Effects of sodium diclofenac on the concentration function in animals with different neurohypophyseal status

The characteristics of the osmotic concentration system under conditions of sodium diclofenac treatment were studied in Wistar rats with normally functioning vasopressin gene and homozygotic Brattleboro rats completely lacking endogenous vasopressin. Blockade of prostaglandin synthesis in rats with different neurohypophyseal status stimulated urinary osmolality to a different degree. Different contribution of sodium cations and urea to osmotic concentration was revealed.     

Tardive dyskinesia and DRD3, HTR2A and HTR2C gene polymorphisms in Russian psychiatric inpatients from Siberia

Background

Pharmacogenetics of tardive dyskinesia and dopamine D3 (DRD3), serotonin 2A (HTR2A), and 2C (HTR2C) receptors has been examined in various populations, but not in Russians.

Purpose

To investigate the association between orofaciolingual (TDof) and limb-truncal dyskinesias (TDlt) and Ser9Gly (DRD3), -1438G>A (HTR2A), and Cys23Ser (HTR2C) polymorphisms in Russian psychiatric inpatients from Tomsk, Siberia.

Methods

In total, 146 subjects were included. Standard protocols were applied for genotyping. TDof and TDlt were assessed with AIMS items 1–4 and 5–7, respectively. Two-part model, logistic and log-normal regression analyses were applied to assess different variables (e.g., allele-carriership status, age, gender, and medication use).

Results

TDlt, but not TDof, exhibited an association with Ser9Gly and Cys23Ser (with 9Gly and 23Ser alleles exhibiting opposite effects). However, -1438G>A was not associated with TDof and Dlt.

Conclusions

This is the first pharmacogenetic report on tardive dyskinesia in Russians. Subject to further replication, our findings extend and support the available data.     

Combined therapy and radiotherapy in stage-II Hodgkin disease

The aim of the study was to raise efficacy of combined treatment of stage II Hodgkin's disease by optimization of fractionation and volume of irradiation. It included 179 patients with involvement of supradiaphragmatic lymph nodes treated in 1986-2006. It was found that multi-fractionation was followed by lower frequency of relapse as compared with standard regimens as well as rates of early ones. The most efficient dosage was 30-36 Gy as far as frequency, term of relapse occurrence and recurrence-free survival were concerned.     

Comparative analysis of fetal and placental weights in still-born and alive babies

Body and placenta weights and placental-fetal weight ratios (PFWR) were analyzed in 300 alive and still-born babies. Out of three types of somatic development, there was a preponderance of the normotrophic type with a 4.3-fold increase in the hypotropic one in both groups. The mean weight did not differ significantly in the groups. The mean PFWR varied between 0.11-0.14 conventional units. The findings are pertinent to a mathematical model of fetoplacental pathology in still-born fetuses.     

Etiological characteristics of the influenza epidemics of 2006-2009 in the Russian Federation (according to the data of the Research Institute of Influenza, North-Western Branch, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences)

The basic trends in the evolution of influenza A and B in the Russian Federation during the epidemic seasons of 2006-2009 were studied on the basis of an antigenic analysis of 1774 Influenza isolated at the Research Institute of Influenza (RII), North-Western Branch, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, and sent from resting bases (the regional centers of the Russian Inspectorate for the Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare, which collaborate with the RII). Although the trends in the substitution of representative strains generally coincide with the world patterns, the authors revealed some specific features of the antigenic drift of influenza viruses in the Russian Federation and regional varieties. Data on some biological properties and those of the antigenic analysis of the first pandemic influenza A(H1NI)v strains isolated at the RII from Saint Petersburg patients in July-August 2009 are also given in the paper.     

Stimulatory effect of fragments from transcribed region of ribosomal repeat on human peripheral blood lymphocytes

Fragments from the transcribed region of the ribosomal repeat include considerable amounts of unmethylated CpG DNA motifs. These motifs activate immune cells via the interaction with Toll receptors. In vitro experiments confirmed the stimulatory effect of transcribed region of ribosomal repeat on human lymphocytes. Culturing of lymphocytes in a medium containing 2–20,000 ng/ml fragments from transcribed region of ribosomal repeat was accompanied by structural changes in the nucleus in a considerable number of cells. These changes manifested in translocation of pericentromeric heterochromatin from the membrane to the center of the nucleus and activation of the nucleolus and were accompanied by a significant increase in interleukin-6 production and slight stimulation of tumor necrosis factor-α synthesis. The transcribed region of the ribosomal repeat and E. coli DNA had various effects on quantitative parameters of lymphocytes. Our results suggest the existence of mechanisms of stimulation not mediated by the interaction of CpG DNA motifs with Toll receptors. __________ Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 142, No. 10, pp. 409–413, October, 2006