[Irritated bowel syndrome: clinicomorphological aspects of treatment with melaxen].

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of melatonin (melaxen, Unipharm, USA), and its influence on the ultrastructural and histological features on the colon mucosa (CM) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) corresponding to Rome criteria II. Twenty-one patients with IBS were examined before and after the end of the therapy (one month upon the beginning of treatment). All the patients had non-specific morphological changes in the CM, which were more pronounced during exacerbation and less significant during remission. The study showed that in terms of stool normalization and sleep improvement in IBS patients the combination of basic therapy and melaxen was more effective than either the combination of basic therapy and psychotropic drugs or basic therapy alone. Basic therapy plus melaxen is comparable in its effects to basic therapy plus psychotropic drugs in terms of coping with pain syndrome and dyspeptic syndrome in IBS patients, the normalization of their mental status and life quality improvement. The treatment of IBS with melaxen proved to be more effective than other therapies, which was proved by histological and electron microscopic studies of the CM.

[Brain protection in open heart surgery in patients with infective endocarditis]. / Zashchita golovnogo mozga pri operatsiiakh na otkrytom serdtse u bol'nykh infektsionnym éndokarditom.

Effect of nimotope on cerebral metabolism and incidence of mental disorders in patients operated on under forced ventilation of the lungs (FVL) was studied in 32 patients subjected to replacement of mitral and aortic valves for infective endocarditis. Nimotope was used for preventing hypoxic disorders of the CNS. The drug was injected starting from the stage of operation before FVL. Cerebral hypoxia was diagnosed using lactate-oxygen index (LOI) and other cerebral metabolic coefficients. LOI increased in all patients immediately after FVL, being much higher in the patients without cerebral protection. Moreover, numerous neurotic and mental disorders were observed in this group of patients during the early postoperative period. By contrast, no mental disorders, disorders of memory or attention were detected in the patients treated with nimotope. These data indicate that nimotope decreases the unfavorable effect of FVL on the CNS function in patients with infective endocarditis. The difference of lactate content in arterial blood and in the internal jugular vein bulb and LOI can be used for the diagnosis of brain ischemia in heart surgery with FVL.

[Nitrogen metabolism in elderly persons on a low-calorie diet]. / Sostoianie azotistogo obmena u lits pozhilogo vozrasta, poluchavshikh redutsirovannuiu po kaloriinosti dietu.

The clinical trials covered 9 men aged 58-73 years with daily energy losses of 2200-2350 kcal and given for 10 days the diet (1128 kcal/day) containing different food ingredients. A study was made of the main parameters of nitrogenous metabolism. During the time of being kept on a low-caloric diet, the test subjects lost 2.1 kg body mass. Excretion of total nitrogen dropped 34%, urea 57%. Excretion of creatinine appreciably rose (208% of the initial). The calculation of nitrogenous balance demonstrated protein deficiency to be equal to 209 g during experiments. The concentration of free amino acids in blood plasma decreased: that of replaceable by 29.5%, that of essential ones by 37.6%. It is assumed that the tension of body metabolism affected protein synthesis, whereas the protein quota in the diet did not appear sufficient for elderly subjects.