Date: 26 November 2013
Secondary metabolites, structure diagram: Trivial name – Itaconic acid
Copyright: n/a
Notes:
Species: A. terreusSystematic name: 2-methylidenebutanedioic acidMolecular formulae: C5H6O4Molecular weight: 130.099Chemical abstracts number: 811Selected references: LARSEN H, EIMHJELLEN KE. The mechanism of itaconic acid formation by Aspergillus terreus. 1. The effect of acidity. Biochem J. 1955 May;60(1):135-9. EIMHJELLEN KE, LARSEN H. The mechanism of itaconic acid formation by Aspergillus terreus. 2. The effect of substrates and inhibitors. Biochem J. 1955 May;60(1):139-47.
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Image A
CT Scan 30/3/99
Showing extreme pleural thickening and 2 small cavities at apex of left lung.
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A 43 year old with smoking related emphysema was admitted to hospital with two separate episodes of haemoptysis. He had been in good health up to 1989, when he was diagnosed as having bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis. At that time a CT scan revealed a cavity in the left upper lobe (20.8cm2) with adjacent confluent infiltrates and pleural thickening. On bronchoscopic examination no abnormalities were noted and endobronchial biopsies did not reveal hyphae.
Over the next 4 years his condition deteriorated and a CT scan showed the left upper lobe cavity had increased to 40cm2. Itraconazole 400mg daily was prescribed. There was some clinical improvement on itraconazole but patient eventually deteriorated with breathlessness and with significant weight loss.
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