[Differential diagnostic method of initial implications and degree I of the chronic mercury intoxication].

Currently available methods for diagnosis of chronic mercury intoxication (CMI) are applied at the any stage of the disease. Changes in these indices sometimes have no the specificity for any CMI stage, and a conclusion on them has the descriptive character. In addition, the above mentioned methods possess not sufficiently high accuracy in the diagnosis of intoxication at early stages of the development of the disease. The purpose of the research is the development of the method permitting to make the differential diagnosis between the initial symptoms of mercury poisoning and its first degree. 118 men who work/worked in the contact with mercury vapor were examined. There were evaluated electroencephalogram, long-latency auditory and cognitive evoked potentials, cerebral hemodynamics, noradrenaline (NA)content in the blood plasma. Statistical processing was performed with the use of «Statistica 6.0¼ software. The levels of NA in the development of CMI were shown to increase, by the time of the shaping of this disease the noted change was decompensated in the nature. The study of reactivity of cerebral vessels revealed the presence of abnormal responses during hypercapnic load in 14 - 24% of examined cases. In the analysis of auditory evoked potentials there was established the change in indices of latency and amplitude of the V- wave, which pronounced in the prolong response time, significant elongation in the P1 peak latency and the gain in the latency of N1 peak. There was established the presence of the wave-like change in the index of the latency of P300. In workers without an occupational disease, there was noted the marked elongation of the latent period of cognitive potential, while in patients with the newly made diagnosis the latency of P300 corresponded to standard values, and in the long term there was observed a sharp deterioration in this index. With the aid of the discriminant analysis with the calculation of canonical value there were revealed the most informative neurobiochemical indices, reoencephalogric ones and evoked potentials. The developed method of diagnosis allows to distinguish between the initial symptoms of mercury intoxication and the first stage of the disease.

[Features of the lipid exchange in workers employed in aluminium productions].

Aluminum production can be referred to the category of industries of the increased health hazard for the workers. During technological process of receiving aluminum the air of a working zone is polluted by a large number of harmful substances. Workers are exposed to the complex of toxicants possessing a polytropic impact on the body. The most significant consequences are violations of different types of metabolism in the organism, including lipid metabolism. The purpose of the study is the investigation of the state of lipid metabolism in persons working in the production of aluminum. The object of research was 108 male workers of aluminum production suffering from occupational pathology of airways. The group of comparison was consisted of 103 men, apparently healthy, not exposed to toxicants. There was determined the content of the total cholesterol (TC), high and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC and LDLC), triglycerides (TG), phospholipids (PL), atherogenic index (AI). Statistical processing was performed with the use of software «Statistica 6.0¼. There were established statistically significant differences of indices of lipid exchange in the persons occupied in aluminum production when related to the group of comparison. IA values in persons from the study group proved to be higher than in the comparison group, due to elevated levels of TC and LDLC. The TG and PL level was also higher. The values of IA, TC and TG in workers of aluminum production in more than 50% cases exceeded the reference values. The average concentration of HDL cholesterol in both groups did not differ, and was above the lower reference boundary. Established features of lipid metabolism in workers of aluminum allow us to suggest the distinction in mechanisms of developing proatherogenic disorders from previously established ones for workers exposed to other chemicals. One of the causes of the shaping of these disorders can be oxidative stress, which in turn serves as a response to the exposure of complex of toxic substances to workers.

[Neurochemical parameters change in individuals exposed to mercury vapors].

Prospective cohort study covered individuals with preclinical and clinical stages, in early and remote periods of chronic mercurial intoxication and intact workers with length of service over 5 years. Tests included levels of serotonine, histamine, dophamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine and their metabolites (normetanephrine and metanephrine). Increased level of norepinephrine at clinical stage of mental sphere disorders was partially compensated by its transformation into normetanephrine and not associated with increase in its metabolites levels at early stage of chronic mercury intoxication. Remote period of the intoxication was characterized also by increased levels of dophamine, serotonine and histamine.

[CLINICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DISORDERS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND THE RISKS OF COMMON PATHOLOGICAL SYNDROMES IN MERCURY PRODUCTION WORKERS].

The occupational factors are assigned one out of main parts to the development of occupational and comorbid pathology. At the same time the social aspects of labor relations act as the most important factors influencing on the workers' self-assessment of health status. Quantitative risk assessment of the common pathological syndromes has identified the excess of share of persons with a minimum level of risk over the medium and high. In the structure of risks of common pathological syndromes there are prevailed risks for disorders of the cardiovascular and nervous systems and borderline mental disorders, which is a response to the impact of not only industrial, but also psychosocial factors. The results of self-assessment of health status and clinical examination of employees in conditions of mercury exposure show the similarity of the structure of diseases in these cases. In either event there are dominated diseases of the nervous and mental sphere, and from the comorbid pathology disorders of the cardiovascular system are prove to be important. Clinical manifestations of the mercury exposure, ranging from pre-clinical manifestations to marked changes from the side of the nervous system in toxic encephalopathy, are characterized by the presence of hyperkinetic syndrome. For pre-clinical and early forms of mercury poisoning there is also typical the presence of asthenic (emotional lability) disorders with autonomic dysfunction. Comorbidities in an internship working was manifested primarily by diseases of visual organs, cardiovascular system and diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Observed disorders of the nervous system and psycho-emotional sphere are caused, inter alia disturbances of the balance of catecholamines (the rise of norepinephrine in dynamics with a concomitant increase in the coefficient reflecting the degree of its metabolism: norepinephrine/epinephrine and norepinephrine/(adrenaline + Normetanephrine)) in the body.

[Genotype-phenotype characteristics of biochemical markers of endothelial dysfunction in patients with chronic mercury intoxication].

The paper presents data on the frequency of polymorphisms of candidate genes involved in the formation of endothelial dysfunction--endothelin-1 (EDN1 Lys198Asn) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3 T786C) together with the concentrations of their active products (nitric oxide, endothelin-1) in individuals with chronic mercury intoxication. The concentration change of nitric oxide and endothelin-1 indicates the presence of endothelial dysfunction in the individuals examined. The studied polymorphisms appeared to play a minor role in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction in patients with chronic mercury intoxication.