[Efficacy of adaptol and the possibility of its differential use in patients with anxiety disorders after myocardial infarction].

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adaptol in a dose of 1500-2000 mg/day in combination therapy for anxiety disorders (AD) in the early post-myocardial infarction period. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The trial included 94 patients with AD who were divided into a study group of 60 patients and a control group of 34 patients. In addition to basic therapy, the study group took adaptol in a dose of 1500-200 mg/day for 30 +/- 2 days; the control group received basic therapy only. RESULTS: The drug given in a dose of 1500-2000 mg/day in the patients with AD in the early post-myocardial infarction period was found to have high anxiolytic, autonomically normalizing, stress-protective activities and a positive effect on heart rate variability just one month after treatment. The highest efficacy of Adaptol was observed in patients with baseline hypersympathicotonic and normal autonomic responsiveness. CONCLUSION: Adaptol proved to be more effective in patients with baseline hypersympathicotonic and normal autonomic responsiveness, which permits the drug to be differentially used in relation to the baseline type of autonomic responsiveness.

[Immunologic reactions with group-specific antigens of group A Streptococcus in rheumatic fever]. / Immunnye reaktsii s gruppospetsificheskimi antigenami streptokokka gruppy A pri revmatizme.

The levels of Group A streptococcal antigens, characterized by group specificity, incorporated in the immune complexes, were measured by enzyme immunoassay, and antibodies to group-specific polysaccharide were titered in patients with rheumatic fever of the minimal activity, running a protracted course. A statistically significant rise of these parameters was revealed in rheumatic patients as against normal subjects or patients with chronic tonsillitis with tonsillogenic cardiopathy. The diagnostic informativeness of these methods was found higher than that of antistreptolysin-O determination. The authors make a conclusion that signs of streptococcal infection persist in cases with the minimal activity of the rheumatic process and discuss rational antibiotic therapy of such patients. The described methods are recommended for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of rheumatic fever of low activity.

[Group-specific antigens of streptococci in the make-up of circulating immune complexes in rheumatism and rheumatoid arthritis]. / Gruppospetsificheskie antigeny streptokokkov v sostave tsirkuliruiushchikh immunnykh kompleksov pri revmatizme i revmatoidnom artrite.

The level of "A" and "B" streptococcal antigens in the circulating immune complexes, structure and the level of antibodies to the group specific streptococcal polysaccharides in the patients with minimal activity and latent course rheumatism and in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis of different duration is studied. It is shown that the concentration of the "A" group streptococcal antigens in the circulating immune complexes is higher in rheumatic patients, than in healthy subjects and tonsillitis patients. The high "B" group streptococcal antigen content is found in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A high titer of antibodies to streptococcal polysaccharides of "B" group, especially in the synovial fluid was revealed. A possibility of streptococcal antigens and their antibodies' participation in the development of pathologic process is discussed. A value of obtained indexes in the diagnosis of small activity rheumatism and early stages of rheumatoid arthritis is shown.

[Clinico-diagnostic significance of rheumatoid factors of different classes in rheumatoid arthritis]. / Kliniko-diagnosticheskoe znachenie revmatoidnykh faktorov raznykh klassov pri revmatoidnom artrite.

Enzyme immunoassay was used to measure the content of rheumatoid factors (RF) of the M, A, and G classes in the blood sera of 111 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 30 patients with osteoarthrosis deformans, and 60 donors. The ranges of normal values for each RF class were defined. The levels of all the three RF classes were significantly higher in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis vs. the reference groups. IgM, IgA, and IgG RF were regularly elevated in the patients with rapidly progressing rheumatoid arthritis and with visceritis, whereas IgM and IgG RF levels were increased in those with the maximal activity of the disease. RF of various classes are more often detectable by the enzyme immunoassay than by the Vaaler-Roset's or latex agglutination tests.

[Isolation of non-type-specific protein antigens of Streptococcus group B]. / Poluchenie netipospetsificheskikh belkovykh antigenov streptokokka gruppy B.

Hydrochloride extracts obtained from group B streptococcal strains of different serotypes have proved to be the source of type-nonspecific protein antigens, precipitated with ethanol and studied by gel chromatography and spectrophotometric scanning in ultraviolet rays. Thus, 2 or 3 antigens, one of them found to be common for streptococci of groups A, B and G, as well as the admixture of group-specific polysaccharide, have been detected. In extracts obtained from group B streptococcal strains of different serotypes a common protein antigen, specific only for group B, has been detected. The suitability of gel chromatography with the use Toyopearl gel HW-55F for the preparative isolation of the specific fraction of protein type-nonspecific antigen with a view to the subsequent study of immune response to group B streptococci has been shown.

[Immune reactions with streptococcal antigens and homologous myocardial tropomyosin in rheumatoid arthritis with visceritis]. / Immunnye reaktsii s antigenami streptokokkov i gomologichnym tropomiozinom miokarda pri revmatoidnom artrite s vistseritami.

A humoral and cellular immune response to polysaccharide and protein antigens of the cell wall of streptococci (Groups A, B, C and G) and to homologous myocardial tropomyosin was studied in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with different clinical variants of disease and in healthy persons. In RA patients humoral and cellular immune reactions to polysaccharide and protein streptococcal antigens were especially marked with the use of the structural components of the cell wall of streptococcus, Group B. Elevated titers of antibodies to homologous myocardial tropomyosin were detected in RA patients as compared to those in a group of healthy persons, an average titer of antibodies to tropomyosin in RA patients with systemic symptoms being much higher than in patients with an articular form of disease. The authors emphasized a possible role of antigens of the cell wall of streptococcus, Group B, in the occurrence and development of immunopathological reactions in RA, and a role of antibodies to myocardial tropomyosin in immunopathogenesis of cardiac disorder in this disease.

[Carbamoyl phosphate biosynthesis in Streptococci]. / O biosinteze karbamoilfosfata u streptokokkov.

Nine streptococcal strains belonging to different serological groups (A, B, C, D) were shown to synthesize carbamoyl phosphate from ammonium hydrocarbonate and ATP. The reaction was catalyzed by carbamate kinase (EC 2.7.2.2). The speed of the reaction was evaluated according to the increase of the content of citrullin (the combination of carbamate kinase and ornithine transcarbamoylase). The representatives of different serological groups were found to have quantitative differences in carbamate kinase activity: the highest specific activity (13 nmol of citrullin per minute in 1 mg of dried microbial biomass) was detected in group A streptococci, while group D streptococci showed the lowest specific activity (0.5 nmol).