Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P61278 (somatostatin)
 22,083 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Acromegaly was diagnosed in 14 middle-aged to old cats of mixed breeding. Thirteen (93%) of the cats were male and one was female. The earliest clinical signs in the 14 cats included polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, all of which were associated with untreated diabetes mellitus. All developed severe insulin resistance within a few months; peak insulin dosages required to control severe hyperglycemia ranged from 20 to 130 U per day. Other clinical findings weeks to months after diagnosis included enlargement of one or more organs (e.g., liver, heart, kidneys, and tongue) (n = 14), cardiomyopathy (n = 13), increase in body size and weight gain (n = 8), nephropathy associated with azotemia and clinical signs of renal failure (n = 7), degenerative arthropathy (n = 6), and central nervous system signs (i.e., circling and seizures) caused by enlargement of the pituitary tumor (n = 2). The diagnosis of acromegaly was confirmed by demonstration of extremely high basal serum growth hormone concentrations (22 to 131 micrograms/l) in all cats. Computerized tomography disclosed a mass in the region of the pituitary gland and hypothalamus in five of the six cats in which it was performed. Two cats were treated by cobalt radiotherapy followed by administration of a somatostatin analogue (octreotide), whereas two cats were treated with octreotide alone. Treatment had little to no effect in decreasing serum GH concentrations in any of the cats. Eleven of the 14 cats were euthanized or died four to 42 months (median survival time, 20.5 months) after the onset of acromegaly because of renal failure (n = 2), congestive heart failure (n = 1), concomitant renal failure and congestive heart failure (n = 3), progressive neurologic signs (n = 2), persistent anorexia and lethargy of unknown cause (n = 1), the owner's unwillingness to treat the diabetes mellitus (n = 1), or unknown causes (n = 1). Results of necropsy examination in ten cats revealed a large pituitary acidophil adenoma (n = 10), marked left ventricular and septal hypertrophy (n = 7), dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 1), arthropathy affecting the shoulder, elbow, or stifle (n = 5), and glomerulopathy characterized by expansion of the mesangial matrix and variable periglomerular fibrosis (n = 10).
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PMID:Acromegaly in 14 cats. 240 66

Chronic hyperglycemia is the single most important pathogenic factor in the diabetic triad: retinopathy, glomerulopathy and neuropathy. But at equal serum glucose balance, diabetics are not equally at risk of microangiopathy. Hence the importance of timely screening of patients who should be convinced to accept the constraints and risk of perfect serum glucose balance or to whom specific therapy independent from serum glucose balance could be proposed. But at present, there is no genetic or immunologic marker allowing for the individual identification of at risk patients. Attention is thus directed towards factors which may be directly involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic microangiopathy: --Special sensitivity of vascular collagen to protein glycosylation which could be reflected in the involvement of tendon and aponeurotic collagen, --platelet abnormalities of which the exacerbating role appears to be confirmed by the significant efficacy of aspirin in the treatment of nonproliferative retinopathy in insulin-independent diabetics, --rheological abnormalities which might essentially be secondary to chronic hyperglycemia, --hormonal abnormalities, in particular hypersecretion of growth hormone and/or somatomedin C, whose role has long been suspected and could be established by therapeutic trials with new somatostatin analogues. But the most recent advances concern the study of hemodynamic factors. Irreversible organic diabetic microangiopathy is thought to be preceded by a phase of reversible functional microangiopathy, characterized by increased capillary blood flow, vascular dilatation, hyperpermeability and altered regulation of flow. Thus, diabetic glomerulopathy with decreased glomerular filtration is preceded by a phase of renal "hyperfunctioning" and irreversible proteinuria is the outcome of a progressive increase in microalbuminuria, reversible at least while the levels are not too high.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Screening of subjects at high risk for diabetic microangiopathies]. 264 89

Hyperfiltration is a very characteristic feature in insulin-dependent diabetes. Hyperfiltration is to some extent associated with long-term glycemic control but the correlation is not very strong. Long-term hyperfiltration may play a role in the genesis of late diabetic nephropathy, but it is difficult to distinguish effects of hyperfiltration per se from effects of poor metabolic control. Long-term hyperfiltration without diabetes does not produce nephropathy. It is hypothesized that IDDM patients who do not show considerable hyperfiltration in spite of poor metabolic control may be those who are to some extent protected against late diabetic nephropathy, but other mechanisms may also be involved in the renal protection of these patients, who survive long-term diabetes without nephropathy. On the other hand, those with poor metabolic control combined with hyperfiltration are likely to develop nephropathy. In addition, it is suggested that the metabolic aberrations in diabetes, with the subsequent changes in the biochemistry of the glomerular wall, are permissive and absolutely required for the development of diabetic nephropathy. Of note, diabetic glomerulopathy in NIDDM occurs without significant hyperfiltration and extreme hyperfiltration in the one-kidney-model (without diabetes) does not produce nephropathy. Nonglycemic modalities of intervention, resulting in reduced hyperfiltration, e.g., low-protein diet or administration of somatostatin analogues, deserves interest as new potential ways of preventing or postponing diabetic nephropathy. Also intervention with aldose-reductase inhibitors may be an important therapeutic modality for those patients in whom good metabolic control is not obtainable. It is now well-established that antihypertensive treatment, including ACE-inhibition, reduces rate of decline in GFR in patients with already established nephropathy. In addition, protein excretion is diminished in IDDM patients with incipient diabetic nephropathy by antihypertensive treatment where GFR is well-preserved during treatment. No data are available for NIDDM.
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PMID:Comparative renal pathophysiology relevant to IDDM and NIDDM patients. 306 56