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)

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentration of beta-endorphin (beta-Ep), homovanillic acid (HVA) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) was measured in 15 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and in 16 patients suspected of having Binswanger's disease (BD) by MRI, which sometimes resembles DAT clinically. These were classified into three stages according to severity of dementia, Stage 1 (mild dementia)-Stage 3 (severe dementia). CSF levels of HVA decreased significantly in severe dementia, but the level of 5-HIAA did not correlate with dementia severity in both dementia groups. beta-Ep levels did not differ significantly between any stages of DAT, and among controls. beta-Ep levels, however, in BD Stage 1 (27.5 +/- 5.9 pg/ml) were significantly higher (p less than 0.05), but level in Stage 3 (6.7 +/- 2.0) was significantly lower (p less than 0.001) than in the controls (19.2 +/- 4.5). These results suggest that CSF beta-Ep may depend on the cause of dementia rather than severity of dementia, and could possibly distinguish the closely resembling BD from true DAT.
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PMID:CSF beta-endorphin, HVA and 5-HIAA of dementia of the Alzheimer type and Binswanger's disease in the elderly. 169 33

We report on a patient with ACTH and FSH producing invasive pituitary adenoma complaining of cutaneous pigmentation. Elevations in plasma ACTH, beta-endorphin and cortisol levels as well as urinary 17-OHCS and cortisol excretion were found. Serum FSH concentration was just within the upper limit of the normal range, whereas serum LH level was reduced and alpha-subunit level was normal. Roentogenographic examination showed an almost complete loss of sellar floor and destruction of the posterior clinoids and dorsum sella. CT scan and MRI demonstrated an enlarged tumor invasion of the clivus and its extension to the sphenoid sinus. After subtotal removal of the large pituitary tumor, serum cortisol and plasma beta-endorphin levels as well as plasma ACTH concentrations returned to normal and serum FSH levels also remarkably decreased. Histologically, the tumor corresponded to a chromophobe, slightly PAS positive adenoma. These tumor cells exhibited positive immunostaining with antibody to ACTH (1-24), beta-LPH, beta-endorphin and FSH, while immunostaining of the adenoma cells was negative for LH, TSH, GH and prolactin. The immunogold technique also demonstrated ACTH and FSH particles in the secretory granules in the cytoplasm of the adenoma cells. Some of the tumor cells disclosed Crooke's hyalinization and type I microfilament occupied most of the cytoplasm. In the present study, a very rare case of ACTH and FSH producing invasive pituitary adenoma is reported.
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PMID:An ACTH and FSH producing invasive pituitary adenoma with Crooke's hyalinization. 171 63

A 58-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with complaints of general fatigue, thirst and lumbago. A diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome was made on the basis of elevated serum levels of cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Although Cushing's disease was most suspected, no evident image of pituitary adenoma could be found on brain CT scan and MRI. Therefore, treatment with oral Trilostane was started. Three months after admission, left hemiplegia was noticed and cerebral abscess in the right frontal lobe was demonstrated by brain CT scan. In spite of surgical removal of the abscess by total resection, she had a relapse in the same site and also developed a new lesion in the left lateral lobe. Surgical drainage was performed and Nocardia asteroides was isolated from the drained pus. An intensive chemotherapy with aminobenzylpenicillin (ABPC) and latamoxef (LMOX) in combination resulted in marked decrease in size of the lesion in the brain and subsequent improvement of left hemiplegia was achieved. Since approximately one month before when a diagnosis of cerebral abscess was made, there had been demonstrated a coin lesion in the right middle field on chest X-ray films. This lesion in the right lung disappeared concomitantly with the improvement of the lesions in the brain. This fact strongly suggests that the lesion in both brain and lung were of the same nature. Nocardia is known to make a primary lesion in the lung after being inhaled and then through hematogenous dissemination to make distant lesions in various sites, especially in the brain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[A case of Cushing's syndrome associated with Nocardia cerebral abscess]. 206 9

The therapeutic efficacy of sustained dopaminergic stimulation in Cushing's disease (CD), was investigated performing a three-month trial with monthly 50-100 mg injections of a bromocriptine depot preparation (Parlodel LAR, Sandoz) in six patients with CD. Dopaminergic treatment did not consistently influence pituitary-adrenal activity, as judged by plasma ACTH, cortisol and urinary free cortisol levels as well as by clinical findings. Interestingly, treatment with bromocriptine was associated with reappearance of menses in the three patients who were amenorrheic. In the five patients submitted to inferior petrosal sinus sampling, a parallelism between ACTH and PRL concentrations could be observed with a PRL rise, ipsilateral to that of ACTH, ensuing in three patients after administration of corticotropin-releasing hormone. In one patient a 55% reduction in the size of the pituitary adenoma was demonstrated by MRI carried out at the end of treatment. Our findings lead to the following conclusions: a) administration of depot injections of bromocriptine to patients with CD appears unable to correct hypercortisolism, although it can induce restoration of menses in amenorrheic patients; b) enhanced PRL concentrations at the pituitary level are probably involved in the amenorrhea often accompanying Cushing's disease.
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PMID:Effect of injectable bromocriptine in patients with Cushing's disease. 758 34

Corticosteroids, corticotropin, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, and IFN-beta 1b have each had a substantial effect on the care of patients with multiple sclerosis and the design of subsequent clinical trials of experimental therapeutics for MS. The use of MRI scanning and more sensitive clinical outcome measures will possibly enable us to complete clinical trials in a fraction of the time required for earlier trials. The release of Betaseron, which favorably alters the attack rate in ambulatory patients with relapsing-remitting MS has brought a sense of renewed optimism to patients with MS, their families, and their care providers. New promising therapies for chronic progressive MS and biologic products possibly capable of enhancing the effects of IFN-beta 1b in patients with relapsing MS are setting the stage for additional important therapeutic advances in this disease.
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PMID:Role of steroids and immunosuppression and effects of interferon beta-1b in multiple sclerosis. 797 69

The levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma were examined in two cases of hereditary dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA). Both patients were female and showed cerebellar ataxia, choreic movement and subcortical dementia. The onset ages of the first and second patients were 30 and 47 years, respectively. The first patient did not have the cerebral white matter damage (CWD). The second patient of late onset was associated with marked and diffuse CWD which was shown as high signal intensity by T2-weighted image on MRI. Regardless of accompaniment with CWD, the radioimmunoassay studies of CSF and plasma CRH revealed that both patients had markedly reduced levels of CRH in CSF and plasma. Together with the recent anatomic evidence on the distribution of CRH neurons and receptors in the central nervous system, the present results suggest that degeneration of the subcortical structures including the basal nuclei, the brain stem and the cerebellum involves degeneration and/or dysfunction of the CRH neuronal system which, presumably, are related to those of some other neurotransmitter systems, and that the reduced activity of the CRH system plays a pathophysiological role in such diseases as DRPLA with degeneration of the subcortical nuclei and the cerebellum.
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PMID:[Cerebrospinal fluid and plasma corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA)--study in two cases of hereditary DRPLA]. 837 Feb 12

Exogenous glucocorticoid replacement in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), who due to an adrenal 21-hydroxylase enzyme deficiency are unable to produce endogenous glucocorticoids, is aimed at normalizing hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function. Excess androgen production by the adrenals is thus decreased. Despite standard glucocorticoid replacement doses (12.5-40 mg, 10.5-27 mg/m2/day hydrocortisone equivalents) 4 of 7 patients ranging in age from 14 to 33 years had abnormalities of the pituitary on MRI. Three appeared to have microadenomas and 1 had an empty sella. Five (3 salt wasters, 2 simple virilizers) of these 7 patients had 60-min p.m. ovine corticotropin-releasing hormone (oCRH) stimulation studies. The mean (logarithm) area under the ACTH curve for 0-60 min after oCRH stimulation was significantly greater in patients than controls (p < 0.0001). Mean ACTH at each time point before and after oCRH stimulation was similarly greater in patients than controls (p < 0.05). Two of these patients had pituitary microadenomas, 1 had an empty sella; all 3 were salt wasters. Despite standard glucocorticoid replacement, adolescent and young adult patients with CAH tend to have high basal ACTH and ACTH hyperresponsiveness to oCRH, as well as structural abnormalities of the pituitary. The inevitable periods of under- and overexposure to glucocorticoids in CAH patients may over time cause abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
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PMID:Failure of steroid replacement to consistently normalize pituitary function in congenital adrenal hyperplasia: hormonal and MRI data. 880 8

We investigated the basal and dynamic regulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA), hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) and hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axes and prolactin secretion in 52 patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis. These patients also had gadolinium enhanced brain MRI scans and were divided into relapsing-remitting, secondary progressive and primary progressive subgroups. These subgroups were compared with healthy controls and a group of patients with other neurological diseases. The cortisol diurnal rhythm was preserved in all groups of patients. The time-integrated cortisol response to human corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) stimulation was lower in the patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, compared with patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis and healthy subjects. The time-integrated beta-endorphin response to CRH was greater in the patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis compared with the others. Feedback regulation assessed by dexamethasone suppression was normal. Serum testosterone was low in 24% of male multiple sclerosis patients and oestradiol was low in 25% of pre-menopausal female multiple sclerosis patients, whereas prolactin and the HPT function were normal. Correlations with C-reactive protein (CRP) and MRI suggest that activation of the HPA axis in multiple sclerosis patients is secondary to an active inflammatory stimulus.
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PMID:The neuroendocrine axis in patients with multiple sclerosis. 921 89

We report a case of adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) in which serial urodynamic studies showed neurogenic bladder dysfunction. The patient was in good health until the age of 12, when he began to lose his hair. At age 25 he started to have urinary urgency, difficulty in voiding, occasional fecal incontinence, erectile impotence, and progressive gait disturbance. In his first admission to our hospital age 31, he was intelligent but childish. He showed diffuse baldness, spastic paraparesis, and disturbed vibratory sensation. Serum cortisol response to corticotropin (ACTH) was low and serum levels of very long chain fatty acids were increased. Nerve conduction studies and sural nerve biopsy showed the presence of peripheral neuropathy. These findings confirmed the diagnosis of AMN. The first urodynamic study showed residual urine volume of 50 ml, impaired bladder sensation, and detrusor hyperreflexia. At age 38 he needed diapers because he became apathetic and demented, and could no longer stand by himself. MRI disclosed high signal intensities in the bilateral cerebral white matter. The second urodynamic study showed residual urine volume of 200 ml and decreased bladder capacity with marked detrusor hyperreflexia. Demyelinating lesions of the peripheral nerve and white matter of the spinal cord and the cerebrum may be mainly responsible for the micturitional disturbance in our patient with AMN.
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PMID:Micturitional disturbance in a patient with adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN). 959 Apr 72

We present the case of a 7-month-old baby with Cushing's disease due to an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary adenoma combined with cells producing thyreotropin-secreting hormone (TSH). In MRI scans, a contrast-enhancing lesion was seen inside the pituitary fossa, and it extended into the suprasellar region. On the assumption of a pituitary adenoma, surgery was performed. Corresponding with biochemical findings, histopathological evaluation revealed an ACTH- and TSH-producing tumor. Genetic analysis did not demonstrate an alteration at codon 201 (Arg) and 227 (Glu). To our knowledge, this is the first case described in a child of this age.
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PMID:Cushing's disease in a 7-month-old girl due to a tumor producing adrenocorticotropic hormone and thyreotropin-secreting hormone. 1054 16


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