[An impact of the COVID-19 pandemia on the onset and course of mental disorders in elderly]. / Vliyanie pandemii COVID-19 na vozniknovenie i techenie psikhicheskikh zabolevanii u lits pozhilogo vozrasta.

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of COVID-19 on the onset and course of mental disorders in hospitalized elderly patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 67 inpatients, aged 50 to 95 years, with various mental illnesses in accordance with the ICD-10 criteria, who underwent COVID-19 from February 2020 to December 2021. Forty-six people were previously mentally ill, in 21 cases the disease developed for the first time. RESULTS: The group of primary diseased patients was dominated by depressive episodes (F32, (42.9%), including psychotic episodes (9.5%). In 28.6% of cases, organic disorders were diagnosed in the form of emotional lability (F06.6), organic depression (F06.3), mild cognitive impairment (F06.7) and delirium (F05.86). In 23.8% of patients, neurotic disorders were observed in the form of depressive reactions (F43), panic (F41.0) and generalized anxiety disorder (F41.1). In one case (4.8%), acute polymorphic psychosis with symptoms of schizophrenia (F23.1) was diagnosed. The diagnoses of the previously mentally ill group were: affective disorders (F31, F32, F33 - 45.7%); organic disorders, including dementia (F06.3, F06.7, F00.1, F00.2 - 26.1%); schizophrenia spectrum disorders (F25, F21, F22, F20.01 - 19.6%), and neurotic somatoform disorders (F45 - 8.7%). In the acute and subacute periods of COVID-19 (≤3 months), acute psychotic states (APS) developed in both groups of patients (in 23.3% and 30.4%, respectively) in the form of delirium, psychotic depression, or polymorphic psychosis. APS were more common in mentally ill patients with organic (50%) and schizophrenia spectrum (33.3%) disorders with a predominance of delirium. In the long-term period of COVID-19, mentally ill patients more often than primary diseased patients (60.9% and 38.1%) developed cognitive impairment (CI), especially in schizophrenic (77.8%) and organic (83.3%) disorders. CI developed twice as often after APS (89.5% and 39.6%, p<0.001), reaching the degree of dementia in 15.8% of cases. APS were significantly associated (p<0.05) with the development of CI (0.567733), the age of patients (0.410696) and the presence of previous cerebrovascular insufficiency (0.404916). CONCLUSION: The age-related features of the mental consequences of COVID-19 are the occurrence of APS in the acute period of infection and the deterioration of cognitive activity at a remote stage. The mentally ill, especially those of the organic and schizophrenia spectrum, were found to be more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. In them, the occurrence of APS was a risk factor for the development of dementia, while in primary diseased, affective and neurotic patients, CI was reversible or had the character of a mild cognitive disorder.

Cortical Somatosensory Neurons in WAG/Rij Rats Transform Firing Evoked by Simulation of Posterior Thalamic Nucleus from Tonic to Phasic at Age of 6 Months.

Functional peculiarities of paralemniscal subdivision of the thalamocortical system were examined in normal Wistar and in WAG/Rij rats genetically prone to absence epilepsy. In 6-7-month-old WAG/Rij characterized by developed epileptic activity, the response of cortical somatosensory neurons to single electrical stimulation of the posterior thalamic nucleus was phasic, whereas in normal Wistar rats, similar reaction was tonic. The study views this phasic response as neural equivalent of spike-wave discharges known as typical EEG symptom of absence epilepsy.

The Responses of Neurons of the Somatosensory Cortex to Stimulation of the Posterior Thalamus (PO) in WAG/Rij Rats Genetically Predisposed to Absence Epilepsy.

In genetically predisposed WAG/Rij rats and healthy Wistar rats, we studied functioning of the paralemniscal region of the thalamo-cortical system. The responses of neurons of the somatosensory cortex to single electrical stimulation of the posterior nucleus of the thalamus were recorded in two- to three-monthold rats within the period when the epileptic activity was not developed. We revealed lower number of shortterm inhibitory responses in WAG/Rij rats as compared to Wistar rats. This may create preconditions for the spreading of spike-wave activity in the somatosensory cortex, which is an electrophysiological sign of absence epilepsy.

Role of ABC-cassette transporters (MDR1, MRP1, BCRP) in the development of primary and acquired multiple drug resistance in patients with early and metastatic breast cancer.

UNLABELLED: The aim of the research was to study the influence of multiple drug resistance (MDR1), multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) proteins expression on the effectiveness of chemotherapy in breast cancer (BC) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The retrospective analysis of the results of treatment of 77 women with invasive BC with different molecular subtypes at the age of 54.1±12.5, who received treatment in Zaporizhzhya Regional Clinical Oncological Dispensary during 2011-2013, has been carried out. 23 (29.8%) patients were in II stage of disease, 32 (41.5%) - in III stage, 22 patients (28.5%) - IV stage. Neoadjuvant therapy has been given to 34 (44.2%) patients, palliative therapy in connection with presence of hematogenous visceral and bone metastases - to 43 (55.8%) patients. Transport proteins BCRP, MRP and PGP have been studied in tissues of primary BC tumor, in tissues of visceral metastases, in metastatically altered regional lymph nodes, as well as in circulating in blood tumor cells (CTC). In every case, 1000 of tumor cells has been calculated. The intensity of staining (0, 1+, 2+, 3+), percentage of stained cells (threshold has constituted 10%) and homogeneity of tumor cells staining (homogeneous was considered 80% staining of cytoplasm or membrane of studied cells) has been taken in consideration. RESULTS: Retrospective analysis has determined the dependence of results of polychemotherapy (PCT) on level and pattern of expression of BCRP, MRP and PGP proteins. In 1(st) group, in the absence thereof expression of transport proteins in BC cells, the objective response (CR + PR) from the tumor has been observed in 17 out of 18 patients (94.4%). In 2nd group (only cytoplasmic staining) the objective response has been observed in 36 patients (85.7%). Ineffectiveness of therapy and tumor progression in this group has been observed in 6 (14.2%) patients. In 3(rd)group (high membrane BCRP, MRP and PGP expression), in 14 out of 17 patients (82.3%), during the PCT occurred progression of the disease. Malignant phenotype of this tumor corresponded with the state of primary multiple drug resistance. In 80.0% of patients of this group, the neoadjuvant therapy turned out to be ineffective. CONCLUSION: Clinical trials for determination of role of ABC-transporters in the development of drug resistance of BC patients have not yet ended. The leading role in development of resistance of BC cells plays not only PGP, but also MRP1 and BCRP. Marker of resistance is not cytological, but membrane staining of cell.