Newborns discriminate novel from harmonic sounds: a study using magnetoencephalography.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether newborns respond differently to novel and deviant sounds during quiet sleep. METHODS: Twelve healthy neonates were presented with a three-stimulus oddball paradigm, consisting of frequent standard (76%), infrequent deviant (12%), and infrequent novel stimuli (12%). The standards and deviants were counterbalanced between the newborns and consisted of 500 and 750 Hz tones with two upper harmonics. The novel stimuli contained animal, human, and mechanical sounds. All stimuli had a duration of 300 ms and the stimulus onset asynchrony was 1s. Evoked magnetic responses during quiet sleep were recorded and averaged offline. RESULTS: Two deflections peaking at 345 and 615 ms after stimulus onset were observed in the evoked responses of most of the newborns. The first deflection was larger to novel and deviant stimuli than to the standard and, furthermore, larger to novel than to deviant stimuli. The second deflection was larger to novel and deviant stimuli than to standards, but did not differ between the novels and deviants. CONCLUSIONS: The two deflections found in the present study reflect different mechanisms of auditory change detection and discriminative processes. SIGNIFICANCE: The early brain indicators of novelty detection may be crucial in assessing the normal and abnormal cortical function in newborns. Further, studying evoked magnetic fields to complex auditory stimulation in healthy newborns is needed for studying the newborns at-risk for cognitive or language problems.     

Use of dimephosphon in pathogenetic therapy of experimental tuberculosis]

The results of a study of a new synthetic drug dimephosphon used as a pathogenetic means in the treatment of experimental tuberculosis are presented. Dimephosphon was found to be responsible for both the in vivo and in vitro decrease of the degree of MBT resistance to rifampicin. The findings of macroscopic, histologic and bacteriologic examinations demonstrated a significant increase in the effectiveness of antituberculous therapy. Dimephosphon monotherapy in mice elicited manifested stimulation of peritoneal macrophages: increase in O2- production, and decline in extracellular 5-nucleotidase activity. Nemolysine-synthetic cellular splenic activity in mice rose essentially. No direct stimulating influence of dimephosphon on functional macrophage activity in vitro was found.     

Immunological shifts and effectiveness of vaccination in patients with recurrent herpetic stomatitis

The effects of herpes vaccine on immunologic parameters and clinical manifestations of recurrent herpes stomatitis (RHS) were studied. Altogether 70 patients with RHS were examined: 30 before and 40 after vaccination and revaccination. The clinical effect of vaccination was shown to be associated with stimulation of cell-mediated factors of immunity as well as with the desensitizing effect of the vaccine. It is suggested that herpes vaccine is characterized by immunomodulating properties.     

The association of sensitive systemic inflammation markers with bronchial asthma.

BACKGROUND: Airway inflammation is a characteristic feature of bronchial asthma. Previous studies have shown an increased local inflammatory activity in the airway mucosa of asthma patients. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the association of asthma with three sensitive markers of systemic inflammation, C-reactive protein, serum amyloid-A (SAA), and plasma fibrinogen. METHODS: A cross-sectional, population-based study including 1,513 Finnish men aged 45 to 74 years, who participated in a chronic disease risk factor survey in 1997. Of the participating men, 97 were classified as asthma patients. The odds ratios of asthma were analyzed by quartile of each inflammation marker. RESULTS: In logistic regression models the age-adjusted odds ratios (second, third, and fourth quartile as compared with the first quartile) of asthma increased gradually with increasing quartile of C-reactive protein (1.28, 1.19, 1.96, P for trend = 0.039), SAA (1.20, 3.00, 3.49, P for trend < 0.001), and fibrinogen (1.22, 1.79, 3.16, P for trend < 0.001). The associations were independent of smoking. Further adjustment for waist-to-hip ratio, a marker of central obesity, and symptoms of chronic bronchitis weakened the observed association, but the increasing trend in the association of SAA and fibrinogen with asthma remained highly significant. CONCLUSIONS: Sensitive markers of systemic inflammation, particularly SAA and fibrinogen, were positively and significantly associated with asthma prevalence. These findings support the hypothesis that not only local, but also systemic, inflammation exist in bronchial asthma.     

Indole 3-hydroxymethylation and the synthesis of ascorbigens

Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 25, No. 6, pp. 57–59, June, 1991.     

Terminal deletion of chromosome 4p (4p16.3) shows a breakpoint between loci linked to Huntington disease

A 15-year-old boy with a terminal deletion of the short arm of chromosome 4 is described. The patient has a mild clinical phenotype that is incompatible with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Careful neurological examination including CT scan did not show any signs of Huntington disease. The chromosomal breakpoint was analyzed by means of polymorphic DNA probes localized close to the tentative Huntington (HD) locus. The breakage has occurred between D4S43 and D4S90 loci and thus deletes part of the chromosomal candidate regions for the HD locus. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Correction of blood hyperviscosity in patients with chronic post-embolic pulmonary hypertension by the method of infusion of UV-irradiated autologous blood

Examination of 38 patients with chronic postembolic pulmonary hypertension revealed gross hemorheological disorders: increased viscosity of blood, extreme aggregation activity of blood cells, diminished property or erythrocytes to undergo deformity when circulating through the capillaries. Small amounts of UV-irradiated autologous blood were infused repeatedly for the correction of these disorders. After a course of treatment the hemorheological indices were normalized in all the patients, which was attended by improvement of the general condition and positive hemodynamic shifts.