Urogenitales Altern

In the industrial Western world, 8 % of the population suffer from urogenital discomfort. Epidemiologic studies show that the incidence rises with age. In light of the steadily increasing longevity in the female population, clinically manifested irregularities such as urogenital atrophy, recurrent urinary tract infections, irritable bladder, and incontinence pose a challenge to the attending physician. To this day, urinary incontinence in later life is considered “normal” and “caused by old age.” However, among other age-related reasons, the main cause of this disorder is postmenopausal hormone deficiency. Thus, following thorough diagnostics, pathological changes in the urogenital tract can often be reduced or altogether eliminated by simple conservative measures such as topical hormone administration, which rapidly enhance patients’ quality of life. The present study gives an overview of the physiology of urogenital aging and the diagnostic and therapeutic means available to physicians to alleviate patients’ discomfort.     

The pineal gland and reproduction

The hormonal activity of the pineal gland is influenced by boththe dark-light cycle and the seasonal cycle, causing it to playan important role in the neuroendocrine control of reproductivephysiology. This is especially evident in seasonally breedinganimals, in which reproductive function is clearly influencedby seasonal variations in the duration of night and day. Humansare not seasonal breeders. Nevertheless, seasonal fluctuationshave been described in human reproduction, and the pineal glandalso appears to exert an important role in the neuroendocrineregulation of human reproductive physiology. There is evidencethat the epiphysis is involved in the control of sexual maturation.In rats, the maternal pineal appears to influence the gonadaland genital development and function of offspring; this hypothesishas yet to be confirmed in humans. The pineal apparently influenceshuman reproductive function not only at the hypothalamic-pituitarylevel, by inhibition of the hypothalamic pulsatile secretionof gonadotrophin-releasing hormone, but also at the gonadallevel, where melatonin receptors have also been found. In addition,melatonin is reported to increase serum prolactin concentrationsin both rats and humans. It has been suggested that melatoninis involved in the control of menstrual cyclicity.     

Antiarrhythmic effect ofRodiola rosea and its possible mechanism

Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 116, N ^o 8, pp. 175–176, August, 1993     

Bovine colostrum immunoglobulin concentrate for cryptosporidiosis in AIDS.

Lactobin-R is a commercial hyperimmune bovine colostrum with potent anticryptosporidial activity. It was administered to a 4 year old child with AIDS and severe diarrhoea associated with cryptosporidiosis. There was significant clinical improvement in the diarrhoea and permanent elimination of the parasite from the gut as assessed through serial jejunal biopsy and stool specimens.     

Basic principles and methods of aid to patients with severe hand trauma

Aid rendering to the patients with severe hand trauma is presented as a system of primary-reconstructive treatment, including individual approach to the surgical aid tactics, terms and volume selection, where the defining factors are the state of tissue blood circulation, application of the complex of conservative and operative measures aimed at the prophylaxis and therapy of circulatory and infectious complications, selection of rational methods of the lost anatomic formations reconstruction. There are described clinical criteria of tissue vitality evaluation and those obtained with application of instrument methods (infrared thermography, electric resistance thermometry, ultrasound indication of blood flow). If the state of the damaged hand tissues requires medicinal treatment it would be expedient to carry out the primary-postponed treatment, consisting of 2 stages. The first stage includes surgical manipulation, aimed at microcirculation improvement and wound surface isolation by means of watertight cover. The second stage is the final one. Its volume depends upon the compensation of tissue blood flow and is carried out for 2-5 days in planned order.     

Mechanical behavior of articular cartilage in shear is altered by transection of the anterior cruciate ligament

The flow-independent viscoelastic and equilibrium behaviors of canine articular cartilage were examined with time after transection of the anterior cruciate ligament. The equilibrium, transient, and dynamic shear behaviors of cartilage were studied in biaxial compression-torsion testing at two time periods after transection of the anterior cruciate ligament and at two sites on the femoral condyle, in order to test for differences between sites of frequent and less frequent contact. Water content also was measured in cartilage at sites corresponding to the areas of mechanical testing. Transection of the anterior cruciate ligament produced significant decreases in all measured moduli of articular cartilage tested in equilibrium and dynamic shear and in equilibrium compression; the values for these moduli were 61, 56, and 77% of the control values, respectively, beginning at 6 weeks following transection of the anterior cruciate ligament. There was evidence of increased energy dissipation of cartilage in shear, with a 13 and 35% increase in tan δ at 6 and 12 weeks after transection of the anterior cruciate ligament, respectively. Changes in the viscoelastic relaxation function of cartilage in shear also were evident at 12 weeks after surgery. In all tissue, there was a significant increase in hydration of approximately 4% at 6 or 12 weeks after surgery. There was little difference between the material parameters for areas considered to be in frequent and less frequent contact, with the exception of hydration, which was greater for areas of less frequent contact. The observed changes in material properties demonstrate that relatively short periods of joint instability result in significant changes in the flow-independent viscoelastic behavior of articular cartilage, as well as in the intrinsic stiffnesses in compression and shear.