Diseases Flashcards
Myasthenia Gravis
Antibodies block Ach (breakdown in communication between nerves and muscles)
Symptoms: muscle weakness, double vision, fatigue
Treatment: acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (physostigmine)
Lead poisoning
Pb (Lead) inhibits delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD)
Symptoms: abdominal pain, sideroblastic anemia, headache, irritability
Treatment: Ca-EDTA w/ dimercaprol (Pb has a higher affinity for EDTA than Ca 2+, Pb binds to EDTA and is then excreted in urine). Children can use succimer
Fanconi-Bickel syndrom (jekyll-Hyde)
GLUT2 deficiency in liver, pancreatic B cells, proximal renal tubules. Autosomal recessive
Affects: Hepatomegaly (enlargement of liver), stunted growth, failure to thrive
Symptoms: hyperglycemia postprandial (post meal), hypoglycemia between meals, serum insulin normal (B cells fail to sense increase in glucose)
Treatment: Small frequent meals, electrolytes, Vit D/phosphate supplements
Drug-induced lupus erythematosus
Mutations in enzymes that carry out acetylation (how body metabolizes drugs)
Affects: slow rate of drug acetylation. Drugs concerted to toxic by-products and this triggers antibodies
Symptoms: Muscle and bone pain, rashes, inflammation of lungs and heart, fever, fatigue
Treatment: NSAIDs, wait for effects to wear off
Niemann-Pick disease
Think liPid…Pick…
Harmful quantities of lipids accumulate in the spleen, liver, lungs, bone marrow, and the brain.
Affects: deficiency in sphingomyelinase (sphingomyelin accumulates in lysosomes)
Symptoms may include lack of muscle coordination, neurologic damage (mental retardation, seizures, ataxia (loss of body control) spasticity (muscle tightness), enlarged liver and spleen, cherry red spot in eye
Treatment: none
Spur cell anemia
Elevated cholesterol in erythrocyte membrane
Symptoms: rigid RBC’s break!
Treatments: associated w/ beta lipoproteinemia and advanced stages of alcoholic cirrhosis (chronic liver damage leading to scarring and failure)
Cystinuria
Defect in transporters for cystine (not Cysteine-2 cysteine=cystine), ornithine, lysine, and arginina (COLA). Autosomal recessive
Affects: forms cystine crystals in kidneys (kidney stones)
Symptoms: Renal colic (waves of abdominal pain), identified by + nitroprusside test
Hartnup disease
(“Trypping” infants)
Defect in transporters for nonpolar/neutral AA (tryptophan). Autosomal recessive
Affects: infancy
Symptoms: failure to thrive, nystagmus (involuntary eye movement), intermittent ataxia, tremor, photosensitivity
Cystic Fibrosis
Defective Cl- transport, autosomal recessive. Defective CFTR causes buildup of Cl- (and salt) in airway followed by water. Mucus secretions are usually thin become thick
Symptoms: bacterial infections, cough
Treatment: antibiotics
Peroxisome biogenesis disorders (Zellweger spectrum)
Defect in 1 of 12 genes responsible for peroxisome assembly. Zellweger Syndrome is the worst disorder on the spectrum
Affects: affects synthesis of peroxisomes, peroxisomes are thus not present. They are present at birth and fatal within the first year
Symptoms: hypotonia (weak muscle tone), hearing loss, vision loss, feeding problems, seizures, problems caused by breakdown of myelin (insulates nerve fibers in brain)
Lysosomal storage disorders
Lysosomes lack a necessary enzyme and can’t break down material in cell, it builds up and kills cell.
Familial hypercholesterolemia (type 2a/2b)
LDL receptor is completely (2a) or partially (2b) defective
Cholesterol, LDL=increased. Triacylglycerol normal (2a), increased (2b), VLDL increased (2b)
Symptoms: Atherosclerosis. Early MI (as young as 20)
Maple Syrup Urine Disease
(hungry lumberjacks)
Branched chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase (BCKD). Same coenzymes as PDC. Autosomal recessive
Toxic levels accumulate in blood. Damage brain, mental retardation
Symptoms: Smell of burnt maple sugar in urine
Treatment: synthetic diet w/ limited BCAA’s. W/ mild forms: supplement cofactors (esp. thiamine–>TPP)
Homocystinuria/hyperhomocysteinemia
1) Homocysteine methyltransferase: deficiency B6, B12, folic acid
2) Cystathionine B-synthase: genetic defect
Affects: 1) Homocysteine–>affects metabolism of Met (using THF)
2) Homocysteine–>cystathionine
Symptoms: Atherosclerotic heart disease and stroke
Eye lens dislocation, osteoporosis, mental retardation
Treatment: Vitamin supplementation might help
Tyr–>dopa–>dopamine–>norepinephrine–>epinephrine
Tyrosinase deficiency prevents–> melanin (albinism)
MAO and COMT degrade catecholamines into HVA and VMA (can be diagnostic of pheochromocytoma-tumor of adrenal medulla)
Thyroglobulin (made by follicular cells of thyroid gland), contains about 120 Tyr residues
Tyr–>thyroglobulin
Thyroglobulin helps make T3, T4
Acetaminophen detox/Glutathione
GSH (glutathione) helps protect RBC’s
Acetaminophen overdose decreases GSH. Leads to increased GGT, marker for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD)
Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase II (cytosolic)
First step de novo pyrimidines.
Stimulated by PRPP
Inhibited by UTP
Cytosolic carbamoyl phosphate–>orotic acid–>UMP
Defect in UMP synthase can lead to orotic aciduria
Sulfa drugs
Inhibits bacterial enzyme from converting PABA–>Folate, which disrupts DNA replication
Doesn’t affect humans b/c we don’t get folate in diet
Methotrexate
Dihydrofolate reductase (converts dietary folate to active tetrahydrofolate in liver)
Methotrexate inhibits DHF reductase
Inhibits DNA (target: cancer)