Clinico-morphological changes in a burn wound after electric stimulation with pulsatile current

The healing of sluggishly postburn wounds after local electrostimulation (ES) with the use of current-conducting carbon tissue as the electrode was studied in 12 patients. Analysis of the clinical data which were corroborated by the results of morphological and biochemical studies confirmed the marked stimulating effect of local ES which facilitates successful taking of dermal autografts and healing of burn wounds. The obtained data are evidence that the method of ES through a current-conducting carbon tissue is promising in the complex of measures for local treatment of burn wounds.     

The analgesic action of narcotic analgesics and clopheline after the ionizing irradiation of rats

The ionizing radiation (150 Gy) extended the rat tail flick latency, decreased the pain-relief effects of morphine and opioids and enhanced the analgesic effect of clopheline. The radiation was followed by a decrease of vocalization threshold with a reduction of morphine- and clopheline-induced analgesia. Naloxone (0.1 mg/kg) eliminated the postradiation analgesia and did not change the hyperalgesic effect of the radiation.     

Results of the use of a graft with a monocusp in radical correction of Fallot's tetrad

The article deals with the results of complex study of the effect of pulmonary insufficiency on intracardiac hemodynamics and function of the heart in the immediate and late-term periods after radical correction of Fallot's tetralogy. Answers are also given to questions concerning the expediency of the use and functional adequacy of a xeno-pericardial monocusp in the closure mechanism of the pulmonary artery valve. The study showed that massive pulmonary regurgitation has a negative effect on the functional condition of the right ventricle in late-term postoperative periods. Convincing data were obtained which allow a graft with a monocusp of a bull's pericardium to be recommended for further clinical use to prevent insufficiency of the pulmonary artery valve after radical correction of Fallot's tetralogy.     

Effect of dietary protein on Masheri-induced drug metabolising enzymes

The modulation of drug metabolising enzymes by Masheri extract (ME) and Benzo(a)Pyrene [B(a)P] was studied in male Sprague Dawley rats fed different dietary protein levels. Two groups of 21 days old male Sprague Dawley rats were put on a high protein diet (SHP) with 20% Casein, and a low protein diet (SLP) with 3% Casein semisynthetic based diets for 12 weeks. The SLP fed animals showed lower basal levels of the Phase I activating enzymes viz. Cytochrome P450, Benzo(a)Pyrene hydroxylase, Benzphetamine demethylase and Phase II glutathione detoxification system viz. Glutathione (GSH) and Glutathione-S-transferase. ME and B(a)P treatment significantly depleted the glutathione detoxification system in the SLP group whereas an opposite effect was observed in the SHP group. Interstingly, ME and B(a)P treated rats in the SLP group showed a higher percent increase in the hepatic and pulmonary Phase I enzyme activities than those observed in the treated ME/B(a)P treated SHP rats. Furthermore, both ME and B(a)P significantly decreased the hepatic pool of vitamin A while a concomittant increase in that of vitamin C was observed.     

Classical and anaplastic seminoma: difference in survival

Classical and anaplastic seminoma are traditionally treated with radiation therapy and are said to have the same prognosis. A retrospective study was undertaken of 90 seminoma patients treated with radiation therapy between 1961 and 1985. The classical group consisted of 71 patients of whom 50 had stage I and 21 had stage II disease. The anaplastic group consisted of 19 patients of whom ten had stage I and nine had stage II disease. The median follow-up time was 64 months for the entire group. The 10-year relapse-free survival rate for the classical group was 94% and for the anaplastic group was 70% (P less than .05). For patients with classical stage I disease, the relapse-free actuarial survival rate was 98%; for patients with anaplastic stage I disease, it was 64% (P less than .02). For the classical stage II disease group, the relapse-free actuarial survival rate was 84% and for the anaplastic stage II disease group, 75% (P less than .70). Four patients in the classical group (6%) had relapses; of these, one patient had local recurrence of tumor, and three had distant metastases. In the anaplastic group, four patients (21%) had relapses; two patients had local recurrence of tumor, and two had distant metastases. Therefore the data suggest a difference in survival and relapse rates between classical and anaplastic seminoma.     

Pharmacokinetics of ximedone

Optimum conditions for the spectrophotometric determination of pyrimidine derivatives in biological fluids of humans are determined. This method has been used for the investigation of the pharmacokinetics of the new immunomodulant ximedone in humans, dogs, and rats upon administration of the drug in different ways. Interspecific relationships of the key parameters of ximedone pharmacokinetics are established. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 40, No. 7, pp. 5–8, July, 2006.