[Influence of peptides from pineal gland on thymus function at aging].

The interference between thymus and pineal gland during their involution is considered in this review. The research data about influence of thymus peptides on pineal gland and pineal peptides on thymus is summarized. Analysis of these data showed that pineal peptides (epithalamin, epitalon) had more effective geroprotective effect on thymus involution in comparison with geroprotective effect of thymic peptides (thymalin, thymogen) on involution of pineal gland. The key mechanisms of pineal peptides effect on thymus dystrophy is immunoendocrine cooperation, which is realized as transcription's activation of various proteins.

Aging reversibility: from thymus graft to vegetable extract treatment-- application to cure an age-associated pathology.

Neonatal thymus graft and thymus calf extract (TME) in vivo treatment exert similar corrective actions on different mouse age-related alterations. The aim of the present paper is to investigate whether a vegetal extract, wheat sprout extract (WESPRE), could mimic the thymus action on recovering age-related alterations and if this extract can cure an age-associated pathology, the cataract in dogs. Present experiments were carried out by using WESPRE and TME in vivo in old mice to check their ability to recover the altered DNA synthesis in hepatocyte primary cultures. Old mice treated with WESPRE and TME showed a recovery of hepatocyte DNA synthesis levels when compared with the old untreated ones. The increase of DNA and protein contents observed in aged animals is reduced by WESPRE treatments to levels observed in young mice hepatocytes. We measured also WESPRE phosphorylation activity by endogenous kinase: it was from 10 to 40 times higher with respect to wheat seeds. Old dogs were orally treated for a month and the lens opacity analysed before and after the treatment. Results showed a reduction from 25 to 40% of lens opacity. The efficacy of wheat sprouts in the recovery of age-related alterations and in treating age-associated pathologies could be due to the contemporary presence of small regulatory acid peptides, a remarkable level of highly energetic phosphoric radicals and antioxidant molecules, peculiarities that may be, to some extent, related to the aging process regulation.

[Systemic treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma]. / Medikamentöse Therapie des hepatozellulären Karzinoms.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent malignancies worldwide. A variety of pharmacological strategies has been evaluated in the treatment of HCC: classical chemotherapy, tamoxifen, octreotide, thymostimulin, pravastatin, (131)I-lipiodol as well as transarterial chemoperfusion (TAC) and chemoembolisation (TACE). TACE monotherapy or TACE combined with pravastatin resulted in a survival benefit of selected HCC patients. New strategies such as immunotherapy, antiangiogenic agents or cyclooxygenase inhibitors are under clinical investigation and might play a role in future therapies for HCC. Efficient strategies for the primary prevention of HCC are available and promising concepts in the secondary prevention have been reported.

[Prevention and treatment of postoperative complications of hepatic echinococcosis]. / Nekotorye osobennosti profilaktiki i lecheniia posleoperatsionnykh oslozhnenii ékhinokokkoza pecheni.

The paper presents the outcomes of surgical treatment in 117 patients with complicated liver echinococciasis in the past 9 years. Hepatic function and immunity, their pre- and postoperative changes in the combined use of essentiale and T-activin were studied. It has been found that the functional status of the liver, its detoxifying function in particular, largely impairs and immunosuppression develops in patients with complicated liver echinococciasis. The postoperative combined use of essentiale and T-activin led to the normalization of hepatic function and immunity. The combined treatment reduced the incidence of postoperative complications from 34.83 to 17.2%, such as acute hepatic failure, suppuration of a wound and a residual cavity, isolated abdominal abscesses, pleurisy, and pneumonia.

[Likopid in the complex immunomodulating treatment of patients with sarcoidosis of the lung and intrathoracic lymph nodes]. / Likopid v kompleksnom immunokorrigiruiushchem lechenii bol'nykh sarkoidozom legkikh i vnutrigrudnykh limfaticheskikh uzlov.

AIM: To examine the functional status of the immune system in patients with lung and intrathoracic lymph nodes sarcoidosis and to evaluate the efficiency of immunomodulation alone and in its inclusion in combined treatment of the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 58 patients with the disease of varying severity were followed up. Comprehensive examination, involving clinical, immunological, X-ray, and physical studies, in patients treated with combined immunotherapy was performed. Initial examination revealed mixed immunodefficiency with impaired T- and phagocytic activity. According to the degree of immunological changes, the patients were given immunotherapy, including polyoxidonium, T-activin (or immunophan) injections, a complex of multivitamins and trace elements, and total adaptogens. After partial or complete normalization of an immunogram, all the patients received licopid (two-three 10-day courses, 10 mg/day). RESULTS: The optimal result (as long as 3-year remission) was achieved in the first time diagnosed sarcoidosis who have not taken glucocorticoidal hormones. CONCLUSION: The follow-up shows that addition of licopid is a compulsory component of immunotherapy in this disease; the efficiency of treatment is determined by its multimodality. The courses of therapy should be repeated when immunological indices deteriorated.

[Use of extracts of Glycerrhiza glabra L. in the correction of some indices of local nonspecific defense in patients with protracted pulmonary pneumonia]. / Primenenie ékstrakta solodki goloi pri korrektsii nekotorykh pokazatelei mestnoi nespetsificheskoi zashchity legkikh u bol'nykh zatiazhnoi pnevmoniei.

Results are presented of studies on local nonspecific defence in patients with protracted pneumonia in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) during the course of conventional therapy involving the use of T-activin and extractum Glycerrhiza glabra L. The course of conventional therapy has not been shown to be associated with a substantial normalization of cytosis in the BALF cell precipitate or augmentation of sIgA content of lysozyme. T-activin makes for a reduction in the content of mature neutrophilous granulocytes and for an increase in humoral factors of defence. Extractum Glycerrhiza glabra L. has been found to be superior to T-activin in diminishing neutrophilic granulocytes count, increase in the BALF content of macrophages, lysozyme, s IgA; it proved to be endowed with an antiphospholipase activity, which facts predetermine apperant efficacy of the drug with respect to the lung local defence system in those patients presenting with protracted pneumonia.

[The effect of the preparation Wobe-Mugos E on the functional and biochemical status of the kidneys in the polyuric stage of sublimate-induced nephropathy]. / Vplyv preparatu Wobe-Mugos E na funktsional'nyi ta biokhimichnyi stan nyrok u poliurychnu stadiiu sulemovoï nefropatiï.

The protective effect of Wobe-Mugos appliance on the kidney function and biochemical state in polyuric stage of sublimate nephropathia at the moment of tubulointerstitial component formation was revealed in experiments on 40 white male rats. It appeared in the increase of hydrogenous ion excretion, titred acids, renal tissue fibrinolytic and proteolytic activity. The succinatdehydrogenase activation in renal cortex matter pointed out on the improvement of energy balance.

Double-blind pilot-study on the efficacy of enzyme therapy in advanced colorectal cancer.

All tested variables showed a tendency in favor for Wobe-Mugos E therapy as addition to standard therapy. Enzymes improve the quality of life by reducing cancer disease typical symptoms, they reduce side effects of chemo-/radiotherapy and they have a potential of prolonging life (preliminary data only).

[The effect of tactivin and levamisole on the development of toxic brain edema-swelling]. / Vliianie taktivina i levamizola na razvitie toksicheskogo oteka-nabukhaniia golovnogo mozga.

Edema-swelling of the brain (ESB) is among the urgent problems of modern medicine. The purpose of the research was the study of the effect of immunotropic agents on formation of the pathologic process. It was demonstrated on a model of toxic ESB that taktivin and levamisole possess antiedemic activity. The effect is dose-dependent and is determined by the structural characteristics of the drugs under study. Unlike taktivin, large doses of levamisole demonstrate synergism with the effect of the edematous factor.

[The effect of thymic peptides on the development of streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus]. / Vliianie peptidov timusa na razvitie streptozototsinindutsirovannogo sakharnogo diabeta.

Streptosotocin was administered to 21 test animals and 19 control ones. Preventively, the former were given T-activin, the latter--saline. 73% of the test animals were free of hyperglycemia, insulinopenia, activation of lipid peroxidation, morphologic evidence of beta-cell damage. In control animals diabetes mellitus arose in 84% manifesting with marked hyperglycemia, insulinopenia, LPO activation, morphological signs of beta-cell damage, lymphocytic infiltration of the islets. From the results obtained it can be concluded that T-activin has a prominent protective effect against diabetes mellitus (chi-square = 6.34, p < 0.05) which can be explained by its antioxidant and immunotropic activity.

[The comparative characteristics of the effect of immunomodulators on the indices of body nonspecific protection and on the structure of the populations of the causative agents in mixed infections]. / Sravnitel'naia kharakteristika vliianiia nekotorykh immunomoduliatorov na pokazateli nespetsificheskoi zashchity organizma i strukturu populiatsii vozbuditelei pri smeshannykh infektsiiakh.

A sharp decrease in the characteristics of nonspecific protection and humoral immunity in mixed infections (Pseudomonas aeruginosa + fungi of the genus Candida) in cases of burn traumas was established. Under these conditions an increase (up to 100%) in the number clones with the signs of pathogenicity and multiple medicinal resistance in the populations of infective agents, accompanied by a high death rate among the animals (up to 60%), was observed in the dynamics of the infectious process. The use of immunomodulators (tactivin and sodium nucleinate + lidocaine) contributed to the restoration of the phagocytic function of peripheral blood lymphocytes and humoral immunity, as well as to a decrease in the death rate of the animals. At the same time a considerable decrease in the number of clones with the signs of pathogenicity was observed in the populations in infective agents, isolated from the animals in the process of treatment.

[Use of immunomocorrection in the combined treatment of laryngeal papillomatosis in children]. / Ispol'zovanie sredstv immunokorrektsii v kompleksnom lechenii papillomatoza gortani u detei.

Original immunological studies allowed the authors to design a combined treatment of laryngeal papillomatosis (LP) with administration of immunomodulators and cytostatics. Surgery was performed on demand. Thymic hormone preparation (T-activin, thymalin, thymogen) and prospidin served as immunomodulators and cytostatic, respectively. To create lymphotropism, prospidin was delivered by means of electrophoresis following subcutaneous introduction of 8--16 U lidase. Sensitivity of patients to thymalin was tested in vitro by thymalin-induced changes in the number of CD2--DR+ lymphocytes. Adjuvant modalities were age-adjusted dibasol as inductor of interferon genesis and adaptogens (eleutherococcal fluid extract, B and C vitamins). Such treatment was given to 39 children. Remission duration increased 1.6--2.6-fold, 6 of 7 children with primary LP achieved persistent remission. Positive changes in immunological indices occurred in 84% of children. The above treatment outcomes support the efficacy of the method in childhood LP.