FACTORS AFFECTING THE FATAL OUTCOME IN HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS WITH ENCEPHALITIS.

Despite the successful use of ART up to 40-70% of HIV(+) individuals have neurologic complications caused both by the HIV itself and by the reactivation of OIs on the background of severe immunodeficiency. Nowadays, there are no universally recognized criteria that allow predicting the outcome of encephalitis caused by OIs in this category of patients. The aim of our study was to assess factors affecting the fatal outcome in HIV(+) patients with CNS involvement. Retrospectively we selected 53 HIV(+) patients with confirmed encephalitis due to OIs. Depending on the outcome of the disease, patients were divided into groups: non-survivors (n=22) and survivors (n=31), after compared their clinical manifestation, history of the disease and life, CSF results in the first days of admission. It has been established that the factors affecting the fatal outcome in HIV(+) patients with encephalitis are: the severity of the patient's condition upon admission, acuteness of the onset of the disease, the severity of neurologic symptoms, the degree of co-morbidity, the level of immunosuppression and viral load, absence of ART.

THE ROLE OF POLYMORPHISM ASP299GLY OF THE GENE TLR 4 IN PATIENTS CO-INFECTED WITH HIV/HCV.

For the first time it was conducted complex research of metabolic disorders in patients co-infected with HIV/HCV and was shown that they are characterized by disturbances of mineral, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism types. It was established significantly higher values of indicators of mineral, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism types in patients co-infected with HIV/HCV compared with patients with chronic hepatitis C and HIV-infected persons. In patients co-infected HIV/HCV appears significantly more frequent the polymorphism Asp299Gly of the gene TLR4 (χ2 = 4,5; p<0,05) when compared with healthy donors, which plays a significant role in the development of metabolic disorders, such correlation is confirmed by those relationships: a strong direct relationship between the polymorphism Asp299Gly of TLR4 gene and the content of insulin (r = 0,66; p<0,001), insulin resistance (r=0,66; p<0,001), the absolute number of CD45+ of T-lymphocytes (r=0 45; p<0,001); a moderate direct relationship with the content of TNF-α (r=0,32; p<0,05), CRP (r=0,34; p<0,05), the absolute number of CD3+ of T-lymphocytes (r=0,34; p<0,05), the content of triglyceride (r=0,39; p<0,02), moderate inverse relationship with the zinc content (r = -0,34; p<0,05 ), the relative number of CD4 +,% (r = -0,32; p<0,05). The system of monitoring of metabolic disorders in patients co-infected with HIV/HCV based on the definition of polymorphism Asp299Gly gene TLR4, the presence of which indicates a high risk of metabolic disturbances (OR=23,3; p<0,05) and requires further investigation, namely the definition of an index of insulin resistance, insulin levels, TNF-α, C-reactive protein, zinc and triglyceride levels in dynamics at intervals of 6 months that allow for timely diagnosis and correction of metabolic disorders.

Stimulation of 3H-norepinephrine release by trifluoperazine from rat pineal glands.

Trifluoperazine (5-200 microM) stimulated the release of 3H-NE from isolated whole pineal glands in a dose dependent manner. Trifluoperazine-induced release was not dependent on extracellular Ca++, whereas 60 mM K+-evoked release was attenuated in the presence of EGTA and zero Ca++ Krebs. 60 mM K+ and 50 microM trifluoperazine produced an additive effect on 3H-NE release. Clonidine (5 microM) significantly reduced trifluoperazine-induced release by approximately 50% in the presence of Ca++, and in its absence, clonidine significantly attenuated the trifluoperazine response by 42%. Thus trifluoperazine may be acting upon the alpha 2 receptor or intracellular stores of Ca++. These intracellular interactions remain for further study.

Social and emotional loneliness: an examination of Weiss's typology of loneliness.

This study examined Weiss' conceptualization of social and emotional loneliness. Using data from an extensive survey of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Iowa, we measured social and emotional loneliness, students' affective and behavioral reactions to loneliness, students' social relationships, and their judgments of the degree to which their relationships supply the six social provisions described by Weiss. As expected, we found differences in the subjective experiences of social and emotional loneliness, although both forms of loneliness were also characterized by a common core of experiences. The results generally supported Weiss's ideas concerning the determinants of social and emotional loneliness. Predictions concerning the affective and behavioral consequences associated with each type of loneliness, however, were only partly supported, although the two forms of loneliness were associated with different affective reactions and coping behaviors. The implications of these findings for Weiss's typology of loneliness are discussed.