[A study of the efficacy and safety of L-carnitine in patients with ischemic stroke in the early rehabilitation period]. / Issledovanie bezopasnosti i éffektivnosti L-karnitina u bol'nykh v rannem vosstanovitel'nom periode ishemicheskogo insul'ta.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of L-carnitine injections in patients with ischemic stroke (IS) in the rehabilitation period. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty patients in the early rehabilitation period of IS were stratified into two groups. Patients of group 1 received elcar, the 100 mg/ml solution for intravenous and intramuscular injection, in dose of 500 mg intramuscular 2 times a day during 7 days, with the second course after 10 days, in the complex treatment of the 2nd stage of poststroke rehabilitation. Patients of group 2 received conventional therapy. Treatment efficacy was assessed at end points: 1st visit (the 1 st day of treatment), 2nd visit (the 7-10th day), 3rd visit (28-30th day).The following scales were used: NIHSS, the Barthel index, MFI-20, HADS, the Visual Analogue Scale. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: L-carnitine significantly improved the quality of life of the patients. The frequency of complaints of cerebral and somatic character decreased significantly which was combined with a reduction in the severity of neurological deficit on the NIHSS. Moreover, the decreased levels of general asthenia and psychoemotional defect were observed that resulted in the reduction of the percentage of patients who needed help according to the Barthel index.

[Clinical characteristics of hypertensive encephalopathy in the perimenopausal period].

OBJECTIVES: To study correlations between symptoms of hypertensive encephalopathy (HE), structural MRI changes of the brain and affective disorders in the perimenopausal period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A study included 150 women who have been through natural menopause (group 1) and 100 women in the premenopausal (group 2). Somatic and neurological examination, MRI and psychometric scales for anxiety and depression were used. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Women with hypertensive encephalopathy in the postmenopausal period had signs of persistent psycho-emotional disorders (higher anxiety, depression of different severity) combined with structural changes in the brain, with their severity increasing with the progression of HE.

[Clinical, vegetative and cognitive disorders in hypertensive postmenopausal women in relation to menopause causes].

AIM: To specify clinical, vegetative and cognitive disorders in hypertensive women depending on the type of menopause. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 195 hypertensive women were divided into three groups: group 1 (n = 50, age 45.6 +/- 4.5 years) consisted of premenopausal women, group 2 (n = 100, age 57.4 +/- 4.7 years) - of women with natural menopause, group 3 (n = 45, age 55.1 +/- 5.9 years)--with early and/or surgical menopause. Severity of the menopausal syndrome, anxiety, depression, alexitimia, mental performance, vegetative regulation of heart rhythm were examined. RESULTS: The premenopausal women were characterized by cardial and cerebral disorders, unaffected psychovegetative function and initial symptoms of lowering mental performance. Hypertensive women with natural menopause showed combination of cardial and cerebral symptoms with moderate anxio-depressive disorders, alexitimia, subnormal parasympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system in high centralization of heart rhythm regulation and attention disturbances. Patients with surgical and/or early menopause had marked cardial and cerebral symptoms, moderate anxiodepressive disorders, alexitimia, inhibition of mental performance, vegetative dysfunction, overcentralization of heart rhythm control. CONCLUSION: With development of postmenopausal metabolic symptom complex, severity of hypertension grows with emergence of anxiodepressive disorders which combine with vegetative regulation disorders and attenuation of mental performance.