Title: Melioidosis
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 12/31/1997 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/10/2021 12:00:00 AM

Title: Thyroid Disorders Symptoms and Signs
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 7/26/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/20/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Can Certain Foods Affect Your Thyroid?
Category: Health and Living
Created: 6/2/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 6/2/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: You Can Drink Coffee With Your Thyroid Medication: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 6/13/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 6/13/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Do Certain Foods Affect Your Thyroid?
Category: Health and Living
Created: 6/24/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 6/24/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Thyroid Storm vs Thyrotoxicosis: Differences
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 7/8/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/8/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Should You Take Ashwagandha For Thyroid Issues?
Category: Health and Living
Created: 7/18/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/18/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Thyroid Trouble May Raise Dementia Risks
Category: Health News
Created: 7/18/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/18/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Sneezing Again? Avoid Ragweed
Category: Health News
Created: 8/22/2010 10:10:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/23/2010 12:00:00 AM

Title: Gene Mutation Found in Uterine Fibroids
Category: Health News
Created: 8/26/2011 11:01:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2011 12:00:00 AM

Title: Health Tip: If Your Thyroid is Overactive
Category: Health News
Created: 8/27/2012 8:05:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/27/2012 12:00:00 AM

Title: Too Many Unnecessary Thyroid Biopsies Performed, Experts Say
Category: Health News
Created: 8/26/2013 4:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 8/27/2013 12:00:00 AM

Title: Steroid Injections Probably Won't Help Your Lower Back Pain
Category: Health News
Created: 8/24/2015 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/25/2015 12:00:00 AM

Title: New Moms Can Avoid Back Injury When Caring for Their Babies
Category: Health News
Created: 8/25/2015 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2015 12:00:00 AM

Title: Could Oral Contraceptives Help Ease Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Category: Health News
Created: 8/28/2015 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/28/2015 12:00:00 AM

Title: Steroid Treatments May Boost Preemies' Risk of Eye Problems
Category: Health News
Created: 8/19/2016 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/22/2016 12:00:00 AM

Title: CDC Advises Pregnant Women to Avoid Miami Beach Due to Zika
Category: Health News
Created: 8/19/2016 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/22/2016 12:00:00 AM

Title: Use of Cancer-Linked Fibroid Device Declines After FDA Warning
Category: Health News
Created: 8/23/2016 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/24/2016 12:00:00 AM

Title: Many Migraine Sufferers Given Unecessary Opioids, Study Finds
Category: Health News
Created: 8/25/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/28/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Health Tip: Avoid Juice Before Age 1
Category: Health News
Created: 8/30/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/30/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Many U.S. Women Unaware of Fibroid Treatments: Poll
Category: Health News
Created: 8/29/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/30/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Fentanyl Drives Rise in Opioid-Linked Deaths in U.S.
Category: Health News
Created: 8/31/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 9/1/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Warning Letters Target Illegal Online Sales of Opioid Meds: FDA
Category: Health News
Created: 8/28/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/29/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: Babies of Opioid-Addicted Moms May Struggle in School
Category: Health News
Created: 8/30/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/30/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: States Struggle With Onslaught of Opioid OD Deaths
Category: Health News
Created: 8/30/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/31/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: Monkey Trials Raise Hope for Non-Addictive Opioid Alternative
Category: Health News
Created: 8/30/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/31/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: Judge Orders Johnson & Johnson to Pay $572 Million Over Opioid Drug Crisis
Category: Health News
Created: 8/27/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/27/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: OxyContin Maker Purdue Offering Up to $12 Billion to Settle Opioid Claims
Category: Health News
Created: 8/27/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/28/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Can Breast Cancer Be a Risk Factor for Opioid Use Among Older Patients?
Category: Health News
Created: 8/27/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/28/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Your Fall Game Plan to Avoid Weight Gain
Category: Health News
Created: 8/30/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/30/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: U.S. Opioid Deaths Take a Small Dip, as Fentanyl Leaves Deadly Mark
Category: Health News
Created: 8/29/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/30/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Many Thyroid Cancer Ultrasound Scans Unnecessary
Category: Health News
Created: 8/25/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Pandemic Tied to Rising Number of Fatal Opioid ODs
Category: Health News
Created: 8/24/2021 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/24/2021 12:00:00 AM

Title: Rising Number of U.S. Cardiac Arrests Tied to Opioid Abuse
Category: Health News
Created: 8/23/2021 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/24/2021 12:00:00 AM

Title: 11 Home Remedies for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 12/7/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/2/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Kids Getting Spinal Surgeries May Cut Back on Opioids
Category: Health News
Created: 8/11/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/11/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Rheumatoid Factor (RF)
Category: Procedures and Tests
Created: 1/28/2002 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/25/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Lifestyle May Be Key to Helping You Avoid Dementia
Category: Health News
Created: 8/4/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/5/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: 3 Big Pharmacy Chains Must Pay $650 Million to Ohio Counties for Role in Opioid Crisis
Category: Health News
Created: 8/18/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/18/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Many Who Need Opioid OD Antidote the Most Can't Afford It
Category: Health News
Created: 8/22/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/22/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Moving Away From Opioids to Treat Dental Pain
Category: Health News
Created: 8/19/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/19/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Salicylate Sensitivity Causes, Symptoms, and Foods to Avoid
Category: Health and Living
Created: 7/8/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/8/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Mastoiditis
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 1/4/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/30/2022 12:00:00 AM

Background

People living with serious respiratory illness experience a high burden of distressing symptoms. Although opioids are prescribed for symptom management, they generate adverse events, and their benefits are unclear.

BACKGROUND:Opioids are known to cause respiratory depression, aspiration, and to suppress the immune system. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between short- and long-term opioid use and the occurrence and clinical outcomes of pneumonia in South Korea.METHODS:The data for this population-based retrospective cohort analysis were obtained from the South Korean National Health Insurance Service. The opioid user group consisted of those prescribed opioids in 2016, while the non-user group, who did not receive opioid prescriptions that year, was selected using a 1:1 stratified random sampling method. The opioid users were categorized into short-term (1–89 d) and long-term (≥90 d) users. The primary end point was pneumonia incidence from January 1, 2017–December 31, 2021, with secondary end points including pneumonia-related hospitalizations and mortality rates during the study period.RESULTS:In total, 4,556,606 adults were enrolled (opioid group, 2,070,039). Opioid users had a 3% higher risk of pneumonia and an 11% higher risk of pneumonia requiring hospitalization compared to non-users. Short-term users had a 3% higher risk of pneumonia, and long-term users had a 4% higher risk compared to non-users (P < .001). Additionally, short-term users had an 8% higher risk of hospital-treated pneumonia, and long-term users had a 17% higher risk compared to non-users (P < .001).CONCLUSIONS:Both short- and long-term opioid prescriptions were associated with higher incidences of pneumonia and hospital-treated pneumonia. In addition, long-term opioid prescriptions were linked to higher mortality rates due to pneumonia.

Background

Quality of life is impaired in patients with sarcoidosis. The King's Sarcoidosis Questionnaire (KSQ) is a brief questionnaire assessing health-related quality of life in patients with sarcoidosis, comprising subdomains of General Health Status (GHS), Lung, Medication, Skin and Eyes. The aim of this study was to enhance the validation of the KSQ, incorporating longitudinal validation and known-groups validity in a cohort with mild sarcoidosis.

The -aminobutyric acid type A (GABA_A) receptor is modulated by a number of neuroactive steroids. Sulfated steroids and 3β-hydroxy steroids inhibit, while 3α-hydroxy steroids typically potentiate the receptor. Here, we have investigated inhibition of the α1β32L GABA_A receptor by the endogenous neurosteroid 3α-hydroxy-5β-pregnan-20-one (3α5βP) and the synthetic neuroactive steroid 3α-hydroxy-5α-androstane-17β-carbonitrile (ACN). The receptors were expressed in Xenopus oocytes. All experiments were done using two-electrode voltage-clamp electrophysiology. In the presence of low concentrations of GABA, 3α5βP and ACN potentiate the GABA_A receptor. To reveal inhibition, we conducted the experiments on receptors activated by the combination of a saturating concentration of GABA and propofol to fully activate the receptors and mask potentiation, or on mutant receptors in which potentiation is ablated. Under these conditions, both steroids inhibited the receptor with IC₅₀s of ~13 μM and maximal inhibitory effects of 70–90%. Receptor inhibition by 3α5βP was sensitive to substitution of the α1 transmembrane domain (TM) 2-2' residue, previously shown to ablate inhibition by pregnenolone sulfate. However, results of coapplication studies and the apparent lack of state dependence suggest that pregnenolone sulfate and 3α5βP inhibit the GABA_A receptor independently and through distinct mechanisms. Mutations to the neurosteroid binding sites in the α1 and β3 subunits statistically significantly, albeit weakly and incompletely, reduced inhibition by 3α5βP and ACN.

Ketamine is a glutamate receptor antagonist that was developed over 50 years ago as an anesthetic agent. At subanesthetic doses, ketamine and some metabolites are analgesics and fast-acting antidepressants, presumably through targets other than glutamate receptors. We tested ketamine and its metabolites for activity as allosteric modulators of opioid receptors expressed as recombinant receptors in heterologous systems and with native receptors in rodent brain; signaling was examined by measuring GTP binding, β-arrestin recruitment, MAPK activation, and neurotransmitter release. Although micromolar concentrations of ketamine alone had weak agonist activity at μ opioid receptors, the combination of submicromolar concentrations of ketamine with endogenous opioid peptides produced robust synergistic responses with statistically significant increases in efficacies. All three opioid receptors (μ, , and ) showed synergism with submicromolar concentrations of ketamine and either methionine-enkephalin (Met-enk), leucine-enkephalin (Leu-enk), and/or dynorphin A17 (Dyn A17), albeit the extent of synergy was variable between receptors and peptides. S-ketamine exhibited higher modulatory effects compared with R-ketamine or racemic ketamine, with ~100% increase in efficacy. Importantly, the ketamine metabolite 6-hydroxynorketamine showed robust allosteric modulatory activity at μ opioid receptors; this metabolite is known to have analgesic and antidepressant activity but does not bind to glutamate receptors. Ketamine enhanced potency and efficacy of Met-enkephalin signaling both in mouse midbrain membranes and in rat ventral tegmental area neurons as determined by electrophysiology recordings in brain slices. Taken together, these findings support the hypothesis that some of the therapeutic effects of ketamine and its metabolites are mediated by directly engaging the endogenous opioid system.

The antitumor effect of cardiotonic steroids (CTS) has stimulated the search for new methods to evaluate both kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of their binding to Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase (IUBMB Enzyme Nomenclature). We propose a real-time assay based on a chromogenic substrate for phosphatase activity (pNPPase activity), using only two concentrations with an inhibitory progression curve, to obtain the association rate (k_on), dissociation rate (k_off), and equilibrium (K_i) constants of CTS for the structure-kinetics relationship in drug screening. We show that changing conditions (from ATPase to pNPPase activity) resulted in an increase of K_i of the cardenolides digitoxigenin, essentially due to a reduction of k_on. In contrast, the K_i of the structurally related bufadienolide bufalin increased much less due to the reduction of its k_off partially compensating the decrease of its k_on. When evaluating the kinetics of 15 natural and semisynthetic CTS, we observed that both k_on and k_off correlated with K_i (Spearman test), suggesting that differences in potency depend on variations of both k_on and k_off. A rhamnose in C3 of the steroidal nucleus enhanced the inhibitory potency by a reduction of k_off rather than an increase of k_on. Raising the temperature did not alter the k_off of digitoxin, generating a H (k_off) of –10.4 ± 4.3 kJ/mol, suggesting a complex dissociation mechanism. Based on a simple and inexpensive methodology, we determined the values of k_on, k_off, and K_i of the CTS and provided original kinetics and thermodynamics differences between CTS that could help the design of new compounds.

Despite a significant decrease in the number of prescriptions for opioids, the opioid crisis continues, fueled in large part by the availability of the phenylpiperidine mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonist fentanyl. In contrast, the number of prescriptions for and the off-label use of gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) has increased dramatically, with gabapentinoids commonly detected in opioid overdose victims. Although gabapentinoids can decrease the potency of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone to reverse heroin-induced hypoventilation in male rats, the specificity and nature of interaction between gabapentinoids and MOR agonists and any potential sex difference in those interactions are not well characterized. Gabapentinoids were studied in female and male rats discriminating fentanyl (0.0032 mg/kg, i.p.) or cocaine (3.2 mg/kg, i.p.). Alone, neither gabapentin nor pregabalin significantly increased fentanyl- or cocaine-appropriate responding. In rats discriminating fentanyl, each gabapentinoid dose-dependently shifted the fentanyl and heroin discrimination dose-effect functions to the left, whereas naloxone dose-dependently shifted the fentanyl and heroin discrimination dose-effect functions to the right. Each gabapentinoid (100 mg/kg) significantly decreased the potency of naloxone to antagonize the discriminative stimulus effect of fentanyl or heroin. In contrast, each gabapentinoid dose-dependently shifted the cocaine and d-methamphetamine discrimination dose-effect functions to the right. There were no significant sex differences in this study. These results suggest that gabapentinoids impact the misuse of opioids, the co-use of opioids and stimulant drugs, and the increasing number of overdose deaths in individuals using opioids, stimulant drugs, and gabapentinoids in mixtures.