/ml; C-reactive protein, 22.6 mg/dl). Soluble interleukin 2-receptor (sIL-2R) was markedly increased to 14 710 U/ml. Blood gas analysis demonstrated severe metabolic acidosis. He was diagnosed with multiorgan failure due to DIC. Administration of heparin and sodium bicarbonate was started immediately, but respiratory failure was exacerbated and systemic spasm caused by encephalitis was noted. Although he was supported by an artificial ventilator, deterioration of metabolic acidosis occurred, and the blood pressure decreased to less than 60 mm Hg. He died 5.5 h after admission. The serological test showed no positive antibody titers against Orientia tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia japonica, or Rickettsia typhi. However, a specific DNA band derived from R. japonica was detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using a primer from a blood clot. Therefore, he was definitively diagnosed as having Japanese spotted fever. The PCR method may be markedly useful for establishing a definitive diagnosis of Japanese spotted fever during the critical stage.
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PMID:Fulminant Japanese spotted fever definitively diagnosed by the polymerase chain reaction method. 1237 93

A 27-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of headache, fever and right neck pain. Neurological examination revealed mild meningeal signs, and hyper-reflexia in all extremities. In the laboratory tests, white-cell count was 13,000/mm3, rheumatoid factor(RF) and C-reactive protein(CRP) were positive. The cerebro-spinal fluid showed pleocytosis (56/mm3, neutorophils and lymphocytes were 26 and 28, respectively). Thus, she was diagnosed as aseptic meningitis. A few days later, she had weakness and dysesthesia of the right face and the left extremities. Pulse therapy with intravenous methylprednisolone was started. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed a hemorrhagic infarction in the right parietal lobe. In hemostatic markers, thrombin-antithrombin III complex(TAT; 106 ng/dl), D-dimer 1234 ng/dl, prothrombin fragment 1 + 2(F1 + 2; 2.36 nmol/L), beta-thromboglobulin (beta TG; 4,300 ng/dl) and platelet factor 4 (PF-4; 1,770 ng/dl) were extremely elevated. On duplex ultrasonography, a low echo lucent plaque was observed at the right internal carotid artery and the mean blood flow velocity in the right carotid artery was decreased. She was placed on oral prednisolone and warfarin for suspected stroke due to hypercoagulability associated with vasculitis. Afterwards, she discharged from our hospital. Two months later, she was readmitted to our hospital because of irregular menses and vaginal bleeding. Endometrial uterus biopsy was conducted, which revealed a grade I endometrioid adenocarcinoma. She was under total uterectomy without tumor recurrence. After the radical operation, white-cell count, RF, CRP, TAT, D-dimer, F1 + 2, and beta TG were normalized, and the mean flow velocity of the right common carotid artery was increased. Thereafter, she did not experience stroke recurrence. Therefore, we speculated that she had stroke due to hypercoagulability in association with malignancy, that is Trousseau's syndrome. We also assumed that aseptic meningitis, brainstem encephalitis associated with vasculitis in this patient are other clinical variants of paraneoplastic syndrome through immunological mechanisms associated with malignancy. We emphasize that patients with Trousseau's syndrome can be associated with other paraneoplastic manifestations such as vasculitis as seen in this patient.
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PMID:[A young patient with endometrioid adenocarcinoma who suffered Trousseau's syndrome associated with vasculitis]. 1247 93


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