[The use of verapamil in tests for determining the drug resistance of leukemic blasts]. / Ispol'zovanie verapamila v testakh dlia opredeleniia lekarstvennoi ustoichivosti leikoznykh blastov.

To determine prognostically unfavourable groups of acute leukemia patients, the authors studied the in vitro accumulation of 3H-vincristine (Vcr) and adriamycin (ADR) as well as inclusion of 3H-cytosar (Ara-C) into marrow blast DNA from patients showing different effects of treatment. It was found resistant to induction chemotherapy increases with verapamil addition to culture medium (Vrp+ cells). ADR inclusion into Vrp+ cells was the same as that into Vrp- cells. The inclusion of 3H-Ara-C into S-phase cell DNA in the cells Vrp+ was 3 time that in the cells Vrp-. All the responders to cytosar treatment had Vrp- blasts. It is evident that evaluation of Vrp effect on 3H-Vcr accumulation under short-term culturing is able to indicate groups of patients with low probability of achieving complete remissions in response to standard regimens of Vcr, Ara-C and anthracyclines treatment.

[Angiosarcoma of the spleen with consumption coagulopathy]. / Angiosarkoma selezenki s koagulopatiei potrebleniia.

A female patient with intravitally diagnosed splenic angiosarcoma is described. Progress of the cancerous process was attended by the development of consumption coagulopathy with profound fibrinogenopenia and thrombocytopenia. In this case the DIC syndrome was characterized by the lack of systemic fibrinolysis activation. The rupture of the cavernous tumor of the spleen and profound disorders of hemostasis determined profuse intraperitoneal hemorrhage and the patient's death. Diagnostic criteria that contribute to early recognition of splenic angiosarcoma are suggested.

[The differential diagnosis of splenic angiosarcoma and idiopathic myelofibrosis]. / O differentsial'noi diagnostike angiosarkomy selezenki i idiopaticheskogo mielofibroza.

The authors have made an analysis of literature and their own data on the differential diagnosis between angiosarcoma of the spleen and idiopathic myelofibrosis that is considered to be necessary due to the similarity of laboratory and clinical symptoms of these diseases.

[The dynamics of laboratory indices during the treatment of chronic alcoholism]. / Dinamika laboratornykh pokazatelei pri lechenii khronicheskogo alkogolizma.

Some hematological and biochemical parameters and the body nonspecific reactivity have been examined in 57 patients with Stage II chronic alcoholism (CA) during the first, fourth, and seventh weeks of abstinence from alcohol. The serum iron level has been within the normal range, though a tendency to hyperferremia has manifested during the 4th week of abstinence. Transaminases have been elevated on week 1 and normalized by week 4, thus remaining by week 7. The red cell volume is increased in chronic alcoholics; it persists so through the course of treatment, though showing a tendency to normalization after 7 weeks of abstinence from alcohol. This sign is rather stable and persists for up to 4 weeks after alcohol is discontinued. Examination of the nonspecific reactivity has shown a reduced neutrophilic phagocytic activity and a lowered content of IgM, parallelled by a rise of the IgA content. The nonspecific resistance factors show a tendency to normalization by the 7th week of abstinence, except the IgM level. The maximum deviations from the norm are observed on week 4 of alcohol abstinence, as regards the majority of the parameters.

[The chronic form of the Budd-Chiari syndrome]. / Khronicheskaia forma sindroma Badda-Kiari.

A rare chronic course of Budd-Chiari syndrome associated with thrombosis of the portal vein was observed in a 30-year-old male patient suffering from postmyocarditic cardiosclerosis. At the age of 24 the patient had infectious allergic myocarditis, was hospitalized and rehospitalized for circulatory insufficiency. Upon 3 years since the disease onset the patient was admitted to a hematological department for progressive enlargement of the spleen. The diagnosis on discharge was idiopathic myelofibrosis with portal hypertension. The treatment included prednisolone, blood transfusions, myelosan. In 1987 the patient presented with enlarged liver and spleen, ascites, gastric and esophageal varicosis, augmenting hepatic insufficiency clinically evaluated as hepatic cirrhosis. Postmortem examination revealed macrofocal cardiosclerosis, splenomegaly, ascites, portal varicosis, enlarged nutmeg liver with smooth surface. Microscopically there was phlebosclerosis and phlebothrombosis varying in duration and involving predominantly medial branches of the hepatic and portal veins, liver fibrosis. The findings provided evidence for the final diagnosis of Budd-Chiari syndrome running an uncommon chronic course.