[Streptococcal infections, anti-streptococcal immunity and rheumatism in the builders and operators of Baikal-Amur trunk line]. / Problemy streptokokkovoi infektsii, protivostreptokokkovogo immuniteta i revmatizma u stroitelei i ékspluatatsionnikov BAMa.

The authors studied the dynamic of the indices of antistreptococcal immunity in 2750 builders and operation staff in various settlements in the BAM region; temporary loss of working capacity due to acute angina and rheumatic fever in 25172 persons in Tynda station; rheumatic fever morbidity rate among newly arrived population in 1974-1984. It was shown that situation in the BAM region reflects the complicated situation in interrelationship between social, geographical, biological and medical factors.

[Serologic indices of the persistence of L forms of group A streptococci in patients with rheumatism]. / Serologicheskie pokazateli persistentsii L-form streptokokka gruppy A u bol'nykh revmatizmom.

A study of 1343 rheumatic patients has shown that during acute disease high titres of antibodies to streptococcus L forms were detected in 76%, and were declining rapidly with clinical improvement. In protracted rheumatism, high antibody titres were maintained constantly in 70%; those were mostly IgM, incapable of blocking L-form growth. The antigen of streptococcus L form was only detected in 18-25% of the patients, obviously because it was bound to circulating immune complexes in 64%. It is suggested that streptococcal L forms are capable of prolonged persistence in the body, affecting the course of disease in rheumatic patients; possible persistence of L forms as part of immune complexes is of particular importance.

[Chronicity of the rheumatoid process]. / K voprosu o khronizatsii revmaticheskogo protsessa.

The authors considered the problem of chronicity of a rheumatic process as a result of streptococcus persistence in the patient's body. Using a bacteriological method and luminescence microscopy streptococcal bacteremia was found in patients with rheumatic fever in the active phase in 12.5 and 31.2%, respectively. Four examinations of patients with 2-3 day intervals resulted in a 3-fold increase in the detection of streptococcal bacteremia reaching 88.9% in blood testing by the immunofluorescence method and 44.1% by the bacteriological method. In patients with rheumatic fever in the inactive phase streptococci were found in the mediastinal lymph nodes, left auricula atrii tissues, and in the myocardium. In the imprints of biopsies prepared from appropriate tissues, streptococcal L-forms and cells were detected in the immunofluorescence reaction.

[Tolerance of group A streptococci to the bactericidal effect of various antibiotics]. / Izuchenie tolerantnosti streptokokkov gruppy A k bakteritsidnomu deistviiu nekotorykh antibiotikov.

The MICs and MBCs (minimum bactericidal concentration) of 6 antibiotics (benzylpenicillin, oxacillin, cephalothin, ristomycin, erythromycin and lincomycin) for 50 strains of group A streptococci were determined with serial dilutions in a liquid medium (the medium for isolation of streptococci of the I. I. Mechnikov Moscow Research Institute of Vaccines and Sera) followed by volumetric platings on a solid medium (the same medium supplemented with 1.5 per cent agar). The results are discussed in relation to the problem of Streptococci tolerance to the bactericidal effect of the antibiotics.

[Participation of Coxsackie B viruses in the occurrence and recurrence of infectious-allergic myocarditis (a serological study)]. / Uchatsie virusov Koksaki B v vozniknovenii i retsidivirovanii infektsionno-allergicheskogo miokardita (serologicheskoe issledovanie).

The serological study of sera from patients with infectious allergic myocarditis and from healthy persons has revealed essential differences in the occurrence and titers of antibodies to Coxsackie virus B. In patients with infectious allergic myocarditis the infectious process has been found to be significantly more frequently linked with Coxsackie viruses B, serovars 2 and 4.

[Detection of an antigen of the L-forms of group A hemolytic streptococci in the sera of rheumatic patients following immune complex separation]. / Vyiavlenie antigena L-form gemoliticheskogo streptokokka gruppy A v syvorotkakh bol'nykh revmatizmom posle razdeleniia immunnykh kompleksov.

Tests were carried out to confirm the presence of the antigens of group A hemolytic streptococci in the L-form as a part of immune antigen-antibody complexes in the blood of rheumatic patients. The preliminary dissociation of antigen-antibody complexes with the subsequent gel filtration of the samples resulted in a significant increase in the number of serum samples giving the positive result in the aggregate hemagglutination test. The total number of serum samples yielding the antigen was more than 69.4%, whereas the commonly used aggregate hemolysis test allowed detection of the L-form antigen in 18-24% of serum samples obtained from rheumatic patients, as well as from patients with infectious myocarditis.