[Histomorphometric characteristics of age-related changes in cricoid cartilage.]

The paper presents the results of a histomorphometric study of age-related changes in hyaline cartilage tissue by the example of studying cricoid cartilage from 88 corpses of males of various ages. A comparative assessment of the parameters between the groups was carried out and the dynamics of age-related changes in the main ones was studied. As a result of the studies, the greatest correlation with age was recorded in the following indicators: length (r=0,88) and width (r=0,89) of the ossification zone, the area of bone (r=0,87), adipose (r=0,77) and reticular tissue (r=0,86), the number of chondroblasts (r=-0,7). It was found that the transformations of cricoid cartilage occurring with age are characterized by a decrease in the area of cartilage tissue, the average number of chondrocytes and chondroblasts also tends to decrease steadily with increasing age. Age-related bone tissue transformations are characterized by an increase in the area of bone tissue and the transformation of the tissue structure itself: the number of bone beams and their dimensional characteristics (length and width) change. The results of the study allow us to evaluate the age dynamics of quantitative markers of involution processes of hyaline cartilage tissue in men by the example of studying cricoid cartilage and supplement the existing ideas about the pathogenesis of age-associated cartilage diseases.

[MODERN METHODS OF PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL RESEARCH IN GASTROENTEROLOGY PRACTICE: THE EXPERIENCE OF INTERACTION].

UNLABELLED: The aim of this work was to assess the potential of some physical and chemical methods for studying erythrocytes and blood serum in gastroenterological practice by the example of colorectal cancer (CC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 26 persons with various stages of colorectal cancer and 16 healthy (control group) were examined. Parameters of erythrocytes and blood serum were investigated by light microscopy, dielectrophoresis in a non-uniform alternating electric field (DEF in NUAEF), terahertz spectroscopy, ellipsometry, Raman-spectroscopy. RESULTS: Polymorphism of erythrocytes, rigidity, viscosity, indexes of aggregation and destruction were significantly higher in patients with CC and polarizability, amplitude of erythrocyte deformation in NUAEF being lower than those in the controls. The study of erythrocytes by terahertz spectroscopy revealed the low levels of amplitude transmittance over the whole frequency range in CC patients compared to the controls. The increasing of refractive index, degree of heterogeneity of thin films obtained from the serum in CC patients were observed in considering the ellipsometric parameters. We found a significant increasing of the concentration of antigens to CD24 at the early stage of the disease. The areas of some peaks in Raman spectra were significantly lower in patients with CC compared to the healthy ones, it is possible due to a carotin deficiency. Most of the studied parameters were correlated with the stage of the disease. A set of optical methods for studying blood serum compared with those of histology and radiological methods of diagnosis showed their high sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative predictive value (80 % and above). CONCLUSION: The obtained results of the pilot study demonstrate the prospects of using physical and chemical methods of research of erythrocytes and blood serum for early diagnosis, stage of disease and monitoring the effectiveness of treatment of CC.

[The hemostatic system in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome].

The objective of the investigation was to study the hemostatic system in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). The study enrolled 72 subjects (26 patients with APS (mean age 45.5 +/- 10.2 years) and their 46 relatives, including 37 and 9 first- and- second-degree relatives, respectively; mean age 29.5 +/- 16.4 years) from 26 families. A battery of standardized tests was used to evaluate the hemostatic system. At the examination, most relatives were found to have signs of thrombophilia: activated intravascular coagulation and suppressed fibrinolysis. The high detection rate for lupus anticoagulant (LA) amongst the relatives of patients with APS (39.1%) is likely to suggest its heritability. Logistic regression analysis showed the prognostic value of thrombocytic aggregatory disorders in the development of hemorrhagic manifestations, as well as an association of LA and thrombocytopenia.

[Rationale for using essential phospholipids in chronic diseases of the liver: the dynamics of electric and viscoelastic parameters of erythrocytes].

Under supervision there were 38 men (age from 36 till 57 years) with diffuse hepatic diseases (DHD) in stadia of hepatitis, 27--in dynamics of treatment of essential phospholipids. Is experimentally established: structure-functional erythrocyte characteristics by methods of dielectrophoresis, thin-layer chromatography correlate with lipid and phospholipid composition of red cell membranes. The low level of phospholipids in erythrocyte membranes and direction of changes in their fractional composition in the DHD is the basis for the use of essential phospholipids. Against the background of therapy noted a significant increase in amplitude of deformation, polarizability, capacity, speed of movement of red blood cells to the electrodes and lower levels of generalized indicators of viscosity, rigidity, electrical conductivity, index of aggregation and destruction.

[Procedure for determination of oxidative modification of plasma fibrinogen].

The purpose of the present study was to develop a new procedure for determining the oxidative modification of plasma fibrinogen. The procedure was developed to use blood plasma from 96 males aged 35-60 years who had cardiovascular diseases: 49 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), including 16 patients with sub-acute myocardial infarction (MI), and 47 patients with arterial hypertension without CHD. The new procedure is as follows: a rapid fibrin isolating method, a reaction with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine in 2 M HCl solution, by subsequently rinsing in the ethanol : ethyl acetate (1:1) solution, dissolving the precipitate in 8 M urea, and by determining the level of the resultant dinitrophenylhydrazones by spectrophotometry at 363 nm, followed by conversion to the plasma concentration of fibrinogen. The procedure is of informative value for the degree of oxidative fibrinogen modification under oxidative stress; it is technically simple, takes little time, and shows a good reproducibility. The values of determined oxidized plasma fibrinogen by the developed procedure show a high positive correlation with the estimates of oxidized total blood protein fraction and with the values of blood lipid peroxidation. The detected elevated level of oxidized fibrinogen in CHD and MI suggests that this index is a new diagnostic marker of oxidative stress in cardiovascular diseases of atherosclerotic genesis.

[Diagnosis of active inflammatory process in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis]. / Diagnostika aktivnogo vospalitel'nogo protsessa pri iuvenil'nom revmatoidnom artrite.

Assessment of the laboratory parameters of the activity of an inflammatory process (red cell sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, sialic acids, seromucoid, protein fractions) and the parameters of the hemostasis system in 128 patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) showed that the traditional laboratory parameters are not sufficiently sensitive in JRA, and the absence of positive responses is not a reliable criterion for discontinuing antiinflammatory therapy. The following hemostasis system tests are proposed for detecting and assessing the activity of inflammation in JRA patients: Hageman-dependent fibrinolysis (HDF), level of Willebrand's factor in the blood (WF), and leukocyte-platelet aggregation. The tests are highly sensitive to low-active and latent inflammatory processes in JRA and are nonspecific. In addition, HDF and WF permit the detection of proliferative inflammation.

[Von Willebrand factor in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis]. / Faktor Villebranda pri iuvenil'nom revmatoidnom artrite.

Forty-three patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis were examined. In children with active disease pattern, Willebrand's factor (WF) appeared on the average to be more than twice as increased comparatively to normal. The relationship was established between WF and the characteristics of the inflammatory process activity. The study of the platelet component of hemostasis made it possible to reveal activation of platelet aggregation despite the routine disaggregation and anti-inflammatory therapy, which requires constant laboratory control.