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)

Male and female, nonarteriosclerotic (virgin) and arteriosclerotic (breeder), Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to the hypertension-producing regimen of uninephrectomy, 1% saline drinking water, and desoxycorticosterone (Percorten) pivalate. Just before autopsy, some of the animals were given a single injection of corticotropin. The acute challenge of corticotropin caused a definite increase in free fatty acids, systolic blood pressure, creatine phosphokinase, glucose, and corticosterone. The two weeks of desoxycorticosterone and 1% saline-induced hypertension caused myocarditis and hyalinization of the coronary arteries of the nonarteriosclerotic (virgin) rats and definite exacerbation of the preexisting arteriosclerosis in breeder rats, severe myocarditis, and polyarteritis nodosa. All of the treated animals manifested lipid depletion of the zona glomerulosa indicative of reduced biosynthesis and secretion of endogenous mineralocorticoids due to the exogenous desoxycorticosterone and saline treatment.
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PMID:Corticotropin stimulation of hypertensive rats with and without arteriosclerosis. 21 53

The adrenal cortical hormone, cortisone, and the pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) possess potent antirheumatic properties. Their administration produces strikingly beneficial effects on a number of rheumatic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid (ankylosing) spondylitis, acute rheumatic fever, disseminated lupus erythematosus, periarteritis nodosa, psoriatic arthritis, dermatomyositis, and gout. In general the effects of these substances are temporary and they cause suppression rather than cure of the disease processes. Improvement is maintained usually only by continuing administration, and on hormonal withdrawal prompt or fairly prompt relapse of the disease manifestations ensues. In addition to their antirheumatic effects cortisone and ACTH influence a wide variety of physiologic functions. Administration of them therefore may produce a number of metabolic and clinical changes, some of which are not advantageous from a therapeutic standpoint. Adverse side-reactions are more liable to occur when large doses of the hormones are given for prolonged periods; such reactions appear to be reversible and disappear when administration of the hormones is stopped. With cortisone, comparatively few untoward signs develop when smaller amounts are administered continuously even for periods of months. Greater clinical experience is needed before optimal doses and schedules of administration are finally determined. It appears that some severe cases, many moderately severe cases, and most moderate and mild cases of rheumatoid arthritis may be adequately controlled with smaller "maintenance" doses of cortisone ranging from 32 to 65 mg. a day, providing larger doses to suppress the disease manifestations are employed initially. Neither cortisone nor ACTH should be considered as a therapeutic agent for general use until more information regarding their physiologic activities and the consequences of prolonged or repeated administration of them are available. Until the potential dangers of these hormones can be determined precisely, the use of them should be considered as an investigative procedure.
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PMID:The effects of cortisone and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) on certain rheumatic diseases. 1541 40