Gastrointestinal ulcerative lesions

Rats that received phenylmercuric acetate in their drinking water for 2 years showed decreases in hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cell counts at a dose of 4.2 mg Hg/kg/day (Solecki et al. 1991). The anemia observed in this study may have been secondary to blood loss associated with the ulcerative lesions in the large intestine seen at this dose (see Gastrointestinal Effects above). No treatment-related changes were observed in hematological parameters measured in rats (strain not specified) exposed via the diet for 2 years to 0.1 mg Hg/kg/day as methylmercuric chloride (Verschuuren et al. 1976). 

Many different types of lesions have been observed (very often at autopsy) in animals suffering from severe pantothenic acid deficiency. These may involve the skin, the adrenals, the entire gastrointestinal tract, nerves, and spinal cord. Functionally, in chickens fertility may be reduced by pantothenic acid deficiency to practically zero64 without any outward signs being shown by the fowls. Recently, pantothenic acid deficiency has been found to produce duodenal ulcers in about 60 per cent of the rats tested.65 It is required for bone development66 and is implicated in antibody responses.67... 

This is especially true for the traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which are associated with serious gastrointestinal complications such as bleeding, lesions and ulcers. 

Older and still widely-used analgesic compounds can cause unacceptable side-effects. This is especially the case for the traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which are associated with serious gastrointestinal complications such as bleeding, lesions and ulcers. Every year it is estimated that 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur in the US alone, with 75,000 patients hospitalized. 

First- and second-trimester abortion Cervical reopening Induction of labor Augmentation of labor Postpartum hemorrhage Ectopic pregnancy Lactation suppression In gastrointestinal disease Peptic ulceration Liver transplantation Chemotherapy-induced mucosal lesions In cardiovascular disease Congenital cardiac malformations Raynaud s syndrome Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Adult respiratory distress syndrome Pulmonary hypertension Arterial occlusive disease Extracorporeal circulation In urology Erectile dysfunction... 

In addition, flavonoids have been found to be free-radical scavengers, and free radicals play an important role in ulcerative and erosive lesions of the gastrointestinal tract. In relation to their... 

Information regarding gastrointestinal effects in animals after inhalation exposure to chromium or its compounds is limited. Histological examination of the stomachs of rats exposed to sodium dichromate dihydrate at 0.2 mg chromium(VI)/m3 for 28 or 90 days revealed no abnormalities (Glaser et al. 1985). In mice exposed intermittently to 4.3 mg chromium(VI)/m3 as calcium chromate for 18 months, small ulcerations in the stomach and intestinal mucosa were reported to occur occasionally, but the incidence in the treated mice, in controls, or other details regarding these lesions were not reported (Nettesheim et al. 1971). No treatment-related histopathological lesions were found in the stomach, large intestine, duodenum, jejunum, or ileum of rats chronically exposed to chromium dioxide at 15.5 mg chromium(IV)/m3 (Lee et al. 1989). 

Aspirin can also play a role in esophageal bleeding, ulceration, or benign stricture, and it should be considered as a possible cause in patients, particularly the elderly, who present with any of these features. There have also been reports of rectal stricture in the elderly, associated with the use of aspirin suppositories. Effects on both these strictures emphasize the significance of a direct local action of aspirin as well as a systemic action and underlines the relevance of the involvement of oxygen-derived free radicals in the pathogenesis of mucosal lesions in the gastrointestinal tract (54-56). 

VoutUainen M, Sokka T, Juhola M, Farkkila M, Hannonen P. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-associated upper gastrointestinal lesions in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Relationships to gastric histology, Helicobacter pylori infection, and other risk factors for peptic ulcer. Scand J Gastroenterol 1998 33(8) 811-16. 

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