Mortality effect of selected diseases on the life expectancy indicators in Czechoslovakian population.

Czechoslovakia is contemporarily ranged between the countries with mostly unfavourable indicators of national health. The life expectancy (LE) values at birth as achieved by 1988 in men were 67.85 years and 75.42 years in women, respectively. In Czechoslovakia this indicator is averagely 4 and more years lower than that of industrially developed countries. Such a low czechoslovakian LE value is conditioned with mainly higher mortality to the ischemic heart disease, vascular brain disease as well as malignancies and traumas. In men, the mortality due to the ischemic heart disease (IHD) is accounted for the Le decrease to 3.23 years, and 2.57 years in women, respectively. Similarly, there is a LE decrease to 3.05 years in men, and to 2.54 years in women due to the malignancies. When the IHD mortality decrease may be achieved up to 30% against the status of 1985-87, it may be resulted in LE prolongation to 0.84 in men, and 0.66 in women, respectively. The similar decrease in mortality to vascular brain disease and atherosclerosis may have resulted in LE prolongation to 0.51 in men, and 0.72 years in women. The mortality decrease to cancers for 30% may have been resulted in LE prolongation for 0.84 years in men, and for 0.73 years in women, respectively. The attempt on how to prolong the LE is resulting in fast and responsible measures of primary prevention and partly in those of secondary prevention.

Immunological aspects of diagnosis of celiac sprue in children.

Serum anti-gluten (AGA) and anti-reticulin (ARA) antibodies were examined in children suffering from celiac sprue (CS); cellular hypersensitivity to gluten was tested and secretion of immunoglobulins and anti-gluten antibodies into the culture medium after 24-hour in vitro cultivation of jejunal mucosal biopsies was investigated with the aim to assess significance of these methods for CS diagnosis. Indirect immunofluorescence was used in ARA determination, ELISA method for AGA determination, cellular hypersensitivity was examined using the test of leucocyte migration inhibition (LMIT) with gluten. ARA were detected in 69% of children with untreated CS and in 28% of CS children who were on a gluten-free diet. ARA specificity was 100%. Statistically significant higher titres of IgG AGA and IgA AGA were proved in children with untreated CS as compared with the control group. IgA AGA were detected significantly more frequently than IgG AGA. No relationship between positive AGA and the degree of alteration of the jejunal mucosa was found. IgG AGA sensitivity in CS children with pathological findings on the jejunal mucosa was 52%, specificity being 95%. IgA AGA sensitivity was 82% with specificity 90%. After a parallel application of IgA AGA and ARA, sensitivity of the tests rose up to 95.5%, specificity being 90%. Examinations of ARA and AGA have a significant importance for laboratory tests used for screening children with pathological findings on the jejunal mucosa and for indication to jejunal biopsies. The above tests do not replace jejunal biopsy in CS diagnosis. They can be applied in monitoring children with CS during gluten challenge and in checking how the gluten-free diet is observed. Significantly higher stimulation of leucocyte migration in gluten environment was proved in children suffering from CS as compared with the control group. Stimulation of migration is supposed to indicate cellular hypersensitivity to the antigen used in CS children. After a 24-hour culturing of jejunal mucosal biopsies, significantly elevated concentrations of IgA immunoglobulin and IgG, IgA and IgM AGA were found in the culture medium as compared with those obtained from cultured jejunal mucosal biopsies of control group children. The test of leucocyte migration inhibition and in vitro culturing of jejunal mucosa are quite complex and exacting methods when used in routine practice. Their significance lies in the fact they enable us to study in vitro immunological reactions in children suffering from celiac sprue.

Cytogenetic monitoring of a 24-hour effect of ethylmalonate platinum complex on human peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Analyses of mitotic activities and chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes of human peripheral blood have been utilized to evaluate 24-hour cytotoxic and genetic effect of various concentrations (0, 12, 60, 120, 240, 360 mumol l-1) of ethylmalonate platinum (EM-Pt) in vitro. EM-Pt was found to exert a mutagenic action, to have the character of a clastogenic agent and to affect primarily the G1-phase of the cellular cycle. Its activity may be affected by the concentration of the agent: a direct dependence was observed as regards occurrence of chromosome aberrations and an indirect one with regard to values of mitotic activity and cytotoxicity.

Chromosome aberration and mitotic activity in human peripheral blood lymphocytes following in vitro action of platinum cytostatics cis-DDP and EM-Pt.

Platinum-based preparations, the commercially available Platidiam (Lachema, Brno; cis-diaminodichloroplatinum) and the second generation experimental version--ethylmalonate platinum complex--EM-Pt (Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague) were left to act 3, 6 and 24 h on human peripheral blood lymphocytes, cultured in vitro for a short period of time. The utilized concentrations affected cell mitosis, provoking chromosome aberrations. A relationship was found between the effect of the concentration employed and the duration of action of the agent. cis-DDP proved to be a more powerful clastogenic agent than EM-Pt. Under in vitro conditions, neither of the two cytostatics required metabolic activation to trigger its action.