[Vegetovascular dysfunction as an integral parameter of high risk for cardiovascular diseases development in young subjects]. / Sindrom vegetososudistoi disfunktsii kak integral'nyi pokazatel' vysokogo riska razvitiia serdechno-sosudistykh zabolevanii u lits molodogo vozrasta s otiagoshchennoi nasledstvennost'iu.

AIM: To study manifestations of vegetative dystonia in children of probands from families with hereditary IHD load regarding the main risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 44 individuals aged 21 +/- 0.7 years were selected out of 111 children from 103 examined families the fathers of which had transmural or macrofocal myocardial infarction at the age under 50. 22 of 44 examinees had syndrome of vegetovascular dystonia (VVD). RESULTS: Children of probands with family history of cardiovascular disease and having VVD had levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and apoB higher, but HDLP cholesterol lower than those free of VVD. In daughters of the probands insulin and hydrocortisone levels were high whereas sons with VVD had only insulin levels higher. CONCLUSION: Children of probands of both sexes had high coefficients of hormonal and metabolic adaptation dependent on the severity of VVD syndrome.

Prevalence of panic disorder in cardiac outpatients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate outpatients from Toronto-area cardiology clinics for panic disorder (PD) and investigate differences between patients with and without PD. METHOD: Participants were diagnosed using both standard DSM-IV criteria and an altered formulation that identified a more fearful panic group. RESULTS: There was a prevalence of panic disorder (12.5%) in cardiac outpatients in keeping with previous studies. Patients with PD did not differ significantly from other patients with regard to the presence of significant heart disease. The higher prevalence of palpitations found in patients who met criteria for PD compared with those who did not reflects previous findings. PD cases did not differ significantly in family history from respondents without the disorder, but the more fearful group did (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: PD often presents with cardiac symptoms, especially palpitations, and is often comorbid with heart disease.

[Discordance analytic studies of monozygotic twins]. / Diskordanzanalytische Untersuchungen an eineiigen Zwillingen.

Discordance analyses of monozygotic twins make it possible to study the influence of neurotic pathogenic situations of early childhood upon later neurotic developments. The analysis offers the advantage of having a genetic double who was shaped by the same psychosocial macro influences and went through a sound development as a comparison for an examination of the course of psychogenic illnesses. However, two prerequisites are necessary: 1. the human genetic/anthropological or serological diagnosis in order to be able to definitely say whether the twins are monozygotic or not and 2. both twins must be alive. A strong discordance regarding markedness of characteristics or a varying degree of symptom manifestation as well as a longer period of observation are further conditions. With the example of four short casuistries of monozygotic twins the environmental variables which are decisive in the individual cases for the discordant development are described: A highly ambivalent early childhood relationship in contrast to a mostly balanced relationship is the foundation for a neurotic course in connection with pathological conspicuous behavior of the parents, sibling rivalry and differing attitudes of the parents regarding each of the twin siblings. As a result each twin identifies with a different parent, leads in development and dominance positions are also consequences. Later the course set in school and career, orientation regarding an intimate partner and the neurotically preformed personality structure, which is the basis for differing degrees of being able to cope successfully with threshold situations, become framing situations of discordant neurotic versus stable and sound development.

Panic disorder in the families of patients with normal coronary arteries and non-fear panic disorder.

Patients with non-fear panic disorder (NFPD) meet DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder, but do not report subjective fear or anxiety. Although apparently common in medical settings, this controversial group is in need of further diagnostic validation. This study assessed family history of panic disorder in patients with chest pain and normal coronary arteries (CP/NCA) and either NFPD, panic disorder with fear, or no panic. It was hypothesized that the two panic disorder groups would have similar, elevated rates of panic disorder in their first-degree relatives, compared to patients without panic. The results support the hypothesis; about 17% of the first-degree relatives of both NFPD and panic disorder patients were diagnosable with panic disorder according to proband interviews, whereas only 4.6% of the first-degree relatives of patients without panic were so diagnosable. These results support the diagnostic validity of NFPD in CP/NCA patients, because such patients had a family history of panic disorder similar to patients with a more classical panic disorder presentation. The lack of fear symptoms and behavior in NFPD may cause panic disorder to be overlooked as a potential cause of somatic symptoms in patients with no medical explanation for their condition.

[Risk factors of the development of the changes in the nervous system after exposure to chromium]. / Faktory riska razvitiia izmenenii nervnoi sistemy pri deistvii na organizm khroma.

Due to the mathematical method of maximum probability it was established that under long-term chromium exposure possible factors of risk of changes in the workers' nervous system were as follows: hereditary and familial predisposition to allergic and vegetovascular disorders, negative Rh, the haptoglobin type 2-2 and the peculiarities of the major cerebral hemisphere functioning manifested by the decrease of sensomotor dominance. There was developed an estimating and prognostic table which made it possible to identify groups with adverse and favourable health forecast and to carry out necessary differentiated curative and preventive activities.

[Functional status of the cardiovascular system of adolescents with a hereditary predisposition to atherosclerosis]. / Funktsional'noe sostoianie serdechno-sosudistoi sistemy u podrostkov s otiagoshchennoi nasledstvennost'iu po aterosklerozu.

A study of 70 teenagers between 11 and 15, whose parents had suffered, before they were 45, myocardial infarction in the presence of verified coronary arterial atherosclerosis, revealed no organic cardiac changes, while some signs of neurocirculatory dystonia were combined with increased incidence of coronary risk factors and dyslipoproteinemia.