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)

Adrenocortical function and plasma growth hormone pattern were investigated in 15 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease, in a period of acute respiratory failure and again after recovery. During the acute period, secretion rate and plasma concentrations of cortisol were markedly enhanced; urinary excretion of cortisol metabolites was only slightly increased, suggesting an alteration of the catabolism of cortisol under these conditions; adrenocortical sensitivity to corticotropin and capacity of maximal adrenal secretion were normal. The increase of cortisol secretion was probably due to hypoxemia and/or hypercapnia acting through the hypothalamo-pituitary axis. During the chronic phase of respiratory insufficiency, adrenocortical secretion and responsiveness were within the normal range. Finally, respiratory failure did not stimulate the secretion of growth hormone.
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PMID:Adrenocortical and somatotrophic secretions in acute and chronic respiratory insufficiency. 114 86

Using male and female Wistar rats, pituitary response to cardiac and respiratory failure type (CFT and RFT) sudden death caused by the intravenous administration of KC1 and SCC, respectively, was examined by analyzing variation in pituitary immunoreactive beta-endorphin (IR-beta-EP) levels determined by radioimmunoassay after death and in circulating IR-beta-EP levels during periods of agony. In the pituitary gland of both sexes which differed significantly in ratio of the organ weight to body weight for CFT and RFT (CFT greater than RFT), IR-beta-EP was significantly less in RFT than in CFT (p less than 0.05). No variation in plasma IR-beta-EP was noted during short periods of agony in CFT, but it markedly increased during long periods of agony in RFT. The highest elevation at 2 or 4 minutes after SCC administration was about 3 times the preadministration value for IR-beta-EP in males (p less than 0.01). But elevation in females was lower than in males. Rise plasma IR-beta-EP during agony of RFT is regarded to be of pituitary origin due to dexamethasone treatment. The pituitary was thus concluded to respond more to the fatal agony in RFT than in CFT.
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PMID:Beta-endorphin secretion at the time of sudden death due to cardiac or respiratory failure. 140 12

A child with respiratory failure and cor pulmonale secondary to the obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) was found to have abnormal beta-endorphin levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum. A single iv dose of 10 microgram/kg of naloxone early in the course of respiratory failure resulted in dramatic improvement which lasted approximately 3 to 4 h. The patient failed to response to progesterone, and because of deteriorating respiratory status a low-dose continuous infusion of naloxone, 2 microgram/kg.h, was begun and gradually increased to 10 microgram/kg.h, during which time there was a dramatic improvement in respiratory status and clinical condition. After 5 days, naloxone infusion was discontinued and progressive respiratory deterioration recurred. The child died of over-whelming sepsis and disseminated intravascular coagulation.
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PMID:Narcotic antagonist therapy of the obesity hypoventilation syndrome. 628 52

While Nocardial infections are being diagnosed with increasing frequency, infection with Nocardia otitidiscaviarum remains relatively uncommon. We report a case of pulmonary Nocardia otitidis-caviarum infection in a 35-year-old man with Cushing's disease. This work describes the first case of nocardiosis in Japan caused by Nocardia otitidis-caviarum in Cushing's disease. The patient was admitted to our department because of edema. A diagnosis of Cushing's disease was made on the basis of elevated serum levels of cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and pituitary adenoma was found in a cranial CT scan. One month after admission, chest radiographs showed a large bilateral mass on the lung fields. Nocardia otitidis-caviarum was isolated from the sputum. The patient responded poorly to intravenous PAPM/BP, but later improved after treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, but he died of heart failure and respiratory failure after the initiation of this therapy. This case demonstrated that nocardiosis must be considered in differential diagnosis as an opportunistic infection.
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PMID:[Pulmonary Nocardia otitidis-caviarum infection in a patient with Cushing's disease]. 1143 17

We report a patient with adenocarcinoma of the prostate, who eventually developed Cushing syndrome due to ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion from the tumor. At first, maximal androgen blockade (MAB) therapy was effective for the prostate carcinoma, which was positive for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and negative for ACTH on the biopsy specimen. However, 3 years later, the patient complained of bilateral leg edema. A chest computed tomographic (CT) scan showed bilateral pleural effusion and inflammatory changes, focused on the right upper-lobe. While his PSA was not elevated, and there were no obvious tumor metastases, his serum cortisol and ACTH levels were elevated, without any evidence of lesions that could release ectopic ACTH. Two weeks later, the patient complained of dyspnea and bilateral pleural effusion, and inflammatory changes were worse. Although the patient was administered inhibitors of adrenocorticoid synthesis-metyrapone, they did not have enough clinical efficiency. Steroid pulse therapy was also administered but the patient's severe pneumonia and pleural effusion did not improve and he finally died of respiratory failure. In contrast to the initial biopsy specimen findings, on autopsy, the tumor was negative for PSA but positive for ACTH. Thus, it would appear that the tumor began to produce and release ectopic ACTH after therapy, which resulted in the development of Cushing syndrome in this patient with prostate carcinoma.
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PMID:Cushing syndrome associated with prostatic tumor adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) expression after maximal androgen blockade therapy. 1751 28

A 56-year-old Japanese woman with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-dependent Cushing's syndrome (CS) was admitted to hospital, where she was diagnosed as having a mediastinal tumor with ectopic ACTH production. The tumor and associated lymph node metastases were resected endoscopically, and the pathological diagnosis was atypical thymic carcinoid. Radiation therapy and administration of metyrapone, an inhibitor of 11b-hydroxylase to decrease the cortisol level, were attempted, but the levels of ACTH and cortisol were unresponsive. Bilateral adrenalectomy and hydrocortisone replacement were performed to ameliorate the patient's hypercortisolism. She subsequently developed multiple vertebral metastases, but was unwilling to undergo chemotherapy. Her condition deteriorated progressively, and she died of heart and respiratory failure 3 years and 6 months after the first admission. Immunostaining for ACTH, chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and neuron-specific enolase was positive in the carcinoid cells. Since somatostatin (SS) and SS analogues inhibit the growth of carcinoid via the SS receptor (SSTR) 2, we evaluated the expression of SSTR2 in the carcinoid cells using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and this confirmed the expression of SSTR2 in the carcinoid cells. Our experience of this patient with CS due to an ectopic ACTH-producing atypical thymic carcinoid suggests that SS analogues may be useful for treatment of carcinoid showing expression of SSTR2.
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PMID:Atypical thymic carcinoid associated with Cushing's syndrome. 2131 31

Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-related Cushing's syndrome can lead to multiple complications including severe immunosuppression. If the ACTH-secreting tumour cannot be found, definitive treatment is surgical adrenalectomy, typically followed by glucocorticoid replacement. Here, we present a case of fulminant respiratory failure secondary to coinfection with Pneumocystis jirovecii and cytomegalovirus in a patient with ectopic ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome with occult primary. Due to significant deconditioning, she was unable to undergo definitive adrenalectomy and instead underwent percutaneous microwave ablation of the adrenal glands.
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PMID:Ectopic ACTH syndrome complicated by multiple opportunistic infections treated with percutaneous ablation of the adrenal glands. 2914 26