[Successful treatment for cryptococcal meningoencephalitis complicated by cerebral salt-wasting syndrome in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: A clinical case].

Cryptococcus neoformans is a common agent of fungal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised patients. Cerebral salt-wasting syndrome is one of the rare causes of severe hyponatremia in patients with CNS diseases. The paper describes the first clinical case of a patient, whose onset of chronic lymphocytic leukemia was complicated by cryptococcal meningoencephalitis presenting with mental disorders and severe electrolytic imbalance. Antifungal treatment with amphotericin B and fluconazole could alleviate an infectious process and metabolic disturbances.

[Features of interepidemic influenza A and B viruses]. / Osobennosti mezhépidemicheskikh virusov grippa A i B.

The comparison of interepidemic influenza viruses with the pathogens of resultant influenza epidemics has revealed that they belong to the same type (subtype) of influenza virus. A definite correlation has been found between the antigenic specificity of haemagglutinin of epidemic and interepidemic strains. The antigenic structure of the interepidemic viruses and the pathogens of further epidemics of influenza B viruses have been found to be completely identical. The interepidemic A(H1N1) isolates have been shown to be antigenic analogues of the causative agents of influenza A(H1N1) during the previous epidemics. Despite the time and place of their isolation, as well as the etiology of the previous and subsequent epidemics, the interepidemic influenza A(H3N2) viruses have been ascertained to be similar to the reference A/Bangkok/1/79.

[Polymorphism of current human influenza A and B virus population]. / Polimorfizm populiatsii sovremennykh virusov grippa A i B cheloveka.

During the past years, the etiological situation has been significantly complicated. It is characterized by simultaneous circulation of A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and influenza B viruses and by the isolation of reassortant strains and viruses, which are atypical in relation to the process of their natural variability. The antigenic properties of epidemic strains and unusual isolates were investigated. The marked heterogeneity of the A(H3N2) influenza viruses was demonstrated. It was determined by the circulation of several antigenic variants during the epidemic. Two separate antigenic lineage of the influenza B viruses--b/Victoria/2/87 and B/Yamagata/16/88--cocirculated in our country in 1991. Since 1986, all the influenza A(H1N1) viruses have been considered to be varieties of the reference strain A/Taiwan/1/86. A direct correlation was found between some atypical viruses and the vaccine strains previously used.

[The determination of the genotype of natural reassortant influenza A viruses according to the core protein genes by the methods of competitive dot hybridization and sequencing]. / Opredelenie genotipa prirodnykh reassortantov virusa grippa A po genam vnutrennikh belkov s pomoshch'iu metodov konkurentnoi tochechnoi gibridizatsii i sekvenirovaniia.

Simultaneous circulation of different subtypes of influenza A viruses provides conditions for reassortant strains formation. A comparative investigation of genome of 47 influenza A virus strains (H1N1, H2N2, and H3N2) was carried out by competitive dot hybridization technique and sequence analysis of some of cDNA-copies of the virus genes. All the genes of 43 strains encoding nonglycolysed proteins corresponded to the serum subtype of surface glycoproteins. The reassortant pattern of genome for some genes of core proteins was revealed in 4 viruses. All the dot hybridization data were completely confirmed by sequence analysis of the genes.