[Prostate cancer and dogs sense of smell: opportunities of noninvasive diagnostics].

INTRODUCTION: A screening of prostate cancer is an important problem of healthcare system worldwide. AIM: To evaluate a possibility and efficiency of Belgian Malinois dogs sense of smell in diagnosis of prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Urine samples from 176 men were assessed. Of these, 112 samples were taken from patients with biopsy-proven prostate cancer, and 64 from healthy young men. The study with two Belgian Malinois dogs consisted of two stages. The first stage was to train the dogs to distinguish the urine of patients with prostate cancer. A total of 66 urine samples were used at this stage (from 42 patients with prostate cancer and 24 healthy people). At the second detection stage, urine samples of patients with prostate cancer was identified. A total of 110 urine samples were evaluated (70 patients with prostate cancer and 40 healthy people). RESULTS: The first dog correctly identified 68 samples from patients with prostate cancer, and in 37 cases it indicated the absence of disease (sensitivity 97.1%, specificity 92.5%, accuracy 95.4%). The second animal correctly identified 69 and 39 samples, respectively (sensitivity 98.6%, specificity 97.5%, accuracy 98.2%). CONCLUSION: A possibility of training dogs to identify patients with prostate cancer has been demonstrated. Further studies dedicated to the detection of volatile organic compounds in the urine using specialized analyzers of "electronic nose" type, as well as gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry, are of both scientific and practical interest.

Neurological disorders in vitamin B12 deficiency.

The review discusses thesteps of vitamin B12 metabolism and its role in maintaining of neurological functions. The term "vitamin B12 (cobalamin)" refers to several substances (cobalamins) of a very similar structure. Cobalamin enters the body with animal products. On the peripherу cobalamin circulates only in binding with proteins transcobalamin I and II (complex cobalamin-transcobalamin II is designated as "holotranscobalamin"). Holotranscobalamin is absorbed by different cells, whereas transcobalamin I-binded vitamin B12 - only by liver and kidneys. Two forms of cobalamin were identified as coenzymes of cellular reactions which are methylcobalamin (in cytoplasm) and hydroxyadenosylcobalamin (in mitochondria). The main causes of cobalamin deficiency are related to inadequate intake of animal products, autoimmune gastritis, pancreatic insufficiency, terminal ileum disease, syndrome of intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Relative deficiency may be seen in excessive binding of vitamin B12 to transcobalamin I. Cobalamin deficiency most significantly affects functions of blood, nervous system and inflammatory response. Anemia occurs in 13-15% of cases; macrocytosis is an early sign. The average size of neutrophils and monocytes is the most sensitive marker of megaloblastic hematopoiesis. The demands in vitamin B12 are particularly high in nervous tissue. Hypovitaminosis is accompanied by pathological lesions both in white and gray brain matter. Several types of neurological manifestations are described: subacute combined degeneration of spinal cord (funicular myelinosis), sensomotor polyneuropathy, optic nerve neuropathy, cognitive disorders. The whole range of neuropsychiatric disorders with vitamin B12 deficiency has not been studied well enough. Due to certain diagnostic difficulties they are often regarded as "cryptogenic", "reactive", "vascular¼ origin. Normal or decreased total plasma cobalamin level could not a reliable marker of vitamin deficiency. In difficult cases the content of holotranscobalamin, methylmalonic acid / homocysteine, and folate in the blood serum should be investigated besides carefully analysis of clinical manifestations.

[Physico-chemical characteristic of medicinal preparations for intrabladder electrophoresis in patients presenting with bladder diseases (an experimental study)].

The physico-chemical characteristic of medicinal preparations used for the treatment of various bladder diseases is provided including their electrophoretic activity and the ability to penetrate into bladder tissues, e.g. during electrophoresis. The optimal parameters of intracavitary electrophoresis are considered.