[Three-component tear substitute as preoperative support in glaucoma surgery]. / Primenenie trekhkomponentnogo slezozamenitelya v meditsinskom soprovozhdenii khirurgii glaukomy.

PURPOSE: This study investigates the effect of preoperative preparation with the three-component tear substitute Stillavit on the outcomes of glaucoma surgery in patients on long-term topical glaucoma therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 63 patients (63 eyes) with glaucoma, among them 30 (30 eyes) were women and 33 (33 eyes) were men. Group 1 consisted of 33 patients (33 eyes) receiving long-term topical antihypertensive therapy with preservatives and tear substitute Stillavit 3 times a day for 1 month as preoperative preparation. Group 2 included 30 patients (30 eyes) receiving similar antihypertensive therapy who were not prescribed preoperative medications. All patients underwent a comprehensive ophthalmological examination and computer tomography of the filtering blebs (FB) on Visante system (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Germany) before surgery, as well as 1 week, 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. RESULTS: Mean intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation at 6 months postoperatively was significantly higher in the group that did not undergo preoperative preparation with a tear substitute, compared to the group of patients who received the tear substitute Stillavit preoperatively. According to anterior segment optical coherence tomography, a greater number of favorable diffuse FB were noted in the group that received the tear substitute Stillavit in preparation for surgery - 87.9%, while in group 2 (without preparation) - 66.7%. Odds ratio calculation between the two groups revealed that preoperative preparation with the tear substitute Stillavit reduced the odds of IOP elevation to 20 mm Hg or higher at 3 months postoperatively by more than 10 times. CONCLUSION: The use of tear substitute Stillavit in preparation for anti-glaucoma surgery reduces the chances of IOP elevation in the early postoperative period by more than 10 times, which may indicate a reduction in the rate of FB scarring due to the beneficial effect of the drug's components on the precorneal tear film.

[Studying the condition of filtering bleb after glaucoma surgery using optical coherence tomography]. / Opticheskaya kogerentnaya tomografiya v issledovanii sostoyaniya fil'tratsionnoi podushki posle antiglaukomnoi khirurgii.

PURPOSE: To compare the optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings on the condition of filtering bleb (FB) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) who used different local therapy before glaucoma surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included a total of 82 patients (82 eyes) followed up after glaucoma surgery: 50 patients (50 eyes) who received preservatives-containing drugs before glaucoma surgery; 32 patients (32 eyes) - who were on preservative-free drug treatment before glaucoma surgery. The examinations were carried out 7 days, 1 and 3 months after micro-invasive sinus trabeculectomy. The condition of filtering bleb was studied using the Visante AS-OCT device, as well as with a slit lamp for clinical observation. Corneal-compensated intraocular pressure (IOPcc) was determined by bi-directional pneumatic applanation of the cornea using the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA). RESULTS: After 3 months post-op, a functioning FB and intraocular pressure below 15.0 mm Hg were observed in 38 eyes out of 50 (76%) in group 1, in 12 eyes (24%) the FB was nonfuncitonal. In Group 2, 25 eyes out of 32 (78%) had functioning FB and intraocular pressure lower than 15.0 mm Hg; in 7 eyes (22%) the FB was nonfuncitonal. Needling was needed 3 months after the operation in 7 eyes out of 32 (22%) in group 2. The need for needling according to OCT findings in patients of group 1 occurred already one week after surgery for 4 eyes out of 50 (8%), after one month - for 14 eyes (28%). CONCLUSION: In patients on pre-operative drug therapy with preservative-containing medications, the process of scarring in the FB is faster. The OCT method allows early detection of the initial signs of scarring, as well as determining the need for needling.

[Methods of assessing the condition of filtering bleb after glaucoma surgery]. / Metody otsenki sostoyaniya fil'tratsionnoi podushki posle khirurgii glaukomy.

Currently, there is a need to assess the condition of structures at the surgery site after glaucoma intervention due to the necessity to decide further treatment tactics after performed operations, as well as the possibility of developing more advanced methods of surgical treatment of glaucoma. Despite the fact that there are several methods of examining the filtration bleb (FB), some of them have both clear advantages and significant disadvantages. This article reviews the possibilities of using optical coherence tomography (OCT), ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM), thermography, confocal microscopy, and the Hyperemia-3 program for assessing the structural and functional state of the FB.

Evolutionary Changes in the Content of Dehydrogenase System Metabolites as a Mechanism of Adaptation to Cold in Higher Vertebrates.

It has been found that the optimal body balance control under the conditions of the adaptation to cold is mostly determined by the ratio of the blood concentrations of endogenous ethanol and acetaldehyde related to the activities of liver alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase in the order of increasing level of adaptation: higher vertebrates unadapted to cold, including human → small animals adapted to cold → large animals adapted to cold native to the North → hibernators, regardless of the species specificity and the environment.

[Effects of artificial tears on ocular surface in glaucomatous patients with long-term instillation of preserved antiglaucoma eye drops]. / Vliianie slezozamenitelei na sostoianie poverkhnosti glaza pri dlitel'nom ispol'zovanii gipotenzivnykh sredstv s konservantami.

PURPOSE: To study the effects of long-term instillation of 0.18% sodium hyaluronate artificial tears VISMED multi on ocular surface in glaucomatous patients with long-term instillation of preserved anti-glaucoma drops. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 79 patients (40 female and 39 male; 79 eyes in total) with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) divided into 3 groups according to disease stage: mild or early (stage I) glaucoma - 15 patients (15 eyes), moderate (stage II) glaucoma - 30 patients (30 eyes), advanced or severe (stage III) glaucoma - 34 patients (34 eyes). Conjunctival and corneal changes were assessed with Norn's test, Schirmer I test and corneal fluorescein staining test. All patients completed Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire. Corneal compensated intraocular pressure (IOPcc) was measured using Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) (Reichert Optics Inc., USA). In addition to hypotensive therapy, all patients received instillations of 0.18% sodium hyaluronate (VISMED multi) three times every day. After 14 days, all examinations were repeated. RESULTS: The condition of eye surface in patients with moderate and advanced (stage II and III) glaucoma depends on the degree of IOPcc compensation. As glaucoma increases in severity, the pathological changes in the ocular surface progress. Instillations of 0.18% sodium hyaluronate solution lead to significant improvement of the test results in all groups, and in early glaucoma patients it restores all objective indicators to normal values. CONCLUSION: Treatment with 0.18% sodium hyaluronate solution (VISMED multi) leads to statistically significant (p<0.05) improvement of ocular surface condition in glaucoma patients with long-term instillation of preserved antiglaucoma eye drops.

[A case of progressive glaucoma against the background of chronic constipation]. / Sluchai prog-ressivnogo techeniia glaukomy na fone khronicheskoi obstipatsii.

The authors describe a case of severe glaucoma in the only seeing eye of a patient with venous circulation disturbance resulting from a chronic anal fissure complicated with progressive anal stenosis, severe sphincter spasm, and pain syndrome. The article presents the results of multiple clinical ophthalmological tests and instrumental examinations performed before and after surgical intervention that evidence the importance of venous circulation disturbances for glaucoma development.

Association of chronotype and social jetlag with human non-verbal intelligence.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronotype and social jetlag (SJL) on intelligence. Subjects were aged 14-25 years (n = 1008). A significant effect of intelligence on academic performance, as measured by the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices test, was found (F2,917 = 11.75, P < 0.0001, η2 = 0.03). When SJL was less than 2 hours, the intelligence of people with late chronotype was found to be higher than that of subjects with early and intermediate chronotypes (F2,305 = 3.12, P < 0.05, η2 = 0.02). A negative effect of SJL on the results of intelligence testing was noted only in subjects with late chronotype (F2,536 = 2.61, P < 0.05, η2 = 0.02). Our data suggest that people with late chronotype have a higher level of intelligence, but these advantages disappear when SJL ≥2 hours.

Stabilization of Homeostasis in Rats during Cold Exposure with Ethanol.

The role of ethanol metabolism system in adaptation of laboratory animals to cold temperatures was shown. Cold stress (1-2°C) modeled in male Wistar rats over 7 weeks significantly modulated endogenous ethanol metabolism and led to reorganization of many physiological systems, which resulted in activation of metabolic processes. Under these conditions, endogenous ethanol was utilized as the most easily and fast metabolized energy substrate, due to which its blood concentration decreased and was replenished at the expense of exogenous ethanol. Normalization of blood ethanol concentration led to better adaptation to cold.

Antimicrobial peptide protegrin-3 adopt an antiparallel dimer in the presence of DPC micelles: a high-resolution NMR study.

A tendency to dimerize in the presence of lipids was found for the protegrin. The dimer formation by the protegrin-1 (PG-1) is the first step for further oligomeric membrane pore formation. Generally there are two distinct model of PG-1 dimerization in either a parallel or antiparallel ß-sheet. But despite the wealth of data available today, protegrin dimer structure and pore formation is still not completely understood. In order to investigate a more detailed dimerization process of PG-1 and if it will be the same for another type of protegrins, in this work we used a high-resolution NMR spectroscopy for structure determination of protegrin-3 (RGGGL-CYCRR-RFCVC-VGR) in the presence of perdeuterated DPC micelles and demonstrate that PG-3 forms an antiparallel NCCN dimer with a possible association of these dimers. This structural study complements previously published solution, solid state and computational studies of PG-1 in various environments and validate the potential of mean force simulations of PG-1 dimers and association of dimers to form octameric or decameric ß-barrels.

High-resolution NMR structure of the antimicrobial peptide protegrin-2 in the presence of DPC micelles.

PG-1 adopts a dimeric structure in dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles, and a channel is formed by the association of several dimers but the molecular mechanisms of the membrane damage by non-α-helical peptides are still unknown. The formation of the PG-1 dimer is important for pore formation in the lipid bilayer, since the dimer can be regarded as the primary unit for assembly into the ordered aggregates. It was supposed that only 12 residues (RGGRL-CYCRR-RFCVC-V) are needed to endow protegrin molecules with strong antibacterial activity and that at least four additional residues are needed to add potent antifungal properties. Thus, the 16-residue protegrin (PG-2) represents the minimal structure needed for broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity encompassing bacteria and fungi. As the peptide conformation and peptide-to-membrane binding properties are very sensitive to single amino acid substitutions, the solution structure of PG-2 in solution and in a membrane mimicking environment are crucial. In order to find evidence if the oligomerization state of PG-1 in a lipid environment will be the same or not for another protegrins, we investigate in the present work the PG-2 NMR solution structure in the presence of perdeuterated DPC micelles. The NMR study reported in the present work indicates that PG-2 form a well-defined structure (PDB: 2MUH) composed of a two-stranded antiparallel ß-sheet when it binds to DPC micelles.

Immunological study of complex formation between soluble transferrin receptor and transferrin.

Transferrin receptor (TfR) is a dimeric transmembrane protein that provides iron transport from plasma to cells by binding and internalization of iron-loaded transferrin (Tf). Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is an extracellular part of the TfR molecule that is truncated from the cell surface and released into the blood stream. Using monoclonal antibodies (HyTest Ltd., Turku, Finland), immunofluorescent methods for sTfR and sTfR-Tf complex determination were developed. Soluble TfR was isolated from human plasma, and complex formation between sTfR and Tf was studied by stepwise complex construction and by FPLC gel filtration. It was found that sTfR could bind two Tf molecules step by step when the sTfR-Tf complex is constructed in the plate wells. FPLC gel filtration of sTfR-Tf mixtures and analysis of sTfR and sTfR-Tf immunological activities in collected fractions showed that sTfR can form different complexes with TF depending upon the ratios between them: a 291-kDa compound is assumed to be a 2:1 sTfR/Tf complex, and a 345-kDa compound is assumed to be a 2:2 sTfR/Tf complex. Isolated sTfR eluted as a 237-kDa protein. FPLC gel filtration of serum revealed that all sTfR in serum is bound to Tf in a 2:2 complex, and no isolated sTfR can be found in serum. This raises the question as to the nature of the bonds that hold two molecules of sTfR together to form a dimer.

[Gender differences in migraine and wake-sleep migraine attacks]. / Polovye osobennosti migreni i migren' bodrstvovaniia i sna.

A follow-up clinical study was made of 320 patients examined in Autonomic Pathology and Headache Center, Nervous disease clinic, Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy, since 1989 to 1999. The peculiarities of migraine attack course and remission period, psychological characteristics, concomitant diseases and quality of life in men and women were described. In women, migraine attacks were more typical, prolonged and severe, being often stipulated by provoking factors, especially by emotional ones, as well as accompanied by autonomic disturbances, anxiety and depression. Despite a more favorable migraine course, men proved to score lower on quality of life, revealing more maladaptation. Patients with sleep migraine attacks were distinguished by more severe migraine course, multiple disturbances in remission period, higher depression and anxiety levels, as well as lower quality of life. Common serotoninergic mechanisms were suggested to underlie sleep migraine and depression. The leading role of depression in the origin of night migraine attacks is discussed.

[Clinical and psychological analysis of migraine population]. / Kliniko-psikhologicheskii analiz bol'shoi populiatsii bol'nykh migren'iu.

The study presents a clinical analysis of a large population of migraine patients (n = 320). Computed database used in the study included over 100 clinical parameters and was based on analysis of primary medical records. As a result of statistic processing of the migraine archive, a general review of clinical picture and migraine course in patients from Moscow and Moscow region community and analysis of the peculiarities of migraine heredity, concomitant symptoms, provoking factors, co-morbid diseases, state in attack-free period, psychological characteristics and quality of life are provided. Factors determining course severity and quality of life in migraine are discussed.

[Clinical and psychophysiological characteristics of headache in childhood]. / Klinicheskaia i psikhofiziologicheskaia kharakteristika golovnoi boli v detskom vozraste.

Complex clinical psychophysiological as well as neurophysiological examinations of 210 children with migraine, chronic tension headache (CTH) and chronic posttraumatic headache (CPH) were carried out. Detailed comparative description of cephalalgia types is presented. In a CPH structure, predominates CTH (77.5%), combined type (14.1%); migraine (5.7%) and cervicogenic cephalalgia (2.7%) occur less often. CPH development mechanisms do not principally differ from non-traumatic cephalalgia pathogenesis. Trauma plays a role of a non-specific trigger in realization of these mechanisms. Chronic cephalalgia is caused mainly by poor social and psychological factors and patient's personality peculiarities. Psychovegetative syndrome in children with CTH, migraine or CPH reflects non-specifically diencephal structure disintegration; its clinical signs depending more on child's age than on cephalalgia type.

[Clinical and psychological characteristics and therapy of patients with cluster (bunch) headache]. / Kliniko-psikhologicheskaia kharakteristika i terapiia bol'nykh klasternoi (puchkovoi) golovnoi bol'iu.

The paper presents a discussion on clinical psychological peculiarities of patients with cluster headache (CHA), an analysis of these data in dependence on CHA form (episodically or chronically), on the sex of the patients, on the side of the headache localization (right-sided, left-sided). Taking into consideration a correlation of the headache attacks and the quality of the night sleep, the therapy with imovan (zopiclone) preparation was proposed. Such therapy resulted in positive changes including disappearance of the night attacks and the decrease of the intensitivity of the algesic attacks during daily time.

Blood flow velocity and pulsatility index differences in patients with unilateral migraine.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate blood flow velocity and pulsatility in unilateral migraine without aura during the headache-free period using transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography. METHODS: Patients with unilateral headache were recruited during the headache-free period. Maximum mean flow velocity (MFV) and pulsatility index (PI) were measured in the middle cerebral (MCA) and basilar arteries. Controls were headache-free individuals without cerebrovascular disease. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients with right-sided migraine, 25 patients with left-sided migraine, and 19 controls were studied. The MCA PI was higher on the right headache side versus the left headache side (0.97 +/- 0.2 versus 0.86 +/- 0.1 cm/s, P =.02) and versus controls (0.9 +/- 0.2 cm/s, NS). The basilar artery MFV was higher in patients with right-sided headache versus left-sided headache (39.5 +/- 5.6 versus 34.7 +/- 8.2 cm/s, P =.02) and versus controls (38.2 +/- 8 cm/s, NS). No decrease in MFV with age was observed in patients with migraine. CONCLUSIONS: Middle cerebral artery flow pulsatility and basilar artery velocity are higher in patients with right-sided migraine compared with left-sided migraineurs, during the headache-free period. Although these parameters were similar to controls, the differences found during the headache-free period in migraineurs may indicate vascular involvement predisposing to the unilateral headache recurrence.

[Chronic posttraumatic headache in juveniles]. / Khronicheskaia postravmaticheskaia golovnaia bol' u podrostkov.

The paper presents a comparative analysis of biologic, social-culturological and psychological factors of the premorbid, peculiarities of personality as well as the conditions of getting a slight craniocerebral trauma (CCT) as well as the therapy in the acute period and a psychosocial situation during 1 year after the trauma in juveniles with chronic posttraumatic headache (PTH) (74 individuals) and without it (24 cases). As the main clinical variation of a chronic PTH was chronic PTH of tension, we studied comparative anamnestic data and peculiarities of personalities in 22 juveniles with a chronic headache of tension without PTH in the anamnesis. It was found common pathogenetic mechanisms of the development of both traumatic and non-traumatic cephalgias; the risk factors of PTH chronicity were identified, that was quite necessary for the elaboration of effective rehabilitation programs.

Ecological and biochemical characteristics of alcohol pathologies in the North and their influence upon the total sickness rate of the population.

Studying different population groups of Yakutia and changes in statistics during the 80-90-s, this paper tries to follow up the tendencies in community differences in tolerance of human organism to alcohol. This paper is also aimed at finding out molecule-genetic reasons for the discovered differences in alcohol tolerance on the basis of research of community phenotype characteristics of isoenzyme spectrum of alcohol reducing enzymes. The paper analyses the influence of alcohol drinking intensity and population steadiness to alcohol upon somatic sickness of the number of nosologic forms and gives an assessment of mechanisms of this influence.