Variety Of Clinical Features (variety + of_clinical_feature)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Migraine: A Chronic Sympathetic Nervous System Disorder

HEADACHE, Issue 1 2004
Stephen J. Peroutka MD
Objective.,To determine the degree of diagnostic and clinical similarity between chronic sympathetic nervous system disorders and migraine. Background.,Migraine is an episodic syndrome consisting of a variety of clinical features that result from dysfunction of the sympathetic nervous system. During headache-free periods, migraineurs have a reduction in sympathetic function compared to nonmigraineurs. Sympathetic nervous system dysfunction is also the major feature of rare neurological disorders such as pure autonomic failure and multiple system atrophy. There are no known reports in the medical literature, however, comparing sympathetic nervous system function in individuals with migraine, pure autonomic failure, and multiple system atrophy. Methods.,A detailed review of the literature was performed to compare the results of a wide variety of diagnostic tests and clinical signs that have been described in these 3 heretofore unrelated disorders. Results.,The data indicate that migraine shares significant diagnostic and clinical features with both pure autonomic failure and multiple system atrophy, yet represents a distinct subtype of chronic sympathetic dysfunction. Migraine is most similar to pure autonomic failure in terms of reduced supine plasma norepinephrine levels, peripheral adrenergic receptor supersensitivity, and clinical symptomatology directly related to sympathetic nervous system dysfunction. The peripheral sympathetic nervous system dysfunction is much more severe in pure autonomic failure than in migraine. Migraine differs from both pure autonomic failure and multiple system atrophy in that migraineurs retain the ability, although suboptimal, to increase plasma norepinephrine levels following physiological stressors. Conclusions.,The major finding of the present study is that migraine is a disorder of chronic sympathetic dysfunction, sharing many diagnostic and clinical characteristics with pure autonomic failure and multiple system atrophy. However, the sympathetic nervous system dysfunction in migraine differs from pure autonomic failure and multiple system atrophy in that occurs in an anatomically intact system. It is proposed that the sympathetic dysfunction in migraine relates to an imbalance of sympathetic co-transmitters. Specifically, it is suggested that a migraine attack is characterized by a relative depletion of sympathetic norepinephrine stores in conjunction with an increase in the release of other sympathetic cotransmitters such as dopamine, prostaglandins, adenosine triphosphate, and adenosine. An enhanced understanding of the sympathetic dysfunction in migraine may help to more effectively diagnose, prevent, and/or treat migraine and other types of headache. [source]


Fanconi's syndrome and subsequent progressive renal failure caused by a Chinese herb containing aristolochic acid

NEPHROLOGY, Issue 3 2004
SANGHO LEE
SUMMARY: Chinese herb nephropathy contains a variety of clinical features of progressive renal failure (indicated by studies conducted in Belgium) to the variant type of Fanconi's syndrome. Fanconi's syndrome has mostly been reported in Asian countries, and is characterized by proximal tubular dysfunction and slower progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD); it also often revealed a reversible clinical course. We describe a 43-year-old woman who presented with polyuria and polydipsia caused by Fanconi's syndrome. The cause of Fanconi's syndrome was not identified because the patient denied the intake of the Chinese herbal mixture at first. Fanconi's syndrome seemed to be reversible in its early stage, but it rapidly progressed to renal failure after 3 months, despite the interruption of Chinese mixture use. A renal biopsy revealed typical findings of aristolochic acid-induced nephropathy. Aristolochic acids were also detected in the Chinese herbs that were consumed. This case highlights the variety of the clinical spectrum of aristolochic acid induced nephropathy (AAN). We emphasize that AAN should be suspected in all patients with Fanconi's syndrome, even if patients deny the intake of any Chinese herbal preparation. [source]


Comparison of efficacy of fluconazole mouthrinse and clotrimazole mouthpaint in the treatment of oral candidiasis

AUSTRALIAN DENTAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009
AA Sholapurkar
Abstract Candidiasis is by far the most common oral fungal infection in humans and has a variety of clinical features. It is considered to be an opportunistic infection, affecting individuals who are debilitated by another disease. Fluconazole, one of the newer azoles available for systemic use and clotrimazole as a topical ointment are both shown to be effective in the treatment of oral candidiasis and are considered to be well tolerated and useful medications. No study has evaluated the comparison of clinical and mycological response of oral candidiasis to fluconazole mouthrinse and clotrimazole mouthpaint. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of fluconazole mouthrinse and compare it with clotrimazole mouthpaint in the treatment of oral candidiasis. [source]


Elevated levels of transferrin receptor 2 mRNA, not transferrin receptor 1 mRNA, are associated with increased survival in acute myeloid leukaemia

BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2004
Tsuyoshi Nakamaki
Summary Transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) is a type II membrane protein that mediates cellular iron uptake. Transferrin receptor 2(TfR2), another receptor for transferrin (Tf), has recently been cloned. We examined expression levels of TfR1, TfR2-, (membrane form) and TfR2-, (non-membrane form) transcripts in cells from 67 patients with de novo acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and correlated the results with a variety of clinical features and disease outcomes of these patients. Significant correlations were noted between the levels of both TfR1 and TfR2-, (r = 0·771, P < 0·001) and TfR1 and TfR2-, (r = 0·534, P < 0·001). Unexpectedly, initial white blood cell (WBC) counts were inversely correlated with levels of expression of either TfR1(r = ,0·357, P = 0·003), TfR2-, (r = ,0·486, P < 0·0001), or TfR2-, (r = ,0·435, P = 0·0003). Only TfR2 expression was significantly associated with either serum iron (r = ,0·270, P = 0·045) or serum ferritin (r = ,0·364, P = 0·008). Multivariate analyses using Cox's proportional hazard model showed that elevated TfR2-,, but not TfR1 or TfR2-, mRNA levels significantly contributed to a better prognosis for AML patients. Furthermore, a group with high expression levels of both TfR2-, and TfR2-, survived significantly longer than a group without high expression of both of them (P < 0·01 by log-rank). The present study suggests that (i) TfRs-independent iron uptake might have an important role in in vivo proliferation of AML cells; (ii) expression of TfR2 (especially the , form) is a novel prognostic factor for patients with AML. [source]