Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Two patients with brain tumors associated with infantile spasms are reported. Both infants displayed typical clinical features of infantile spasms, comprising tonic spasms manifesting in series and hypsarrythmia. In Patient 1, magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tumor in the hypothalamic region, suggestive of hypothalamic hamartoma. In Patient 2, cranial computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging indicated the existence of a primary brain tumor with calcification in the right temporal lobe. Adrenocorticotropic hormone therapy combined with clonazepam relieved seizures in both infants. In Patient 1, resection of the hypothalamic tumor is impossible because the tumor lacks a stalk. In Patient 2, pathologic investigation of removed tumor tissue demonstrated mixed-oligoastrocytoma. It is suggested that focal lesions, like those in our patients, are involved in the development of infantile spasms.
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PMID:Brain tumors associated with infantile spasms. 754 12

We observed the histopathological and physiological characteristics of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting adenoma cells derived from a rapidly growing pituitary adenoma, which have firm cell attachment and well-preserved hormonal function in a relatively longterm culture. Corticotrophs, obtained from a 43-year-old woman with Cushing's disease in whom plasma ACTH levels increased in response to 1-deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) stimulation and the proliferative potential was very high, were grown in tissue culture for up to 6 months. The morphological features were observed by phase contrast and electron microscopy. The cultured cells were incubated with corticotroph-releasing hormone (CRH), arginine vasopressin (AVP), or DDAVP, and ACTH in the medium was measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The morphology of the ACTH-secreting adenoma cells in culture revealed a mixed population of formed clusters and spindle-shaped fibroblast-like cells. The adenoma cells were immunohistochemically positive only for ACTH. On electron microscopic observation, pituitary tumor cells obtained 6 days after seeding demonstrated many secretory granules, well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria; fewer secretory granules were observed after cultivation for 24 days. ACTH levels in the incubation media were elevated with stimulation by DDAVP, AVP, or CRH. In this study, the establishment of relatively longterm culture of human pituitary adenoma cells seemed to be due to the high proliferative potential of this adenoma. This in vitro study may imply that DDAVP as well as AVP directly stimulates ACTH release from corticotropic adenoma cells.
Brain Tumor Pathol 2000
PMID:Histopathological and physiological characteristics of cultured human ACTH-secreting cells derived from a rapidly growing pituitary adenoma. 1131 Sep 20

A 34-year-old man with neurofibromatosis type 1, who had received radiation therapy after the excision of a brain tumor 5 years earlier, was admitted to our hospital with vomiting and weight loss. Cortisol and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) were undetectable before and after administration of 100 microg corticotropin releasing hormone. The level of growth hormone without stimulation was 24.7 ng/ml. We diagnosed him to have complete ACTH deficiency attributable to radiation therapy. This is the first known case of a patient with complete ACTH deficiency after radiation therapy and a growth hormone reserve that remained normal.
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PMID:Complete adrenocorticotropin deficiency after radiation therapy for brain tumor with a normal growth hormone reserve. 1213 70