[Indications for magnesium supplementation an example of alcoholism]. / O pokazaniyakh k naznacheniyu preparatov magniya na primere alkogolizma.

Supplementation of various substances (metabolites, microelements, vitamins) is sometimes recommended without sufficient indications. To decide whether a supplementation is needed, the question should be answered whether there is a deficiency, and if there is, if it can be compensated by diet. Magnesium (Mg) deficiency has been associated with cardiovascular diseases, certain metabolic and neuropsychiatric disorders. Hypomagnesemia is above-average in alcoholism; however, alcoholics should not be a priori assumed to have Mg deficiency. Mild depletion does not necessarily require supplementation. The parenteral route is mandatory in severe Mg deficiency. Hypermagnesemia may result from excessive supplementation. Intravenous infusions of Mg-containing solutions have sometimes been used in alcoholics without sufficient indications. In conditions of suboptimal procedural quality assurance, endovascular and other invasive manipulations can lead to transmission of viral hepatitis. It has been suggested to include Mg in routine blood ionograms. The contents of Mg in different foodstuffs should be taken into account in patients at risk of Mg deficiency to better manage the diet.

Hormesis and radiation safety norms: Comments for an update.

Hormesis can be explained by evolutionary adaptation to the current level of a factor present in the natural environment or to some average from the past. This pertains also to ionizing radiation as the natural background has been decreasing during the time of the life existence. DNA damage and repair are normally in a dynamic balance. The conservative nature of the DNA repair suggests that cells may have retained some capability to repair damage from higher radiation levels than that existing today. According to this concept, the harm caused by radioactive contamination would tend to zero with a dose rate tending to a wide range level of the natural radiation background. Existing evidence in favor of hormesis is substantial, experimental data being partly at variance with results of epidemiological studies. Potential bias, systematic errors, and motives to exaggerate risks from low-dose low-rate ionizing radiation are discussed here. In conclusion, current radiation safety norms are exceedingly restrictive and should be revised on the basis of scientific evidence. Elevation of the limits must be accompanied by measures guaranteeing their observance.

Some Aspects of Nonbeverage Alcohol Consumption in the Former Soviet Union.

Toxicity of some legally sold alcoholic beverages has contributed to enhanced mortality in Russia since 1990. Widespread drunkenness during the early 1990s facilitated privatization of economy: workers and some intelligentsia did not oppose privatizations because of drunkenness and involvement in illegal activities. Apparently, alcohol consumption and heavy binge drinking have been decreasing in Russia since approximately the last decade. Exaggeration of alcohol-related problems tends to veil shortages of the health care system. There are motives to exaggerate consumption of nonbeverage alcohol in order to veil the problem of toxicity of some legally sold beverages. It is essential to distinguish between legally and illegally sold rather than between recorded and unrecorded alcohol because sales of poor-quality alcoholic beverages in legally operating shops and kiosks occurred generally with knowledge of authorities.

[Some aspects of cytological diagnostics].

In many countries both histological and cytological examinations are performed by pathologists. In Russia and some countries of the former Soviet Union, pathological anatomists usually do not examine cytological specimens. Cytology belong to another specialty: laboratory medicine. Some cytological smears can contain tissue fragments, evaluation of which requires application of histopathological criteria. Comparisons of cytological and histological specimens are of great significance because of the relatively high percentage of inconclusive reports in cytology, when only a suspicion can be expressed. In conclusion, it is proposed to unify the practical specialties "cytology" and "pathological anatomy" in Russia under the designation "pathoology".

Thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescents resulting from the Chernobyl accident: possible causes of the incidence increase overestimation.

The Chernobyl accident in the nuclear power plant on 26th April 1986 was followed by numerous publications overestimating the medical consequences of the disaster. In the publications, interpretations of spontaneous diseases as radiation-induced, indication of radioactivity or dose levels without confrontation with the natural radiation background, or conclusions about incidence increase without comparison with the increase tendencies in larger regions or the whole country, can be found. Improved diagnostics after the Chernobyl accident is not always taken into account. The high figures could have been caused in some cases by non-random material selection or inadequate morphological assessment of biopsy specimens. The application of the linear-no-threshold theory to the inhabitants of contaminated areas contributed to an overestimation of medical consequences of the Chernobyl accident as well. The incidence increase of thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescents started in 1990, four years after the accident. High tumor expectancy after the accident, in the circumstances of limited technical possibilities and outdated equipment of histological laboratories, contributed to a higher number of registered cases. The quality of specimens necessary for the assessment of nuclear criteria of papillary carcinoma was not always achieved at that time. The incidence increase of thyroid carcinoma can, at least in part, be explained by improved detection of thyroid nodules with occasional false-positive conclusions about malignancy. Besides, latent carcinomas and well-differentiated thyroid tumors of uncertain malignant potential, diagnosed as malignancies, could have additionally contributed to the high figures.