Gated MR imaging of left atrial myxomas

Two cases of left atrial myxoma were evaluated with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. In both cases, the myxoma was clearly defined as to its location, origin, and size. In one case, the myxoma prolapsed through the mitral valve. Our study indicates that MR imaging is valuable in the diagnosis of myxomas.     

The effect of hemosorption on the intensity of spontaneous chemiluminescence of the blood

1 day after intensive irradiation of cancer patients chemiluminescent (CL) signal of blood sera is considerably enhanced. Hemoperfusion (HP) decreases it by 62%, with the following slight increase in CL intensity. 42-47% increase in electrokinetic erythrocyte potential registered in patients after HP, as well as a certain decrease in blood viscosity may be considered as an indirect explanation of the mechanism of triboluminescence of human blood during HP.     

Keeled chest

The authors analyze their observation of 66 patients with pigeon-breast deformity, 42 of them were operated upon. They propose a classification of the pigeon breast deformity on the basis of anatomo-physiological and clinical principles. Techniques for the operative correction of each type are proposed. Good cosmetic and functional results were obtained.     

Hygienic characteristics of foodstuffs containing genetically modified components

The paper analyzes the results of the investigations of raw foods, foodstuffs for genetically modified components, conducted by the state sanitary and epidemiological service of the Russian Federation during its current sanitary inspection. The presented materials cover 2003-2004. The findings suggest that there is a great deal of foods containing genetically modified sources on the market and show the priority groups of foodstuffs and the distribution of these foods on the territory of the Russian Federation.     

Technique of stereotactic cryodestruction in management of patients with cerebral gliomas

Aim of the study was to evaluate the safety and efficiency of stereotactic cryodestruction of supratentorial astrocytomas that were located deeply in the brain and/or within eloquent areas.We examined 74 patients aged 18-64 years with supratentorial gliomas of different grade located in deep or eloquent brain areas. All the patients underwent stereotactically guided cryodestruction of the tumor. The survival rate was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. The chi-square method was used for comparative analysis of results of this study with available data from the literature. For the analysis of the prognostic importance of various factors the Cox proportional hazards model was applied. The average survival period was 12.4 months for glioblastoma (control group--6.4 months, p=0.04), and 46.9 months for anaplastic astrocytoma (control group--18 months, p=0.006). For patients with fibrillar-protoplastic astrocytoma the 5-year survival rate was 95.7%. The frequencies of complications did not exceed those of the routine surgical interventions in patients with brain tumors. We found that stereotactic cryodestruction as well the Karnofsky performance score were statistically reliable prognostic factors (p=0.0377 and p=0.0006, respectively), while the extent of cryodestruction and the residual tumor mass did not influence the survival rate. Stereotactic cryodestruction is a safe surgical procedure, which results in statistically significant improvement of survival in patients with supratentorial gliomas located within deep and/or eloquent areas of brain.