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

Malignant carcinoid tumours with the carcinoid syndrome has over the years presented a therapeutic challenge. The patients might not only die from tumour progression but also from symptoms relating to hormone overproduction and the specific cardiac disease, e.g. right heart fibrosis and failure. Surgery has been the treatment of choice in local disease, but when liver metastases have developed other treatment procedures must be considered. Conventional chemotherapy has been of little beneficial value, with response rates of only 10-30%, whereas a new somatostatin analogue, octreotid, is effective in controlling clinical symptoms but not tumour progression. Interferon treatment was introduced in 1982 by our group, and we are now presenting treatment results of 130 patients with histologically verified malignant carcinoid tumours and liver metastases. One hundred and eleven patients were treated with a median dose of 6 mega units (MU) of interferon alpha, five times weekly (dose range 3-9 MU), whereas 29 patients received conventional chemotherapy. Forty-seven out of 111 patients (42%) treated with interferon alpha demonstrated a significant biochemical response and 15% demonstrated more than 50% reduction in tumour size. In another 43 (39%) patients stabilization of the carcinoid disease have been noted, whereas 21 (19%) showed progressive disease. The median duration of response was 34 months. Subjective responses with improvement of diarrhoea, flush and/or bronchoconstriction were noticed in 76 patients (68%). The 19 patients treated with chemotherapy demonstrated only 10% biochemical response, lasting for only 3-5 months. The survival analysis demonstrates a median survival of only 8 months in the group of patients treated with chemotherapy, compared to 80+ months (P less than 0.001) in the groups treated with interferon alpha. Interferon adverse reactions of fatigue, weight loss and anaemia were manageable. Neutralizing interferon antibodies were documented in 5-15% of the patients. Interferon alphas are active in patients with malignant carcinoid tumours. Clinical symptoms are significantly reduced following reduction of circulating hormones. Interferon might also have an impact on survival in this group of patients. The side-effects are moderate and managed by dose adjustments.
 ...
PMID:The role of interferons in the management of carcinoid tumours. 183 59

Malignant carcinoid tumors with the carcinoid syndrome has over the years presented a therapeutic challenge. Surgery is the treatment of choice in local disease but when liver metastases have developed other treatment procedures must be considered. Conventional chemotherapy has been of little benefit, whereas a new somatostatin analogue octreotide gives a good control of clinical symptoms but not of tumor progression. Interferon treatment was introduced in 1982 by our group and we are now presenting results of medical treatment in 130 patients with histologically verified malignant carcinoid tumors and liver metastases. One hundred and eleven patients were treated with alpha-interferon, whereas 19 patients received conventional chemotherapy. Forty-seven out of 111 patients (42%) treated with alpha-interferon demonstrated a significant biochemical response and 15% also more than 50% reduction of tumor size. In another 43 (39%) patients stabilization of the carcinoid disease was noted whereas 21 (19%) showed progressive disease. The median duration of response was 34 months. Subjective response with improvement of diarrheas, flush and/or bronchoconstriction was noticed in 76 patients (68%). Among the 19 patients treated with conventional chemotherapy only 2 showed biochemical response and it lasted only for 3-5 months. The patients treated with chemotherapy had a median survival of only 8 months compared with 80+ months in the group treated with alpha-interferon. The adverse reactions of alpha-interferon are manageable and consist mainly of fatigue, weight reduction and reduction of blood cell counts. Neutralizing interferon antibodies might occur in patients treated with recombinant alpha-interferons (5-15%).
 ...
PMID:The role of interferons in the management of carcinoid tumors. 185 9

Hypothalamic tissue levels of nine regulatory peptides (bombesin, calcitonin gene-related peptide [CGRP], galanin, neuromedin B, neuropeptide Y [NPY], neurotensin, somatostatin, substance P, and vasoactive intestinal peptide [VIP]) were compared in Aston obese diabetic (ob/ob) and lean (+/?) mice aged 4, 16, and 28 weeks. Neurotensin concentrations were significantly lower in ob/ob mice than in lean mice, with a 20% reduction (P = .03) in the whole hypothalamus at 4 weeks of age, a 24% reduction (P = .009) in the lateral hypothalamus at 16 weeks, and a 50% reduction (P = .0007) in the central hypothalamus at 28 weeks of age. Apart from a 42% increase in vasoactive intestinal peptide concentrations in the central hypothalamus of ob/ob mice at 28 weeks (P = .02), levels of the other eight peptides examined did not differ significantly between obese and lean groups. Neurotensin is known to cause anorexia and increased energy expenditure when injected into the central hypothalamus. Reduced hypothalamic neurotensin concentrations may reflect reduced neurotensinergic activity, which might contribute to hyperphagia and decreased energy expenditure, two major defects that contribute to obesity and diabetes in the ob/ob syndrome.
 ...
PMID:Reduced hypothalamic neurotensin concentrations in the genetically obese diabetic (ob/ob) mouse: possible relationship to obesity. 194 36

Somatostatin-like immunoreactivity was measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 85 inpatients with current or recent episodes of major depressive disorders, diagnosed according to Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) as assessed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS). Several biopsychiatric tests were run during the same week of investigation. Results indicate low levels of CSF somatostatin to be a state marker for episodes of depression characterized by sad appearance, feelings of tiredness, insomnia, and subjective inability to acknowledge any external precipitants for the depression. CSF somatostatin was negatively related to platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity; MAO activity appeared to account better for the degree of melancholic features than did somatostatin. The ratio between 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) and homovanillic acid (HVA) in CSF also correlated negatively with somatostatin. A positive relationship was noted between CSF xanthine and somatostatin. There was a highly significant curvilinear correlation between CSF somatostatin and serum TSH concentrations, but no correlations between CSF somatostatin and serum GH or prolactin, or with plasma cortisol before or after dexamethasone.
 ...
PMID:Low levels of somatostatin in human CSF mark depressive episodes. 614 88

One hundred and three acromegalic patients from 14 medical centers were enrolled in this study to determine the efficacy and safety of the somatostatin analog, octreotide acetate, during long term treatment. Seventy percent of the patients had undergone previous surgery or radiation treatment. Octreotide was initiated at a dose of 100 micrograms, sc, every 8 h and gradually increased to a maximum of 1500 micrograms daily depending upon the individual patient's clinical and biochemical response [GH and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) reduction]. The mean duration of treatment was 24 months (range, 3-30 months). However, most patients were treated for a mean of 30 months, because this study took place after an initial 6-month study previously reported. Mean serum GH fell from 30.9 micrograms/L (range, 2.7-350) to 5.7 micrograms/L (range, 0.6-59) at the 3 months visit and remained suppressed (P < 0.001). Plasma IGF-I concentrations were also significantly reduced and remained in the normal range for at least half of the treatment visits in 56 of 87 patients (64%) treated for 12-30 months. Patients with higher initial GH concentrations were less likely to normalize IGF-I concentrations during treatment (P < 0.001). There was no evidence of drug tachyphylaxis in those patients who continued taking stable doses of medication. With some exceptions, dose increments above 800 micrograms daily in 31 patients did not provide additional benefit in terms of GH and IGF-I reduction. Headache, excessive perspiration, fatigue, and joint pain were ameliorated in 83-95% of patients. Mean finger circumference was decreased significantly at the 12 month visit (P < 0.05). The most common adverse events reported were diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, loose stools, and nausea; these symptoms usually disappeared within 3 months of treatment. Five patients discontinued octreotide because of adverse events. Of 102 patients with normal baseline ultrasound examinations of the gallbladder, 24 patients (23.5%) developed gallstones (usually during the first year of treatment), and 21 patients developed sludge alone. Gallstone formation was not related to the dose of octreotide. Most patients with cholelithiasis were asymptomatic, and none developed cholecystitis. These observations suggest that octreotide is a valuable long term medical treatment for acromegaly.
 ...
PMID:Safety and efficacy of long-term octreotide therapy of acromegaly: results of a multicenter trial in 103 patients--a clinical research center study. 767 22

Neuroendocrine gut and pancreatic tumors are neoplasms that present distinct features from other malignant tumors. Firstly, in most patients, tumor growth is rather slow, and even in advanced metastatic disease, there is very little impairment of the general well-being of the individual, e.g. appetite and weight. Secondly, these tumors are known to produce specific peptide hormones which may be factors in some clinical conditions e.g. carcinoid, Zollinger-Ellison and hypoglycemic syndromes. These conditions can be critical to the patients and can occasionally be lethal. Therefore, the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors must control the clinical symptoms related to hormone over-production and prevent further tumor growth. These two features are not always in parallel. Systemic treatment of neuroendocrine tumors mainly consists of chemotherapy, interferon and somatostatin analog administration. Chemotherapy has been used for at least 30 years; the most effective combination has proved to be streptozotocin with 5-fluorouracil or adriamycin. This combination produces biochemical responses in up to 60% of patients with endocrine pancreatic tumors; the results in carcinoid patients are very poor and response rates are < or = 10%. Alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) produces biochemical responses in approximately 50% of patients with malignant carcinoid tumors, significant reductions in tumor size in 15% and a further 39% of patients have disease stabilization with no further tumor growth. Somatostatin analogs have only been used clinically within the last 10 years, but produce symptomatic improvement in 70% of cases, biochemical responses in 40-60%, but rarely produce any significant reduction in tumor size. These analogs are particularly useful to control severe clinical symptoms and are the first-line therapy for the management of carcinoid patients both peri- and intra-operatively. Patients with endocrine pancreatic tumors, particularly those with glucagon and vasointestinal peptide-producing tumors, benefit most from this type of treatment. Recently, a combination of IFN-alpha and a somatostatin analog has showed an additive effect of these two drugs. The side effects of streptozotocin and 5-fluorouracil are mainly nausea and vomiting which can be controlled with 5-HT3 receptor blocker therapy. Another significant adverse reaction is impaired renal function. The adverse reactions to IFN-alpha are mainly flu-like symptoms, fatigue, mild impairment of liver and bone marrow function and autoimmune reactions in 15% cases. Somatostatin analog treatment causes a low frequency of adverse reactions, those which do occur include gall stone formation and steatorrhea. Future systemic treatment should be based on increased knowledge of the tumor biology, particularly growth-regulatory mechanisms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Endocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal tract: systemic treatment. 785 82

Two acromegalic patients suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome were treated with the long-acting somatostatin analogue octreotide. Daytime sleepiness and fatigue improved within a few days. Repeat sleep studies performed after octreotide treatment revealed more confluent sleep with a shorter duration of sleep apnoea. Nocturnal hypoxaemia improved in one patient. Octreotide might be an effective noninvasive treatment for sleep apnoea of acromegaly.
 ...
PMID:Improvement of sleep apnoea due to acromegaly during short-term treatment with octreotide. 804 24

Octreotide is a somatostatin analogue: a long-acting release (LAR) formulation of octreotide is designed for once-monthly intramuscular administration. As with native somatostatin, octreotide LAR exerts potent inhibitory effects on the secretion of growth hormone and on various peptides of the gastroenteropancreatic endocrine system. When patients with acromegaly who show a positive response to treatment with subcutaneous octreotide 300 to 600 micrograms/day are switched to octreotide LAR 20 or 30 mg, the resulting decrease in growth hormone levels is stable and sustained. Reductions in growth hormone levels to < 5 micrograms/L for about 4 weeks are seen in 86 to 100% of patients, to < 2 to 2.5 micrograms/L in 39 to 75% and to < 1 microgram/L in 24 to 40%. Levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) decrease in parallel and are often normalised with repeated drug treatment. There is no evidence of tachyphylaxis with long term therapy (up to 34 months). Treatment with octreotide LAR improves facial appearance and soft tissue thickening, and eliminates or reduces the incidence of symptoms such as headache, fatigue, arthralgia and excessive perspiration. Tumour shrinkage has been noted in some, but not all, patients receiving octreotide LAR, although this has not been widely evaluated in clinical studies. Overall, octreotide LAR is well tolerated, and the mild to moderate gastrointestinal events experienced by up to 50% of patients are of short duration and often subside with continued drug administration. The incidence of gallbladder abnormalities (sediment, sludge, microlithiasis and gallstones) increases in patients receiving long term therapy with subcutaneous octreotide, although most patients remain asymptomatic. The incidence of gallbladder abnormalities in patients receiving octreotide LAR compares favourably with that during subcutaneous administration. Glycaemic control is not usually altered during octreotide LAR treatment. In summary, octreotide continues to be the principal pharmacological option for most patients with acromegaly. Octreotide LAR offers the convenience of once-monthly administration compared with daily subcutaneous drug administration. In addition, the good efficacy and tolerability profile of octreotide LAR should enhance patient compliance and acceptability of octreotide therapy and contribute to an improvement in patient quality of life.
 ...
PMID:Octreotide long-acting release (LAR). A review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic use in the management of acromegaly. 909 66

The somatostatin analog, octreotide, is effective in treating diarrhea associated with cancer chemotherapy. This study was undertaken to determine whether octreotide could be used as prophylaxis against chemotherapy-induced diarrhea and, thereby, permit increased dose intensity. Adult cancer patients were treated with a standard regimen of intravenous 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (600 mg/m2) plus leucovorin (LV) (500 mg/m2) weekly x 6 weeks. In addition, 150 microg of octreotide was administered subcutaneously twice daily, beginning on the first day of chemotherapy and continuing for 43 days. Escalation of 5-FU was planned for successive cohorts based upon toxicity. Eleven patients were treated at the initial 5-FU dose level. In 10 evaluable patients, dose-limiting toxicities were diarrhea (two patients), fatigue (one patient), and hyperbilirubinemia (one patient). Diarrhea was experienced by six of 10 patients, and only three patients were able to receive six weekly chemotherapy treatments without dose reduction or delay. At a dose of 150 microg twice daily, octreotide did not prevent diarrhea associated with 5-FU plus LV, and 5-FU dose escalation was not possible. While octreotide is successful in the treatment of 5-FU-induced diarrhea, we were unable to demonstrate a role in toxicity prophylaxis.
 ...
PMID:Octreotide does not prevent diarrhea in patients treated with weekly 5-fluorouracil plus high-dose leucovorin. 953 97

Somatostatin analogs are promising agents in the treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma. We have evaluated the effects of the slow release somatostatin analog lanreotide in combination with interferon-alpha2b in seven patients with advanced and symptomatic medullary thyroid carcinoma. The frequency and intensity of daily flushing episodes and bowel movements, the intensity of fatigue, weight, performance status, calcitonin levels, and change in tumor masses were recorded before and during treatment. No objective complete or partial responses were recorded. However, disease stabilization and minor tumor regression were observed in three of seven and two of seven patients, respectively. The number and intensity of bowel movements and flushing episodes decreased in five of six and two of two patients, respectively. Decrease in fatigue and improvement in performance status were observed in five of seven and six of seven patients, respectively. Weight gain was recorded in three of four patients. Plasma levels of calcitonin decreased significantly in six of seven patients. Clinical benefit, evaluated by a structured algorithm, was achieved in six of seven patients and was coupled with a decrease of 50% or more in serum calcitonin levels in three of seven patients. In conclusion, the combination of lanreotide with interferon had a major impact on clinical symptoms and was well tolerated.
 ...
PMID:Slow release lanreotide in combination with interferon-alpha2b in the treatment of symptomatic advanced medullary thyroid carcinoma. 1072 27


1 2 3 4 Next >>