Organ-sparing operations in pyloroduodenal stenosis caused by peptic ulcer

An experience with the treatment of 106 patients with pyloroduodenal stenosis of ulcerous etiology by vagotomy with draining operations has shown high efficiency of these measures resulting in lower rate of postoperative lethality. Selective proximal and stem vagotomy does not aggravate gastric atony in patients with stenosis. Electro-stimulation was found to be an effective method of treatment of this complication in the postoperative period of patients with gastric atony.     

F-19 MR imaging of glucose metabolism in the rabbit

Noninvasive metabolic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging reflecting glucose metabolism in the aldose-reductase-sorbitol (ARS) pathway was performed in the rabbit head; after administration of the fluorinated glucose analogue 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-glucose (3FD-glucose), fluorine-19 images were generated. Images of 3FD-glucose showed significant 3FD-glucose uptake by adipose tissue, indicating its buffering effects in case of excess loads of glucose. Images of 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-sorbitol (3FD-sorbitol) demonstrated the spatial distribution of aldose reductase activities and significant sorbitol accumulation in the lens. Images of 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-fructose (3FD-fructose) showed preferential uptake of fructose by muscle tissue. The extremely low toxicity of 3FD-glucose indicates promise for its clinical application in metabolic imaging.     

Activity of Neurons in the Basal Magnocellular Nucleus During Performance of an Operant Task

Spike activity was studied in 95 neurons in the basal magnocellular nucleus in rabbits during spontaneous behavior and during performance of a conditioned operant response. Nearly half the neurons (48.4%) showed significant (p < 0.05) negative correlations between spontaneous discharges and the power of the frontal lobe EEG delta rhythm; most of these cells could be identified as cholinergic projection neurons. Neurons of this group had predominantly excitatory responses to the conditioned stimulus during performance of the operant task, while the responses to the conditioned stimulus of presumptively non-cholinergic neurons, not projecting to the cortex, were mainly inhibitory. The activatory responses of neurons in the basal magnocellular nucleus to the conditioned stimulus were markedly stronger while the animals performed the operant response as compared with performances in which there was no response to the conditioned stimulus. These results provide evidence that the basal magnocellular nucleus supports the level of waking and attending required for performance of operant conditioned reflex activity.     

Genetic determinants of the efficiency of climatotherapy in patients with chronic heart failure

We studied the dependence of climatotherapy effectiveness in patients with chronic heart failure (functional classes 0-II) on Ca(2+)-ATPase, phospholamban, beta1-adrenoceptor, and insulin-like growth factor 1 gene polymorphisms and possible interaction of these genes during the realization of the effect of climatotherapy. The effectiveness of climatotherapy depended on polymorphism of the studied genes; the maximum effect was attained in patients with the GG polymorphism of the Ca(2+)-ATPase gene, GT polymorphism of the phospholamban gene, ArgGly polymorphism of the beta1-adrenoceptor gene, and 19/19 polymorphism of the insulin-like growth factor 1 gene. We demonstrated additive interaction of Ca(2+)-ATPase and beta1-adrenoceptor genes during the realization of the cardiotonic effect of climatotherapy.     

Feature Binding in the Visual Modality Depends on Attention: Analysis of Mismatch Negativity

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - This study address the question of whether attention is required for binding of features in the visual modality. Subjects performed a task based on...     

Comparative characteristics of methods of evaluation of plasma toxicity and severity of toxemia in acute diffuse peritonitis

Experimental and clinical investigations have established the method of biological testing on mice and the leukocyte index of intoxication to be objective and reliable criteria for the estimation of the blood plasma toxicity and the degree of intoxication.     

Diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer

The authors present a retrospective analysis of the results of transurethral conservative and radical operations in 125 patients with invasive cancer of the urinary bladder (UB) treated in the Research Institute of Urology throughout 1992-2002. Transurethral resection (TUR) of the UB was made in 72 patients. Stages pT2a, pT2b, T3 and T4 were diagnosed in 23 (31.9%), 18 (25%), 14 (19.5%) and 17 (23.6%) cases, respectively. 53 patients with advanced invasive UB cancer have undergone radical cystectomy varying by the method of urine derivation. Stages pT2N0M0, pT3aN0M0, pT3bN0M0, pT4aN0M0 and N1-2 were registered in 4 (7.5%), 13 (25%), 21 (40%), 7 (12.5%) and 8 (15%) patients, respectively. UB cancer recurrences after TUR occurred in 12 (16.7%) patients with stage pT2a, in 8 (11.1%) patients with stage pT2b. Three-year overall and recurrence-free survival after TUR at stage T2 reached 97.5 +/- 3.2 and 47.4 +/- 2.8, respectively, at stage T3 and T4--57.1 +/- 4.3 and 26.6 +/- 3.4%, respectively. Postcystectomy distant metastases to the lungs, bones and iliac lymph nodes after treatment were detected in 3, 2 and 3 patients, respectively. One patient had a local pelvic recurrence. For all 53 patients a 2-year corrected survival made up 68 +/- 12.0%. Thus, transurethral electrosurgery is an effective treatment of invasive UB cancer; the only radical surgical treatment for invasive UB cancer is cystectomy.