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Biomedical subjects

D Zemer

Publications and source records attributed to D Zemer.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Colchicine in the prevention and treatment of the amyloidosis of familial Mediterranean fever.

To determine whether colchicine prevents or ameliorates amyloidosis in patients with familial Mediterranean fever, we followed 1070 patients with the latter disease for 4 to 11 years after they were advised to take colchicine to prevent febrile attacks. Overall, at the end of the study, the prevalence of nephropathy was one third of that in a study conducted before colchicine was used to treat familial Mediterranean fever. Among 960 patients who initially had no evidence of amyloidosis, proteinuria appeared in 4 who adhered to the prophylactic schedule and in 16 of 54 who admitted non-compliance. Life-table analysis showed that the cumulative rate of proteinuria was 1.7 percent (90 percent confidence limits, 0.0 and 11.3 percent) after 11 years in the compliant patients and 48.9 percent (18.8 and 79.0 percent) after 9 years in the noncompliant patients (P less than 0.0001). A total of 110 patients had overt nephropathy when they started to take colchicine. Among 86 patients who had proteinuria but not the nephrotic syndrome, proteinuria resolved in 5 and stabilized in 68 (for more than eight years in 40). Renal function deteriorated in 13 of the patients with proteinuria and in all of the 24 patients with the nephrotic syndrome or uremia. We conclude that colchicine prevented amyloidosis in our high-risk population and that it can prevent additional deterioration of renal function in patients with amyloidosis who have proteinuria but not the nephrotic syndrome.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1985

The prevention of amyloidosis in familial Mediterranean fever with colchicine.

Colchicine has been used since 1972 to prevent the acute attacks of familial Mediterranean fever. The present study shows that colchicine is also effective in the prevention of amyloidosis. If initiated in patients without evidence of renal disease there is no appearance of proteinuria and no progression to renal insufficiency over long follow-up periods. Moreover, it ameliorates the course of the disease in patients with amyloid nephropathy and normal renal function. It does not alter the course of the disease if initiated after renal function is even mildly impaired. These findings suggest that colchicine prevents the new deposition of amyloid.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Constrictive pericarditis in familial Mediterranean fever.

Fibrosing peritonitis and constrictive pericarditis occurred in an 18-year-old patient who manifested the classic features of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). Pericardial calcification had been present in chest X-rays taken when the patient was five years old. Intermittent intestinal obstruction and congestive heart failure were relieved by appropriate surgical intervention, but attacks of FMF subsided only after colchicine therapy. This is the first instance of nonuremic pericarditis in our experience with over 1,000 FMF patients. Critical analysis of the reported cases in which pericarditis was attributed to FMF strengthens our belief that the occurrence of pericarditis in a patient with FMF probably represents a fortuitous intercurrent disease.

Adolescent↗