The clinical and diagnostic aspects of sensitization to an industrial allergen of chemical nature (exemplified by hexavalent chromium)

Examination of 531 workers engaged in alumina production and exposed to hexavalent chromium has revealed the characteristic features of occupational allergic pathology, established the relationship between the sensitization effect and the concentration of haptene as well as the state of aggregation of the industrial aerosol. Based on many years' observation over the workers the data have been obtained, characterizing the dynamics of the pathological process. The investigations carried out may turn out of importance for the diagnosis of occupational allergoses, expert medical evaluation of the working capacity and follow-up of the patients, and adequate solving of the problems of medical and labour rehabilitation.     

Evaluation of clinical effectiveness of intravenous laser irradiation of blood, plasmapheresis and their combination in patients with bronchial asthma]

AIM: To compare clinical response to intravenous laser radiation of blood (ILRB), plasmapheresis (PA) and ILRB + PA in patients with bronchial asthma (BA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 122 patients with endogenic BA of moderate severity were divided into four groups: group 1 was exposed to ILRB, group 2--to PA, group 3--to ILRB + PA, group 4 received only chemotherapy. The effect was assessed by body plethismography, peak flowmetry, NBT-test, LCP-test. RESULTS: Patients of group 1-3 vs group 4 demonstrated earlier disappearance of cough and normalization of lung auscultative picture, lower demand of oral glucocorticosteroids, 2 times longer remission, better external respiration function, earlier normalization of peak expiration flow. ILRB, PA and ILRB + PA activate function of oxygen-dependent bactericidal system of blood neutrophils and inhibited activity of non-oxygen-dependent system. CONCLUSION: Combined treatment of moderate severity BA with ILRB, PA alone and in combination is more effective than conventional drug therapy, the highest effect by remission terms being achieved in combination of ILRB with PA.     

Ontogenesis of transcallosal responses in cats: I. Formation of interhemispheric connections in kittens in the first month of life

In acute experiments on kittens at the age of 1 to 30 days, anaesthesized with nembutal and immobilized with diplacine, multiple transcallosal response (TCR) recording from different cortical areas was performed. In 2-15-day kittens homotopical TCRs appeared earlier, were wider represented, and revealed a greater configuration maturity and amplitude-time parameters in associative (parietal and sensorimotor) areas as compared to projection (somatosensory, visual and auditory) zones. It has been established that interhemispheric relations in the kitten associative cortex are mediated, not only by the callosal, but also by the extracallosal system, which was evidenced by the presence of late negative components preserved after callosotomy. The results of per-layer analysis of interhemispheric responses in 1 month kittens have shown that in the parietal cortex, in the course of development, the drains of surface-positive oscillation shifted from the V to the III layer, whereas the drain of surface-negative deviation remained at the level of II-III layers. The late component was registered at the depth of layers III-IV, having a drain in the I-II layers. In the sensorimotor cortex, the surface-negative oscillation had a drain in the I-II layers, whereas the surface-positive oscillation had a drain in the II and V-VI layers. The data obtained reflect the dynamics of the formation of interhemispheric relations in the first-month-of-life kittens and testify to an increased level of their integrative interaction.     

Dynamics of various blood electrolytes in patients with Menière's disease after desiccation

The serum concentrations of Na, K, Ca, and Cl were measured in 25 patients with Meniere's disease. In the patients with hydrops, the concentrations of K, Ca, and Cl were initially increased and during dehydration slightly decreased. In the patients without hydrops, the concentration of K and Ca was near the upper limit and that of Cl was within normal limits. No specific patterns of variations of C, Ca, Cl concentrations were detected in the patients without hydrops. The K:Cl, Ca:Cl and K:Ca ratios were stable in the patients without hydrops and unstable in the patients with hydrops. They depended on the time of dehydration, which suggests that in patients with hydrops compensatory and adaptive mechanisms are persistent and flexible.