The relationship between diuretics and serum cholesterol in Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program participants

The effect of diuretics, mainly chlorthalidone, on serum cholesterol was studied in 7,006 of the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program (HDFP) hypertensive patients not on antihypertensive medication at baseline. Several investigators have reported that diuretic therapy increases serum cholesterol in treated subjects. However, data from two long-term studies indicated that no increase in cholesterol occurred after two years of diuretic treatment. In the present study, yearly changes in serum cholesterol in hypertensives treated with diuretics were observed. The results were in agreement with those reported from both short-term and long-term studies, in that a significant increase in cholesterol was observed in six months to one year into the study but not from the second to the fifth year of therapy. In fact, the serum cholesterol levels were the same as baseline values after two years of drug treatment and decreased slightly thereafter. In the untreated group, no change or a decrease in serum cholesterol was observed during the course of the study. The possible causes for changes in serum cholesterol concentration such as regression to the mean, change in body weight, baseline cholesterol concentration, and the action mechanism of diuretic drugs are discussed.     

The synaptic responses of the neurons in the medulla oblongata to stimulation of the stepping stria of the spinal cord in the cat

Synaptic responses of bulbar neurons to stimulation of stepping points in the dorsolateral funiculus were recorded in decerebrate cats. 40% of neurons were excited from both ipsi- and contralateral stepping points, the rest of them were excited only from one of those points. Part of the neurons was activated from stepping points at both C2 and Th12 spinal cord levels. Latencies of the synaptic responses to stimulation of the stepping point at the cervical level were from 2 to 18 ms. These results suggest that bulbar neurons as well as propriospinal ones contribute to initiation of locomotion.     

Pharmacological activity and clinical effects of trecrezan and other tris-(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium salts of arylheteroacetic acids (A review)

The results of an experimental and clinical study on the pharmacological properties of new compounds representing tris-(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium salts (TES) of arylheteroacetic acids-in particular, tris-(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium-2-methylphenoxyacetate (trecrezan)-are summarized. Trecrezan exhibits a modulating action on immunity and hemopoiesis and offers a promising approach to immune correction for the treatment of immune deficiency and autoimmune disorders. Recovery of the proliferative activity of the early precursors of erythropoiesis with the aid of trecrezan (experimental model) leads to the normalization of immunity and hemopoiesis. A method involving trecrezan administration has been developed for the complex treatment of acute viral hepatitis B as well as hepatitis A and B complicated by occupational anamnesis. Trecrezan has also been successfully applied for the complex treatment of ischemic heart disease and multiple sclerosis. Trecrezan stimulates the regeneration of hepatocytes during partial hepatectomy and acts as an effective adjuvant in the complex therapy of tuberculosis. Trecrezan analogs (TES) show antitumor, hepatoprotective, and adaptive activity, increase the resistance of animals to oxygen insufficiency and to poisoning with heavy metal salts and organophosphorus compounds, and improve the endurance of animals under physical load and emotional stress conditions. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 13–17, May, 2007.     

The use of lipid indicators and indexes for assessment of ischaemic heart disease

The informative value of various lipid indicators and indexes in healthy subjects and in patients with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is compared. In 10 investigated biochemical indicators significant differences were found between healthy people and subjects with epidemiological or clinical signs of IHD. The first places in the order according to Anderson-Bahadur intervals were held by the cholesterol atherogenity index, total cholesterol (CS) and the percent of high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-CS) in total CS. The cholesterol atherogenity index and HDL-CS percent in total CS were closely correlated with the severity of angiographically proved changes in the coronary arteries.