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)

The possibility of an involvement of peptidergic systems in schizophrenia has been under investigation for a number of years. Studies of the efficacy of des-tyr-gamma-endorphin were equivocal; more recent studies with des-enkephalin-gamma-endorphin have reported some activity but the peptide has only been investigated as an adjunct to neuroleptic medication, apart from one very small active reference comparator study. In the multicentre study reported here, 96 patients suffering from schizophrenia (DSM-III with a current exacerbation if chronic) were allocated randomly to double-blind treatment with either des-enkephalin-gamma-endorphin (DE-gamma-E) (Org 5878) 10 mg given as a once daily intramuscular injection for 4 weeks, thioridazine 400 mg orally in 2 divided doses or placebo using a double-dummy technique to preserve blindness. There was a significant advantage for thioridazine compared with placebo registered on all measures at weeks 3 and 4. There was no difference between DE-gamma-E and placebo. There was a significant difference between thioridazine and DE-gamma-E at weeks 3 and 4 registered on the MSS and at week 3 registered on the BPRS. The lack of efficacy of DE-gamma-E suggests that the theories that the endorphins have an important role in schizophrenia have to be revised. The need for well designed placebo controlled studies for assessing efficacy in schizophrenia is emphasized.
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PMID:Inadequate treatment response to des-enkephalin-gamma-endorphin compared with thioridazine and placebo in schizophrenia. 152 45

Cushing's disease has come full cycle. As originally asserted more than 50 years ago, modern diagnostic techniques now demonstrate an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secreting pituitary adenoma in approximately 80% of such patients. At this historical juncture, we report a long-term follow-up of our 17 patients who underwent adrenalectomy (8) or later adrenalectomy plus adrenal autotransplantation (9) between 1955 and 1976. Two patients died soon after surgery and five others died later of "natural" causes. Four others moved away but were stable when last contacted. Of the six patients who remain available for current follow-up, three have undergone hypophyseal surgery. Another patient has evidence of pituitary enlargement, and the remaining two are yet to undergo computerized tomography (CT) scan. Four illustrative cases are reviewed in some detail. One case presented with Nelson's syndrome and acute onset blindness. The second represented multiple endocrine adenomatosis with hyperparathyroidism in addition to Cushing's disease. The third exhibited Cushing's syndrome from the autotransplants, finally cured by hypophysectomy. The fourth exhibited huge ACTH levels from a large pituitary adenoma that could not be totally resected and recurrent Cushing's syndrome associated with large autotransplant "adenomas." The initial surgical treatment of choice is pituitary adenectomy. Bilateral adrenalectomy will remain useful where curative pituitary surgery is not feasible. Neither pituitary irradiation nor medical therapy has been truly effective in our patients. Adrenal autotransplants survive, to some extent, in virtually all patients. However, the degree of function is variable, and the full function may not be achieved for many months or even years. Functioning autotransplants have not prevented Nelson's syndrome, and they would appear to offer little practical benefit at this time.
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PMID:Cushing's disease today. Late follow-up of 17 adrenalectomy patients with emphasis on eight with adrenal autotransplants. 298 64

Our investigations show that blindness, either natural or surgically induced results in a lack of fur priming and sexual development. Definite genetic color phase differences were observed in the sensitivities of the biological clocks for initiating fur priming, testicular development and time of breeding and whelping. Finely-bred dark mink molted and their pelts primed later in the fall than did either pastel or opaline mink. Testicular development was earlier and more extensive for the opaline, but was intermediate for the pastels and slower and least extensive for the finely-bred dark mink. The dark mink, however, bred earlier than did either the pastel and opaline strains. Hedlund (deaf, white) mink pelted about the same time as the pastels and opalines, but they bred and whelped later than the above three strains of mink. Plasma alpha-MSH levels were inversely related to testosterone levels and testicular development. It was high in all three strains (darks, pastels and opalines) during both the spring and autumnal molts, but was low during testicular development and breeding.
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PMID:Pineal gland - pituitary (alpha-MSH) interrelationships in fur priming and reproductive cycles in mink (Mustela vison). 711 37

A 13-year-old male with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) developed a sleep-wake disorder after complete vision loss. He had a 25-h sleep-wake cycle. After methyl B12 therapy, circadian rhythms in his plasma melatonin and beta-endorphin levels approximated those of healthy volunteers, and his peak cortisol time shifted backward. Daily deep body temperature (DBT) amplitude was smaller than in healthy males before and after the treatment, and his acrophase did not change. However, his sleep-wake rhythm became normal. Methyl B12 is considered useful for treating circadian rhythm disturbances in patients having central nervous system disorders and blindness.
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PMID:Circadian rhythm abnormalities in adrenoleukodystrophy and methyl B12 treatment. 874 22

Retrolental fibroplasia is today the principal cause of blindness in children of preschool age, exceeding all other causes combined. The disease occurs in infants of low weight at birth, commonly those born prematurely. The incidence of the disease is rising at an alarming rate. Vitamin E deficiency, corticotropin (ACTH) deficiency, the use of cow's milk in place of mother's milk, and improper oxygenation have been suggested as etiologic factors but the cause remains a mystery. Often the incidence is high in institutions in which maximal care is given premature infants.Clinically, the disease advances through an "active" phase during which regression is possible, and a "subsiding" or "cicatricial" phase which terminates with the formation of a disorganized opaque mass behind the lens. The earliest manifestations are noted in the fundi. Hemorrhages, neovascularization, transudation commencing in the periphery, and retinal separation contribute to the formation of the characteristic retrolental membrane. The diagnosis may be made when the retrolental membrane is observed in the eye of an infant whose weight at birth was low. Differential diagnosis is required occasionally. Thus far, no form of therapy has prevented or reversed the pathologic changes successfully. Use of vitamin E, corticotropin and mother's milk has not influenced the incidence of the disease. Avoidance of premature delivery if possible is indicated.
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PMID:Retrolental fibroplasia; blindness in infants of low weight at birth. 1300 70

Long-term morbidity for children with low-grade glioma (LGG) requires exposure-specific characterization. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated for 361 children diagnosed with LGG between 1985 and 2007 at a single institution. Five-year survivors (n = 240) received risk-based clinical assessment. Cumulative incidence of late effects 15 years from diagnosis were estimated. Risk factors for adverse health were identified using Fine and Gray's approach to Cox's proportional hazards model, accounting for death as a competing risk. OS at 15 years was 86% (95% confidence interval [CI] 82%-90%), and PFS was 55% (95% CI 51%-58%). Among the 240 5-year survivors, the 5-, 10-, and 15-year cumulative incidence of adverse outcomes included blindness: 10%, 13%, and 18%, respectively; hearing loss: 8%, 14%, and 22%; obesity/overweight: 18%, 35%, and 53%; hyperinsulinism: 1%, 5%, and 24%; growth hormone deficiency: 13%, 27%, and 29%;thyroid hormone deficiency: 16%, 28%, and 33%; and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency: 12%, 22%, and 26%. Multivariable models demonstrated radiation therapy to be a significant independent predictor of hearing loss, growth hormone deficiency, abnormal thyroid function, and ACTH deficiency. Diencephalic location was a statistically significant independent risk factor for blindness, growth hormone deficiency, abnormal thyroid function, and ACTH deficiency. Among the 182 5-year survivors assessed for intellectual function, 34% had an intelligence quotient (IQ) below average (<85), associated with younger age at diagnosis, epilepsy, and shunt placement. Survivors of childhood LGG experience substantial long-term adverse effects that continue to increase well beyond the 5-year survival time point.
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PMID:Survival and long-term health and cognitive outcomes after low-grade glioma. 2117 81