Disease early treatment

Preclinical disease Early treatment Cervical Cryotherapy... 

Monoamine-oxidase B inhibitors, such as selegiline and rasagiline, have a use alone in the management of early disease. Early treatment with selegiline alone has been shown to delay the need for levodopa therapy for some months, but other more effective drugs are preferred. Both dmgs can be used in conjunction with levodopa preparations to reduce end-of-dose deterioration in advanced disease. 

During early treatment witii levodopa and carbidopa, adverse reactions are usually not a problem. But as the disease progresses, die response to die drug may become less, and the period of time tiiat each dose is effective begins to decrease, leading to more frequent doses, and more adverse reactions. 

MAOb inhibitors include selegiline and rasagaline. They may provide mild symptomatic benefit for those patients who choose to delay dopaminergic medications. Combining selegiline or rasagaline with levodopa in early treatment may delay motor complications. In patients with advanced disease, they decrease off time and improve wearing-off symptoms in patients with motor fluctuations. 

Stocchi F, Dopamine agonists in Parkinson s disease—What is their role in early treatment CNS Drugs 10 159—170, 1998. 

As discussed above, in the case of phenylketonuria, early intervention can make the difference between mental retardation and a near normal life course for a newborn. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia and maple syrup urine disease are two examples of neonatal hereditary disorders where early diagnosis and medical intervention can make the difference between life and death for the newborn. In addition, in a number of genetic diseases, early diagnosis and treatment can help ameliorate symptoms these include fragile X syndrome, homocystinuria, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, and many /1-thalassemias. 

Sensitization Dopaminergic, noradrenergic NMDA receptors Nucleus accumbens, amygdala, striatum, hypothalamus May explain the adverse effects of early life trauma on subsequent responses to stressful like events. May play a role in the chronic course of many anxiety disorders and, in some cases, the worsening of the illness over time Suggests the efficacy of treatment may vary according to the state of evolution of the disease process. Emphasizes the importance of early treatment intervention... 

A. Paget s disease is often asymptomatic and picked up on plain bone films. Patients with Paget s disease should have their serum calcium level determined to make sure that they are not hypercalcemic from excessive bone resorption, their serum alkaline phosphatase measured as a marker of new bone formation, a bone scan to determine whether other bones are involved, and a 24-hour urinary hy-droxyproUne measurement to assess bone resorption. The patient who has minimal involvement and is biochemically normal does not need pharmacological therapy. No studies indicate that early treatment slows progression in individuals with the more severe form of this disorder. 

Zinzani et at. showed in a study of 75 patients with malignant lymphomas that [ F]-FDG-PET positivity after induction of treatment is highly predictive for the presence of residual disease, with significant differences in terms of recurrence free survival (9% vs. 91%). Conventional imaging methods such as CT and MRI cannot differentiate reliably between scar tissue and vital tumor tissue. Therefore, [ F]-FDG-PET was recently introduced into clinical routine for therapy control and evaluation of early treatment response [91]. 

A potential clue to the causes of schizophrenia came in the early 1950s, when researchers discovered the first effective drug treatment for the disease. Chlorpromazine treatments alleviated many of the symptoms, allowing some patients to recover enough function to leave hospital wards for the first time since they had been diagnosed with... 

Screening newborns for genetic diseases can be highly cost-effective, especially in the case of PKU. The tests (no longer relying on urine odor) are relatively inexpensive, and the detection and early treatment of PKU in infants (eight to ten cases per 100,000 newborns) saves millions of dollars in later health care costs each year. More importantly, the emotional trauma avoided by early detection with these simple tests is inestimable. 

Initially, the immunosuppressive agents, such as cyclophosphamide (32), azathioprine, and methotrexate, were developed to inhibit malignant cell proliferation. The immunosuppressant activity was discovered later and these agents were then applied to treat autoimmune diseases, where patients did not respond to high doses of steroids (51). The potential side effects associated with these agents have encouraged the search for unique immunosuppressants having more acceptable safety and efficacy profiles (62). Future approaches need to incorporate early treatment with immunotherapy... 

Among its many other applications, DNA fingerprinting is widely used for the diagnosis of genetic disorders. Cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, Huntington s disease, Tay-Sachs disease, and sickle-cell anemia are among the many diseases that can be detected, enabling early treatment of an affected child. In addition, the U.S. Department of Defense now requires blood and saliva samples from all military personnel. The samples are stored, and DNA is extracted should the need for identification of a casualty arise. 

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