[Nebulized budesonide in the treatment of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Efficacy, safety, and effects on the serum levels of soluble differentiation molecules].

AIM: To investigate the efficacy and safety of nebulized budesonide and systemic glucocorticosteroids (GCS) (SGCS) in the treatment of an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and their effects on the serum concentration of soluble leukocyte differentiation antigens. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-eight hospitalized patients with an acute exacerbation of COPD were randomized into two groups: 1) 37 patients took nebulized budesonide 4 mg/day; 2) 41 patients received intravenous prednisolone. The symptoms of COPD, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and other spirometric indicators, peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), and adverse events were studied. The serum levels of the soluble adhesion molecules CD50 (sCD50) and CD54 (sCD54) and the lymphocyte activation molecules CD38 (sCD38) and CD25 (sCD25) were investigated by an enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: There was a significant resolution of the symptoms of COPD, FEV1, and SpO2 in both groups after treatment. The incidence of hyperglycemia episodes was lower in the budesonide group than in the sGCS group. GCSs caused a decrease in the serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sCD25) in both groups. A prednisolone cycle, unlike a budesonide one, was found to reduce the concentrations of sCD54, sCD50, and sCD38. CONCLUSION: Nebulized budesonide is an effective and safe alternative to SGCS in treating an exacerbation of COPD. Inhaled GCSs, unlike SGCSs, exhibit anti-inflammatory activity, but exert no immunosuppressive activity.

[Effects of high energy charged particles on conduction of nerve rhythmic excitation]. / Vliianie oblucheniia chastitsami vysokoi énergii na provedenie ritmicheskogo vozbuzhdeniia v nerve.

The effects of heavy charged particles--alpha-particles and deuterons accelerated by cyclotron to the energies of 30.3 and 15.4 MeV accordingly--on nerve's excitability (amplitude of an action potential (AP) and speed of AP propogation has been studied. The local irradiation of a little segments of nerve by particles having high LET has been used. The differences in dose curves of AP parameters were detected both during the influence of particles, and during the influence of particles on a nerve treated with isopropyl alcohol. The results showed the AP amplitude reducing that was more expressed in case of alpha-particles, and the AP speed decreasing that was more expressed in case of deuterons. During irradiation, the AP blocked by isopropyl alcohol was rehabilitated, and then was disappeared irreversible. The injury of nerve during irradiation had local character and did not influence on neighbor non-irradiated regions.

[Registration by dynamic phase microscopy of characteristic frequencies of phase height fluctuations of the myelin nerve fiber at rest and under stimulation]. / Registratsiia metodom dinamicheskoi fazovoi mikroskopii kharakternykh chastot fluktuatsii fazovoi vysoty uchastkov mielinovogo nervnogo volokna v pokoe i pri stimuliatsii.

The method of dynamic phase microscopy was used to study the dynamics of changes in the structure of paranodal and nodal regions of a myelin nerve fiber of brown frog Rana temporaria at rest and under stimulation. Regular structural changes with frequencies of 5.3 and 10.8 Hz in the nodal region of the myelin nerve fiber were detected. A rhythmic excitation leads to additional changes in the structure of the nodal region with a new frequency of 5.6 Hz. It is likely that the regular changes in the nodal region of the myelin nerve induced by rhythmic excitation are due to slow changes in the axolemma (changes in the mode of lateral diffusion of membrane phospholipids), induced by developing trace changes in the membrane potential of the axolemma. The fact that these changes do not occur in the paranodal region of the fibre may indicate either the localization of regular structural changes in the axolemma or the difficulties that arise during the registration of the useful signal in the vicinity of myelin by this method.

A study of demyelination of nerve fibers using dynamic phase contrast microscopy.

Dynamic phase microscopy was used for evaluation of changes in myelinated axon segment in the paranodal region of nerve fibers during demyelination. Normally paranodal myelin sheath is characterized by regular oscillations of the optical path difference with frequences of 4.2 and 6.7 Hz. Demyelination decreased the amplitude and conduction velocity in nerve fibers and shifted the characteristic frequencies of optical path difference oscillations to 2.8, 3.2, and 11 Hz. These shifts of optical path difference frequencies probably resulted from disturbances in the state of charged phospholipids and a decrease in the level of bound Ca(2+)during demyelination of nerve fiber.

[Effect of a hydroxylamine Klebsiella vaccine on the rate of elimination of the causative agent and on indices of humoral immunity]. / Vliianie gidroksilaminovoi klebsielleznoi vaktsiny na skorost' éliminatsii vozbuditelia i nekotorye pokazateli gumoral'nogo immuniteta.

Immunization with hydroxylamine Klebsiella vaccine ensures the elimination of K. pneumoniae from the blood, the lungs, the liver, the kidneys and the spleen of mice and induces considerable immunological shifts, manifested by a rise in the level of specific antibodies and by an increase in the preventive potency of the blood serum.

[Effect of radiation sterilization on the immunobiological properties of the sorbed protective fraction of Bordetella pertussis]. / Izuchenie vliianiia radiatsionnoi sterilizatsii na immunobiologicheskie svoistva sorbirovannoi protektivnoi fraktsii kokliushnykh mikrobov.

The possibility of using radiation for the sterilization of the dried preparation of B. pertussis adsorbed protective fraction has been studied. The use of gamma irradiation in a dose of 1.5 X 10(3) J/kg has been found to permit obtaining sterile preparations while preserving their initial protective properties.

[Experimental study of the allergenic action of a staphylococcal antigenic complex obtained by aqueous extraction compared to other staphylococcal preparations]. / Eksperimental'noe izuchenie allergennogo deistviia antigennogo kompleksa stafilokokka, poluchennogo metodom vodnoi ékstraktsii, v sravnenii s drugimi stafilokokkovymi preparatami.

Anaphylactic and skin reactions in guinea pigs immunized with the antigenic staphylococcal complex obtained from strains showing different virulence of the strains has been shown to considerably affect the allergenic activity of the preparation. Similar results have been obtained by means of the model of paw edema in mice, and it has been shown that the staphylococcal antigenic complex produces a lesser allergenic effect than commercial adsorbed toxoid and formalin-treated corpuscular vaccine. In experiments carried out with the use of the model of septic infection in rabbits the preparations of the antigenic staphylococcal complex, obtained from less virulent strains and showing less pronounced allergenic effect in animals have been shown to be most immunogenic.

[Standardization of the seeding material in producing live anthrax vaccine]. / Standardizatsiia posevnogo materiala pri proizvodstve zhivoi sibireiazvennoi vaktsiny.

Technology of obtaining dry concentrated seeding material of the anthrax bacillus STI-1 vaccine strain was worked out. The use of dry seeding material for making dry anthrax vaccine rendered the preparations obtained more standard, reduced the time required for their production, led to increase of AKM-SH productivity, and to greater profitability of the vaccine production. The vaccine preparations obtained with the use of dry seeding material did not differ from control by immunogenicity.