Effects of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident on the child's body]

Overall 1580 children from the regions with unsafe radiation situation were examined comprehensively at different times after the accident. The data obtained were correlated to the results of examining 610 children of the control group. The basic group children manifested a higher incidence of diverse alterations on the part of many organs and systems, which was accompanied by an increase of free radical processes signs of destabilization of cellular membranes, activation of blood cell metabolism, suppression of the T cell component of immunity in the presence of vegetovascular dysfunction. A tendency was noted toward normalization of these alterations seen over time after the accident. No clear-cut dose-effect dependence was found.     

Surgical treatment of low fistulous forms of anal atresia using postero-sagittal approach in children

The problems of surgical treatment of the low fistulous forms of anal atresia in children with the use of postero-sagittal approach are considered. A modification of this method is described. The postoperative results are presented, and the possible complications as well. A conclusion about the advantages of the operative approach described is made.     

Thoracic trauma in children: an indicator of increased mortality

This study was undertaken to assess the significance of thoracic trauma as a marker of morbidity and mortality in children. During a 34-month period, 2,086 children younger than 15 years old were consecutively admitted to a Level I pediatric trauma center with blunt or penetrating trauma. For each child we prospectively recorded Trauma Score (TS), Injury Severity Score, (ISS), medical, and etiologic data. One hundred four children (4.4%) presented with thoracic trauma. The most common mechanisms of injury were pedestrian injury (36%), motor vehicle crashes (32%), and armed assault (12%). The most common injuries were pulmonary contusion (48%), pneumothorax, hemothorax, or pneumohemothorax (39%), and rib fractures (32%). Multisystem injury was present in 82% of the children. The mean TS and ISS were 11 and 27, respectively, significantly worse than scores for children without thoracic injury (15 and 7; P less than .0001). Seventy-one percent of the children were admitted to the intensive care unit, where they stayed an average of 6 days; 20% required surgery. The mortality rate was 26%. Injuries to the heart or great vessels had the highest mortality rate (75%), followed by hemothorax (53%), lung laceration (43%), and rib fracture (42%). Mortality for children with isolated chest injury was 5%, compared with rates of 20% for abdominal and chest trauma, 35% for head and chest trauma, and 39% for trauma to the head, chest, and abdomen. Less than 5% of the admissions to a pediatric trauma center incurred thoracic injury.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Foreign bodies in the lungs and pleura after intrathoracic surgical interventions (clinico-anatomical parallels)

Clinicoanatomical analysis of 6 cases of pathological processes in the lungs and pleura caused by gauze cloths left carelessly during operative treatment of pulmonary diseases was carried out. It was found that the character of these accidentally induced sufferings depended on the volume of the surgical intervention and the time during which the foreign bodies remained in the pleural cavity or the operative wound. The complications caused by the presence of gauze cloths accidentally left in the pleural cavity or lung follow a course separately from the initial pulmonary pathological process, have no pathogenetic relations to it, and possess a characteristic clinicoanatomical picture which allows them to be evaluated as surgical iatrogenesis, an equivalent of a nosological unit.     

Interaction of fluoxetine with the human placental serotonin transporter

The interaction of fluoxetine, a non-tricyclic antidepressant, with the human placental serotonin transporter was investigated by studying its influence on [3H]paroxetine binding to the transporter and on [3H]serotonin uptake via the transporter. These studies were done using brush-border membrane vesicles purified from normal term human placentas. Fluoxetine inhibited binding of paroxetine to the membrane vesicles in a concentration-dependent manner, with a Ki value of 3 nM. Kinetic analysis revealed that the inhibition was competitive because the presence of 10 nM fluoxetine increased the Kd for paroxetine from 72 to 461 pM, but had no effect on the Bmax. Fluoxetine also caused a time-dependent dissociation of paroxetine already bound to the transporter. The dissociation followed first-order kinetics. Uptake of serotonin in these membrane vesicles was also inhibited by fluoxetine. The inhibition was concentration dependent with a Ki value of 66 nM at pH 7.5 and 80 nM at pH 6.5. The effect of fluoxetine on the uptake kinetics was to increase the apparent dissociation constant (Kt) for serotonin without influencing the maximal transport capacity (Vmax). The results demonstrate that fluoxetine is a high-affinity ligand and a potent inhibitor of the serotonin transporter found in the human placental brush-border membrane.     

The effect of eplir on an experimental toxic lesion of the liver

A hepatoprotector of phospholipid nature eplir extracted from silt mud was shown to prevent like essentiale in CCl4-hepatitis in rats the development of the liver parenchyma necroses, to promote the maintenance of the normal activity of enzymes in hepatocytes, to stabilize lysosomes, to stimulate the antitoxic and excretory functions of the liver, to reduce hyperfermentemia. The mechanism of action of eplir is determined by the antioxidant properties, a decrease of lysophosphatide formation and the inclusion of phosphatidylcholine in membranes.     

The normally expressed κ immunoglobulin light chain gene repertoire and somatic mutations studied by single-sided specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR); frequent occurrence of features often assigned to autoimmunity

The expressed human κ light chain gene repertoire utilized by healthy individuals was studied by two different single-sided specific PCR techniques to avoid bias for certain V genes. A total of 103 rearranged κ sequences from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy individuals were cloned from cDNA and assigned to the Vκ and Jκ germ-line genes with the closest overall homology. The use of cDNA rather than genomic DNA focused the analysis on activated B cells rich in mRNA. Accordingly, the sequences represented the applied repertoire and almost all were somatically mutated. V genes from the Jκ-proximal duplication unit of the κ locus were almost exclusively used. A total of 65% of the sequences could be assigned to four or five genes: A27 (humkv325), L6 (Vg), L2 (humkv328), and A3 and/or A19. N additions and P nucleotides were quite common and found in 32% and 21% of the sequences, respectively. Extended CDR3s more than nine residues in length were found in 18% of the sequences, and in 71% of cases this was due to insertion of an extra proline residue. This proline was usually explained from the germ-line sequences involved. These results are in good agreement with those of previous repertoire studies using potentially V-gene-biased techniques. Thus, it is clear that restricted V-gene usage, common N and P additions, and extended CDR3 regions are normal features and not, as has been claimed, characteristics of pathological autoantibodies.