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Crystal Arthropathy
Crystal arthropathy is a class of joint disorders (called '' arthropathy'') that is characterized by the accumulation of tiny crystals in one or more joints. Polarizing microscopy and the application of other crystallographic techniques have improved the identification of different microcrystals including monosodium urate, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate, calcium hydroxyapatite, and calcium oxalate. Types Causes *Deposition of crystals in joints * Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal formation: **Increased production of inorganic pyrophosphate **Decreased levels of pyrophosphatase in cartilage **Decreased levels of cartilage glycosaminoglycans **Hyperparathyroidism ** Hemochromatosis ** Hypophosphatasia ** Hypomagnesemia *Hydroxyapatite deposition: ** Tissue damage **Hyperparathyroidism **Hypercalcemia ** Hyperphosphatemia *Calcium oxalate deposition: **Enhanced production of oxalic acid due to enzyme defect **Poor excretion of oxalic acid in kidney failure **Excessive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rheumatology
Rheumatology () is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatology covers more than 100 different complex diseases, collectively known as rheumatic diseases, which includes many forms of arthritis as well as lupus and Sjögren syndrome, Sjögren's syndrome. Physician, Doctors who have undergone formal training in rheumatology are called rheumatologists. Many of these diseases are now known to be disorders of the immune system, and rheumatology has significant overlap with immunology, the branch of medicine that studies the immune system. Rheumatologist A rheumatologist is a physician who specializes in the field of medical sub-specialty called rheumatology. A rheumatologist holds a board certification after specialized training. In the United States, training in this field requires four years of undergraduate school, four years of medical school, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyrophosphate
In chemistry, pyrophosphates are phosphorus oxyanions that contain two phosphorus atoms in a linkage. A number of pyrophosphate salts exist, such as disodium pyrophosphate () and tetrasodium pyrophosphate (), among others. Often pyrophosphates are called diphosphates. The parent pyrophosphates are derived from partial or complete neutralization of pyrophosphoric acid. The pyrophosphate bond is also sometimes referred to as a phosphoanhydride bond, a naming convention which emphasizes the loss of water that occurs when two phosphates form a new bond, and which mirrors the nomenclature for Organic acid anhydride, anhydrides of carboxylic acids. Pyrophosphates are found in Adenosine triphosphate, ATP and other nucleotide triphosphates, which are important in biochemistry. The term pyrophosphate is also the name of esters formed by the condensation of a phosphorylated biological compound with inorganic phosphate, as for dimethylallyl pyrophosphate. This bond is also referred to as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enzyme
An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as product (chemistry), products. Almost all metabolism, metabolic processes in the cell (biology), cell need enzyme catalysis in order to occur at rates fast enough to sustain life. Metabolic pathways depend upon enzymes to catalyze individual steps. The study of enzymes is called ''enzymology'' and the field of pseudoenzyme, pseudoenzyme analysis recognizes that during evolution, some enzymes have lost the ability to carry out biological catalysis, which is often reflected in their amino acid sequences and unusual 'pseudocatalytic' properties. Enzymes are known to catalyze more than 5,000 biochemical reaction types. Other biocatalysts include Ribozyme, catalytic RNA molecules, also called ribozymes. They are sometimes descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxalic Acid
Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and chemical formula , also written as or or . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name is derived from early investigators who isolated oxalic acid from flowering plants of the genus '' Oxalis'', commonly known as wood-sorrels. It occurs naturally in many foods. Excessive ingestion of oxalic acid or prolonged skin contact can be dangerous. Oxalic acid is a much stronger acid than acetic acid. It is a reducing agent and its conjugate bases hydrogen oxalate () and oxalate () are chelating agents for metal cations. It is used as a cleaning agent, especially for the removal of rust, because it forms a water-soluble ferric iron complex, the ferrioxalate ion. Oxalic acid typically occurs as the dihydrate with the formula . History The preparation of salts of oxalic acid from plants had been known since at least 1745, when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calcium Oxalate
Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula or . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydrate occurs naturally as the mineral whewellite, forming envelope-shaped crystals, known in plants as raphides. The two rarer hydrates are dihydrate , which occurs naturally as the mineral weddellite, and trihydrate , which occurs naturally as the mineral caoxite, are also recognized. Some foods have high quantities of calcium oxalates and can produce sores and numbing on ingestion and may even be fatal. Cultural groups with diets that depend highly on fruits and vegetables high in calcium oxalate, such as those in Micronesia, reduce the level of it by boiling and cooking them. They are a constituent in 76% of human kidney stones. Calcium oxalate is also found in beerstone, a scale that forms on containers used in breweries. Occurrence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperphosphatemia
Hyperphosphatemia is an electrolyte disorder in which there is an elevated level of phosphate in the blood. Most people have no symptoms while others develop calcium deposits in the soft tissue. The disorder is often accompanied by low calcium blood levels, which can result in muscle spasms. Causes include kidney failure, pseudohypoparathyroidism, hypoparathyroidism, diabetic ketoacidosis, tumor lysis syndrome, and rhabdomyolysis. Diagnosis is generally based on a blood phosphate level exceeding 1.46 mmol/L (4.5 mg/dL). Levels may appear falsely elevated with high blood lipid levels, high blood protein levels, or high blood bilirubin levels. Treatment may include a phosphate low diet and antacids like calcium carbonate that bind phosphate. Occasionally, intravenous normal saline or kidney dialysis may be used. How commonly it occurs is unclear. Signs and symptoms Signs and symptoms include ectopic calcification, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypercalcaemia
Hypercalcemia, also spelled hypercalcaemia, is a high calcium (Ca2+) level in the blood serum. The normal range for total calcium is 2.1–2.6 mmol/L (8.8–10.7 mg/dL, 4.3–5.2 mEq/L), with levels greater than 2.6 mmol/L defined as hypercalcemia. Those with a mild increase that has developed slowly typically have no symptoms. In those with greater levels or rapid onset, symptoms may include abdominal pain, bone pain, confusion, Depression (mood), depression, weakness, kidney stones or an Heart arrhythmia, abnormal heart rhythm including cardiac arrest. Most outpatient cases are due to primary hyperparathyroidism and inpatient cases due to cancer. Other causes of hypercalcemia include sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, Paget's disease of bone, Paget disease, multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN), vitamin D toxicity, familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia and certain medications such as Lithium (medication), lithium and hydrochlorothiazide. Diagnosis should generally includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tissue (biology)
In biology, tissue is an assembly of similar cells and their extracellular matrix from the same embryonic origin that together carry out a specific function. Tissues occupy a Biological organisation#Levels, biological organizational level between cell (biology), cells and a complete organ (biology), organ. Accordingly, organs are formed by the functional grouping together of multiple tissues. The English word "tissue" Morphological derivation, derives from the French word "", the past participle of the verb tisser, "to weave". The study of tissues is known as histology or, in connection with disease, as histopathology. Xavier Bichat is considered as the "Father of Histology". Plant histology is Studied Space Shuttle designs, studied in both plant anatomy and Plant physiology, physiology. The classical tools for studying tissues are the Microtome#Applications, paraffin block in which tissue is embedded and then sectioned, the staining, histological stain, and the Microscope, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypomagnesemia
Magnesium deficiency is an electrolyte disturbance in which there is a low level of magnesium in the body. Symptoms include tremor, poor coordination, muscle spasms, loss of appetite, personality changes, and nystagmus. Complications may include seizures or cardiac arrest such as from torsade de pointes. Those with low magnesium often have low potassium. Causes include low dietary intake, alcoholism, diarrhea, increased urinary loss, and poor absorption from the intestines. Some medications may also cause low magnesium, including proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and furosemide. The diagnosis is typically based on finding low blood magnesium levels, also called hypomagnesemia. Normal magnesium levels are between 0.6 and 1.1 mmol/L (1.46–2.68 mg/dL) with levels less than 0.6 mmol/L (1.46 mg/dL) defining hypomagnesemia. Specific electrocardiogram (ECG) changes may be seen. Treatment is with magnesium either by mouth or intravenously. For those with sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypophosphatasia
Hypophosphatasia (; also called deficiency of alkaline phosphatase, phosphoethanolaminuria, or Rathbun's syndrome; sometimes abbreviated HPP) is a rare, and sometimes fatal, inherited metabolic bone disease. Clinical symptoms are heterogeneous, ranging from the rapidly fatal, perinatal variant, with profound skeletal hypomineralization, respiratory compromise or vitamin B6 dependent seizures to a milder, progressive osteomalacia later in life. Tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) deficiency in osteoblasts and chondrocytes impairs bone mineralization, leading to rickets or osteomalacia. The pathognomonic finding is subnormal serum activity of the TNSALP enzyme, which is caused by one of 388 genetic mutations identified to date, in the gene encoding TNSALP. Genetic inheritance is autosomal recessive for the perinatal and infantile forms but either autosomal recessive or autosomal dominant in the milder forms. The prevalence of hypophosphatasia is not known; one s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Overload
Iron overload is the abnormal and increased accumulation of total iron in the body, leading to organ damage. The primary mechanism of organ damage is oxidative stress, as elevated intracellular iron levels increase free radical formation via the Fenton reaction. Iron overload is often ''primary'' (i.e hereditary haemochromatosis, aceruloplasminemia) but may also be ''secondary'' to other causes (i.e. transfusional iron overload). Iron deposition most commonly occurs in the liver, pancreas, skin, heart, and joints. People with iron overload classically present with the triad of liver cirrhosis, secondary diabetes mellitus, and bronze skin. However, due to earlier detection nowadays, symptoms are often limited to general chronic malaise, arthralgia, and hepatomegaly. Signs and symptoms Organs most commonly affected by hemochromatosis include the liver, heart, and endocrine glands. Hemochromatosis may present with the following clinical syndromes: * liver: chronic liver di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperparathyroidism
Hyperparathyroidism is an increase in parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels in the blood. This occurs from a disorder either within the parathyroid glands ( primary hyperparathyroidism) or as response to external stimuli ( secondary hyperparathyroidism). Symptoms of hyperparathyroidism are caused by inappropriately elevated blood calcium excreted from the bones into the blood stream in response to increased production of parathyroid hormone. In healthy people, when blood calcium levels are high, parathyroid hormone levels should be low. With long-standing hyperparathyroidism, the most common symptom is kidney stones. Other symptoms may include bone pain, weakness, depression, confusion, and increased urination. Both primary and secondary may result in osteoporosis (weakening of the bones). In 80% of cases, primary hyperparathyroidism is due to a single benign tumor known as a parathyroid adenoma. Most of the remainder are due to several of these adenomas. Very rarely it may be du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
