Proofs of the necessity of medical informatics for the physicians in Bulgaria.

It is obvious that medical practice needs to sustain a radical quality change due the fast penetration of information technologies in medicine and healthcare. One of the major problems of this change is the adequate education of the medical specialists to use these information and communication technologies, including Hospital information systems and electronic medical records. A study has been carried out among the physicians in Bulgaria. The aim of the study was to check weather the Bulgarian physicians are ready to face the challenges of modern information technologies in their daily medical practice. The results show that although 97.5% of the Bulgarian physicians have a positive attitude to information technologies and 86.7% recognise the need of using computers in medicine, 84.1% of them do not have the necessary skills and knowledge to use computers in their daily medical practice. They are absolutely unaware what the electronic medical record might contribute to their practice. Their knowledge of the subject, principles and methods of medical informatics tends to nil. The study was the first of the kind carried out in Bulgaria. It proved our initial hypothesis that Bulgarian physicians need to be educated not only how to use computers, they are in badly need of education in medical informatics. The study proved that the adequate education in medical informatics is one of the most important parameters for the implementation of information technologies, especially electronic medical records in medical practice. Its result may form the background for the preparation of the strategy of teaching medical informatics in Bulgaria. The first step of the implementation of this strategy is to include medical informatics in the regular curriculum of students of medicine.

[The mechanisms of the cytotoxic action of hyperthermia]. / Vurkhu niakoi mekhanizmi na tsitotoksichnoto deistvie na khipertermiiata.

A review of literature on the most significant aspects of molecular and cellular effect of hyperthermia is presented. A critical evaluation of the acceptability of several hypotheses for biochemical mechanisms of cytotoxic action of hyperthermia is made. A special attention is paid to a molecular model of thermic-induced cellular death, proposed by Roti-Roti. In conclusion it is generalized that the thermic induced changes in the chromatin are those, which are involved in realization of DNA damage and which process, if not completely, at least partially in the basis of thermic induced cellular death.

[Effect of the radioprotector adeturon on radiation injury in mice with Lewis carcinoma of the lung]. / Vliianie radioprotektora adeturona na radiatsionnoe porazhenie myshei s kartsinomoi legkikh L'iuisa.

A study was made of the radioprotective effect of Adeturon, a protective agent obtained in Bulgaria, on mice with Luis lung tumors exposed to fractionated radiation. The effect of the radioprotector on a radiation-induced injury to normal tissue was estimated by the number of leucocytes in the peripheral blood and its count, cellularity of bone marrow and spleen and the mass of the latter, and by the number of exogenous and endogenous CFUs. A pronounced radioprotective effect of Adeturon was implemented through maintaining or normalizing the indices under study impaired by tumor inoculation or irradiation.

[Increase in radiation effectiveness by adeturon in mice with Lewis carcinoma]. / Povyshenie éffektivnosti oblucheniia kartsinomy L'iuis myshei adeturonom.

There was an increase in the time of the implanted tumor doubling in size and in the life-span of animals treated with a combination of S-2-aminoethyl- isothiuronium ( adeturon ) and gamma-radiation as compared to those exposed to gamma-radiation alone.

[Experimental study of the antimetastatic activity of thaliblastin]. / Eksperimental'noe izuchenie antimetastaticheskoi aktivnosti taliblastina.

The antimetastatic effect of thaliblastine alkaloid isolated from Thalictrum min. ssp. elatum was evaluated using Wexler's technique for accurate identification of experimental pulmonary metastases. Thaliblastine was found to inhibit the growth of lung metastases as compared with the control.

[Experimental immunologic study of a protective anthrax preparation]. / Eksperimental'noe immunologicheskoe izuchenie protektivnogo sibireiazvennogo preparata.

Rabbits and sheep immunized with protective anthrax preparation and live anthrax vaccines were examined. Protective anthrax preparation caused changes characteristic of general immunomorphology and immunomorphological reaction of the humoral type. A marked resistance in infection with the virulent anthrax culture was revealed in the animals immunized with this preparation and in those--with live vaccines. Skin allergic reactions were more intensive in sheep immunized with live Ikhtiman's vaccine; there was no reaction in the animals immunized with the protective preparation.

[Toxicological characteristics of thaliblastine[]. / Toksikologicheskaia kharakteristika taliblastina.

The toxic action of the antiphlogistic drug thaliblastin, containing 93-95 per cent of the alcaloid thalicarpine was investigated. With its single intraperitoneal injection to mice the DL10 of the drug amounts to 273-306 mg/kg, DL50-325-350 mg/kg and DL90-370-402 mg/kg. With its 5-day long administration the respective figures for mice are 102-165, 125-201 and 154-243 mg/kg and for rats--170, 203 and 272 mg/kg. The respective figures for a 20-day long introduction to mice are 155, 185 and 220 mg/kg. Introduction of thaliblastin in doses of DL10 single and multiply results in a marked loss of the mass in mice.

[Influence of taliblastin and vinblastine on serum agglutinins determined by 2 methods]. / Vliianie na taliblastin i vinblastin vurkhu serumnite aglutinini opredeliani po dva metoda.

The authors examined the influence of the potential antitumorous preparation taliblastin and the well known cytostatic vinblastin on the formation of serum agglutinins in mice. Two methods were used--the classical reaction of agglutination and the method for inhibition of passive migration of erythrocytes (IPM) described by Schweicer and Gilisen (1974). It was established that vinblastin markedly inhibited the formation of specific agglutinating antibodies, while taliblastin was considerably weaker immunosupresor; The method of IPM was more sensitive than the classical reaction of agglutination and gave a possibility for better determination of immunosuppresive action of cytostatics.

[Effect of talliblastine on several hematologic indices]. / Vliianie na taliblastin vurkhu niakoi khematologichni pokazateli.

The authors carried out a study on the blood formation of healthy experimental animals after treatment with the potential antitumours agent taliblastine in view of clarifying its influence. The experiments were undertaken on inbred mice DVA/2 and rats on the Wistar strain. Taliblastine was administered intraperitonealy: in ice-aingly and in a 5-day course, but in rats only in a 5-day course. The substance was administered after single treatment with doses of LD50 maximal threshold limit dose (MTD), but in the dourses with MTD and 1/2 of MTD. They examined the changes in hemoglobin, number of leucocytes, erythrocytes, thrombocytes and reticulocytes, but in rats-the number of bone-marrow cells as well. The values of hematological indices were determined 24 hours, 10 and 30 days after conclusion of the administration of taliblastine. It was established that taliblastine did not affect substantialy the values of hemoglobine and caused transitory changes in the absolute number of leucocytes and lymphocytes.

[Purification of a protective anthrax preparation]. / Ochistka protektivnogo sibireiazvennogo preparata

An attempt was made to standardize conditions for obtaining a protective anthrax preparation. A technological scheme permitting to produce 80 mg of a purified lyophilized protective preparation with the activity of 32 immunizing units was applied. It was accepted that 1 IU was the minimal amount of the preparation which provided a survival with the mean time index of 3.0+/-0.5 of guinea pigs after a double immunization at an interval of 14 days. In vitro 1 IU also represented a minimal amount of the preparation which produced three precipitation lines (characteristic of the preparation) in immunoelectrophoretic analysis against the purified anthrax serum. Usually 1 IU in vivo and in vitro corresponded to 2.5 mg of this preparation.