Correction on congenital heart defects under conditions of hypothermia without perfusion and non-inhalation anesthesia

The clinical and pathophysiological indices were determined in the operative and immediate postoperative periods in 221 patients with various congenital heart diseases, with consideration for the degree of preoperative disorders of hemodynamics. The operations were conducted under conditions of non-inhalation anesthesia and various-level hypothermal protection without perfusion, with exclusion of the heart from circulation for up to 52 minutes. The main complications developing in the operative and postoperative periods were determined. It is proved that the processes of metabolism and blood oxygen-transport function are interlinked in operations conducted under these conditions. It is also proved that the operations are safe and effective.     

Pulmonary aspergillosis and its treatment

The authors had 85 patients with various forms of bronchopulmonary aspergillosis under observation; 45 of them were treated by various types of operative interventions. Forty patients were given mycostats. The article describes the indications and contraindications for surgical treatment, the volume of the operative interventions, the postoperative complications and their management.     

Pathobiology of familial hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis

Many factors play a role in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. One of the leading risk factors for development of atherosclerosis is familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). FH is a genetic disease characterized by a deficiency, and/or mutation, of receptors for low density lipoprotein (LDL) on the plasmalemma of endothelial cells (EC), a high level of low density lipoprotein in the plasma, and early, spontaneous development of atherosclerosis and skin xanthoma. In this review we describe Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits, which represent such an animal model for human FH. This strain of the rabbits is characterized by a genetic deficiency or mutation of functional LDL receptors and develops severe atherosclerosis, which is pathologically similar to familial homozygous hyperlipidemic patients. The most completely characterized animal model is the Watanabe rabbit, a model of homozygous and heterozygous type IIa hypercholesterolemia related to an LDL receptor deficiency. Additional manipulation such as aortic injury in this rabbit model induces the development of atherosclerotic lesions that are structurally similar to those found in humans. Thus, this model of hypercholesterolemia fulfils the above criteria set, i.e. it is able to provide new insights for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and for testing new treatment strategies.     

Surgical management in complicated sigmoid cancer

The results of operative treatment of 242 patients aged from 30 to 85 years with complicated cancer of the sygmoid colon have been analyzed. It is shown that in the choice of the method for surgical intervention essential are the character of complications, peculiarities of tumor growth, as well as the stage of the disease and general condition of the patient. The removal of the tumor followed by forming of decompression colostomy, without restoration of bowel continuity results in achievement of better initial results. Resection of the tumor with one stage placement of the anastomosis is advisable as an elective procedure, after elimination of acute symptoms of complications and substantial preoperative preparation. The application of U-shaped terminolateral anastomosis allows to form a primary colonic anastomosis in acute bowel obstruction due to the tumor of the sygmoid colon.     

Hormonal and immunological status of children with thymus hyperplasia

The state of the adrenocortical system, cellular and humoral immunity was studied in 152 infants, suffering from thymomegaly, associated with virus-bacterial pneumonia. The results obtained allow one of to consider the hormonal and immunological state of the patients with thymomegaly to be inhibited and the adrenocortical hypofunction to be secondary. Therefore, the infants with thymomegaly should be separated into a special "risk" group, according to their immunodeficient states, respiratory allergies, acute and chronic adrenocortical deficiency.     

Stem cell niches as clinical targets: the future of anti-ischemic therapy?

This article provides context for the research presented by Napoli et al., reported in this journal. Treatment strategies that target stem cell niches are promising avenues for stimulating inducible angiogenesis in many vascular diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis. Here we discuss the study carried out by Napoli and colleagues--an analysis of the effects of parathyroid hormone on the vascular stem cell niche in peripheral ischemia. Napoli et al. demonstrate that parathyroid hormone administered in combination with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor induces angiogenesis in a hindlimb ischemia mouse model. This treatment seems to mobilize and localize endothelial cell progenitors specifically to ischemic vascular cell beds. We explore the mechanisms through which the multiple cells within the vascular niche respond to ischemia. The interaction between parathyroid hormone and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in humans is also discussed. Further assessment is needed to elucidate the factors involved in migration and differentiation of endothelial cell progenitors in ischemia-damaged tissues.     

Hemorheological and antioxidant effects of Ascovertin in patients with sclerosis of cerebral arteries

The clinical trials on 31 patients with arteriosclerosis and I-II stage discirculatory encephalopathy to assess an ability of Ascovertin to limit hemorheology abnormalities were carried out. In patients with discirculatory encephalopathy was a distinct increase in blood viscosity which was induced by disturbances of cell rheological factors: increase in aggregation of erythrocytes and decrease in their deformability were observed in comparison with indices in the group of healthy volunteers. No difference in plasma viscosity and fibrinogen was found. The treatment with Ascovertin in patients with discirculatory encephalopathy improved their attention, memory, mental performance, normalized sleep, releaved headache, decreased fatiquebility, led to the decrease in blood viscosity values, the reduction of pathological erythrocyte hyper aggregation and the improvement of erythrocyte deformability. We partly connect this clinical effect and hemorheology activity of Ascovertin with its antioxidant property--there was found impressive lipid peroxidation suppression. No significant changes in hemorheological and lipid peroxidation indices were observed in patients without Ascovertin.     

Genome-wide association data suggest ABCB1 and immune-related gene sets may be involved in adult antisocial behavior

Adult antisocial behavior (AAB) is moderately heritable, relatively common and has adverse consequences for individuals and society. We examined the molecular genetic basis of AAB in 1379 participants from a case–control study in which the cases met criteria for alcohol dependence. We also examined whether genes of interest were expressed in human brain. AAB was measured using a count of the number of Antisocial Personality Disorder criteria endorsed under criterion A from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV). Participants were genotyped on the Illumina Human 1M BeadChip. In total, all single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) accounted for 25% of the variance in AAB, although this estimate was not significant (P=0.09). Enrichment tests indicated that more significantly associated genes were over-represented in seven gene sets, and most were immune related. Our most highly associated SNP (rs4728702, P=5.77 × 10⁻⁷) was located in the protein-coding adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette, sub-family B (MDR/TAP), member 1 (ABCB1). In a gene-based test, ABCB1 was genome-wide significant (q=0.03). Expression analyses indicated that ABCB1 was robustly expressed in the brain. ABCB1 has been implicated in substance use, and in post hoc tests we found that variation in ABCB1 was associated with DSM-IV alcohol and cocaine dependence criterion counts. These results suggest that ABCB1 may confer risk across externalizing behaviors, and are consistent with previous suggestions that immune pathways are associated with externalizing behaviors. The results should be tempered by the fact that we did not replicate the associations for ABCB1 or the gene sets in a less-affected independent sample.     

Association of CHRM2 with IQ: Converging Evidence for a Gene Influencing Intelligence

The cholinergic neurotransmitter system is thought to be involved in many aspects of memory, attention, and higher cognition. In the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) sample, we have previously reported linkage and association to the cholinergic muscarinic 2 receptor gene (CHRM2) on chromosome 7 with evoked EEG oscillations (Jones et al. 2004), providing evidence that this gene may be involved in human brain dynamics and cognition. In addition, a small number of genetic markers were genotyped in CHRM2 in the Minnesota Twin and Family Study (Comings et al. 2003) and a Dutch family study (Gosso et al. 2006, in press) and both research groups found evidence that this gene may be involved in intelligence. In the COGA sample, we have extensively genotyped SNPs within and flanking the CHRM2 gene. We find evidence of association with multiple SNPs across CHRM2 and Performance IQ, as measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R). These results remain significant after taking into account alcohol dependence and depression diagnoses in the sample. Edited by Danielle Posthuma Henri Begleiter—Deceased