A Phase I study of the safety of the nutritional supplement, active hexose correlated compound, AHCC, in healthy volunteers. (41/117)

Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) is an extract of Lentinula edodes of the basidiomycete family of fungi rich in alpha glucans. AHCC has been used for many years as a dietary supplement to enhance the immune system and in clinical trials as an adjunctive treatment in Hepatocellular cancer. This multiple dose, Phase I trial, using FDA guidelines, directly investigates the clinical safety and tolerability of AHCC in healthy subjects. Its safety has been based previously on anecdotal reports and its use in clinical practice. Twenty-six healthy male or female subjects between the ages of 18 and 61 were recruited from the community and gave their consent to participate in the trial. The subjects were given 9 g of AHCC (150 mL of the currently available liquid AHCC) PO daily for 14 d. Laboratory data was obtained at baseline and after 14 d of exposure to AHCC and adverse events were monitored by a non-directed review of systems questionnaire three times during the trial. At each visit the vital signs and adverse events were recorded. Two subjects (7%) dropped out because of nausea and intolerance of the liquid. Adverse effects of nausea, diarrhea, bloating, headache, fatigue, and foot cramps occurred in a total of 6 subjects (20%) but were mild and transient. There were no laboratory abnormalities. When used in high dose in healthy subjects, AHCC causes no significant abnormality in laboratory parameters. The adverse effects of 9 g of liquid AHCC per day, a higher dose than used in routine clinical applications, are minimal and the dose was tolerated by 85% of the subjects.  (+info)

Silent ischemia: silent after all? (42/117)

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of nonpain symptoms in men and women with exercise-related silent ischemia, as well as the independence of these findings from other clinical factors. METHODS: A prospective study of 482 women and 425 men (mean age 58 years) undergoing exercise stress testing with myocardial perfusion imaging. Analyses were performed on 60 women and 155 men with no angina but medical perfusion imaging evidence of ischemia during exercise. MEASURES: The presence of various non-pain-related symptoms. Ischemia is indicated by myocardial perfusion defects on exercise stress testing with single photon emission computed tomography. RESULTS: Women reported more nonangina symptoms than men (P<0.05). They experienced fatigue, hot flushes, tense muscles, shortness of breath and headaches more frequently (P<0.05). Symptoms relating to muscle tension and diaphoresis were associated with ischemia after controlling for pertinent clinical covariates. However, the direction of association differed according to sex and history of coronary artery disease events or procedures. Sensitivity of the detection models showed modest improvements with the addition of these symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: While patients who experience silent ischemia experience a number of nonpain symptoms, those symptoms may not be sufficiently specific to ischemia, nor sensitive in detecting ischemia, to be of particular help to physicians in the absence of other clinical information.  (+info)

Tarui disease and distal glycogenoses: clinical and genetic update. (43/117)

Phosphofructokinase deficiency (Tarui disease) was the first disorder recognized to directly affect glycolysis. Since the discovery of the disease, in 1965, a wide range of biochemical, physiological and molecular studies have greatly contributed to our knowledge concerning not only phosphofructokinase function in normal muscle but also on the general control of glycolysis and glycogen metabolism. Studies on phosphofructokinase deficiency vastly enriched the field of glycogen storage diseases, making a relevant improvement also in the molecular genetic area. So far, more than one hundred patients have been described with prominent clinical symptoms characterized by muscle cramps, exercise intolerance, rhabdomyolysis and myoglobinuria, often associated with haemolytic anaemia and hyperuricaemia. The muscle phosphofructokinase gene is located on chromosome 12 and about 20 mutations have been described. Other glycogenoses have been recognised in the distal part of the glycolytic pathway: these are infrequent but some may induce muscle cramps, exercise intolerance and rhabdomyolysis. Phosphoglycerate Kinase, Phosphoglycerate Mutase, Lactate Dehydrogenase, beta-Enolase and Aldolase A deficiencies have been described as distal glycogenoses. From the molecular point of view, the majority of these enzyme deficiencies are sustained by "private" mutations.  (+info)

Patient reported symptoms during an ulcerative colitis flare: a Qualitative Focus Group Study. (44/117)

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Discharge properties of motor units of the abductor hallucis muscle during cramp contractions. (45/117)

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High rates of durable response are achieved with imatinib after treatment with interferon alpha plus cytarabine: results from the International Randomized Study of Interferon and STI571 (IRIS) trial. (46/117)

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Practice parameter update: the care of the patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: multidisciplinary care, symptom management, and cognitive/behavioral impairment (an evidence-based review): report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. (47/117)

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Muscle cramps in the calf as presenting symptom of sarcoidosis. (48/117)

A patient is described, who presented with pain in the calf due to a palpable nodule as the presenting symptom of sarcoidosis. The patient was treated with rest and diclofenac, followed by intralesional injections with triamcinolone hexacetonide and became free from pain.  (+info)