[Prevalence of large-intestinal diseases in Azerbaijan]. / Rasprostranennost' zabolevanii tolstogo kishechnika po materialam Azerbaidzhana.

15,000 adults in Azerbaijan have been surveyed. The programme of the survey included interviews with specially designed questionnaires consisting of questions related to working and living conditions, nutritional habits, X-ray and endoscopic examinations of the colon have been conducted. Referrals to polyclinics for colon diseases accounted for 6.0 per 100 inhabitants and after active detection among men--41.5 and among women--45.6 per 100 persons examined. The leading role in the incidence of chronic diseases of colon is played by hemorrhoid (31.0%), chronic colitis (33.6%), colon dyskinesia (13.5%). It has been found that the most significant predisposing causes of colon diseases were: bacillary dysentery, different types of neuroses, milk indigestion, gynaecological and prostatic diseases, and obesity.

[Calcium-regulating hormones of the blood in patients with chronic pancreatitis]. / Sostoianie kal'tsiireguliruiushchikh gormonov krovi u bol'nykh khronicheskim pankreatitom.

The concentrations of calcitonin and parathormone were studied in 63 patients with chronic pancreatitis during exacerbation. The results obtained were analyzed with relation to the state of pancreatic exocrine and endocrine function, gravity of disease and the blood level of calcium. The concentration of calcitonin was considerably raised, the most noticeable elevation was observed in patients with a severe course. The level of calcitonin also rose frequently in patients with high activity of blood pancreatic enzymes (amylase and radioimmune trypsin) and hyperglucagonemia. The level of parathormone did not undergo marked changes.

[Concentration of thyroid hormones and thyrotropin in the blood of patients with chronic pancreatitis]. / Kontsentratsiia gormonov shchitovidnoi zhelezy i tireotropnogo gormona v krovi u bol'nykh khronicheskim pankreatitom.

Concentrations of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), reflecting the thyroid status, and thyrotropin, a hormone of the anterior pituitary were investigated in 123 patients with exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis. T3 and T4 levels were considerably decreased, and a TSH level was raised (P less than 0.001). By the end of therapy the latter was markedly decreased, and T3 and T4 concentrations showed a rising tendency. The greatest changes in the levels of the thyroid hormones were observed in patients with a marked decrease in pancreatic excretory function.

[Pancreatic endocrine function of patients with nonspecific ulcerative colitis]. / Endokrinnaia funktsiia podzheludochnoi zhelezy u bol'nykh nespetsificheskim iazvennym kolitom.

Pancreatic endocrine function was investigated in 43 patients with nonspecific ulcerative colitis by studying the blood concentrations of insulin, C-peptide and glucagon using a radioimmunoassay. In such patients the level of C-peptide was on a decrease, that of glucagon--on an increase. The level of insulin in nonspecific ulcerative colitis showed a tendency to increase. These alterations were closely connected with pancreatic excretory function. The most profound changes were noted in patients with markedly lowered pancreatic excretory function.

The functional state of adrenal cortex in patients with chronic relapsing pancreatitis.

The functional state of the adrenal cortex (cortisol and 11-OCS in blood, 17-OCS in 24-hours' urine) was studied in 105 patients with chronic relapsing pancreatitis in the acute state. An increase of adrenal cortex glucocorticoid activity was determined in 46.7% of the patients. A decrease of glucocorticoid activity was observed in 10% of the patients. During remission a tendency towards hormone normalization was noted in most of the patients, except for 5 patients with marked exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in whom the hormone content of adrenal cortex remained low. The type of pancreatitis as well as the severity and duration of the disease were noted to exert no regular impact upon the changes of the indices. Since exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis is frequently accompanied by elevated glucocorticoid activity of the adrenal cortex, the prescription of glucocorticoid hormones in such patients seems undesirable. The administration of such hormones is possible only for the patients with exocrine pancreas insufficiency.

[Secretion of somatotropic hormone in patients with pancreatitis]. / Sekretsiia somatotropnogo gormona u bol'nykh pankreatitami.

The concentration of somatotropic hormone (STH) was measured by radioimmunoassay in 108 patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis and in 15 healthy persons. In addition, to study the reserve capacity of the somatotropic function of the pituitary, insulin hypoglycemia was employed. It was established that during exacerbation, the pancreatitis patients manifested an increase in the hormone content. In the patients suffering from acute pancreatitis, the STH level returned to normal following treatment. In chronic pancreatitis, the hormone concentration remained elevated after treatment. No correlation was discovered between alterations in the STH level and the activity of pancreatic enzymes. The data obtained point to a definite role of STH in the pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis.

The condition of the biliary tract and cholesecretion in cases of ulcerative colitis.

The functional condition of the biliary system and the changes in the biochemical composition of the bile were studied in 62 patients with ulcerative colitis. In most patients changes in the contractile and motor function of the gallbladder were observed. The rate of occurrence and the extent of these changes are associated with the severity and duration of the main disease. Disturbances in the biochemical composition of the bile were observed in all the groups of patients, but the most pronounced changes were found in severe cases of ulcerative colitis. The choleretic Flamin was introduced into the complex therapy of the patients with ulcerative colitis to make the correction of these disturbances possible. The examination program for the patients with ulcerative colitis is supposed to include the laboratory and roentgenologic investigations which characterize the condition of the biliary system.

Changes in gastric secretion following administration of preparations affecting the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system.

The changes in gastric secretion following administration of different preparations have been studied in a group of 180 patients with duodenal ulcer and chronic gastritis. In patients with hypersecretion the medication with bishpan and inderal as compared with atropine caused considerable shifts in the indices of gastric secretion. Isoproterenol exerted a stimulating influence both on initial hyper- and hyposecretion, while the other preparations studied were shown not to cause any essential rise in gastric secretion in patients with secretory deficiency. Reliable changes of the stimulated gastric secretion were observed only after inderal. The data obtained can be useful when choosing a rational method for the therapy of gastric scretory disorders.