[Serum neopterin, bacteremia and viral antibodies in dilated cardiomyopathy]. / Syvorotochnyni neopterin, bakteriemiia i virusnye antitela pri dilatatsionnoi kardiomiopatii.

Quantitation of neopterin and morphological examination of bacteria circulating in the blood of 28 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy gave evidence for elevated neopterin concentrations in 22 of the examinees (> 10 nM/l). The highest neopterin levels occurred in patients with L-form bacteria. Concentrations of neopterin and antibodies to cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex were related. The above antibodies were associated with high neopterin levels in the serum. It is suggested that high amounts of serum neopterin may result from combination of viral and bacterial infection in dilated cardiomyopathy sufferers.

C3a and C5a anaphylatoxins bind to heparin-based sorbent in low density lipoprotein apheresis: in vitro and in vivo investigations.

Plasmasorption on a heparin-based sorbent was performed in vitro. It demonstrated affinity of the C3a and C5a anaphylatoxins for the sorbent: C3a was removed almost completely (97%), and the C5a concentration decreased on average by 55%. The plasma level of C3a and C5a complement components was also monitored during the procedure of clinical extracorporeal low density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis on the sorbent in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. A two- to threefold increase in C3a (up to 1,500 ng/ml) was observed after plasma separation by the IBM 2997 cell sorter. Subsequent processing of the plasma through the column led to the low level of C3a detected (less than 50 ng/ml), demonstrating significant uptake of C3a by the sorbent column. The removed C3a was found in the eluate obtained after regeneration of the sorbent with 2 M NaCl solution. No significant increase in C5a was found during the procedure. Nevertheless, some C5a was detected in the eluate from the sorbent. The content of C3a and C5a in patients blood after the treatment was approximately the same as it was initially, 200-500 ng/ml for C3a and less than 10 ng/ml for C5a. The removal of C3a and C5a anaphylatoxins by heparin-based sorbent should be regarded as an advantage of this type of plasmasorbent.

[Activation of the complement system in dilated cardiomyopathy]. / Aktivatsiia sistemy komplementa pri dilatatsionnoi kardiomiopatii.

The levels of anaphylatoxins (C3a, C5a) in blood, components of complements C3 and C4, antibodies to cardiolipin, IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE and circulating immune complexes were measured in 21 patients with dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (DCMP and HCMP) and in 11 donors. The mean level of C3a in DCMP patients (572 +/- 55 ng/ml) was significantly higher than in HCMP patients (344 +/- 30 ng/ml) and in donors (294 +/- 43 ng/ml) (p less than 0.001). On comparison of C5a concentrations in DCMP patients (2.2 +/- 0.52 ng/ml), HCMP patients (3.3 +/- 1.2 ng/ml) and in donors (1.6 +/- 0.82 ng/ml) no significant differences were found (p greater than 0.05). It has been established that in the group of DCMP patients with thromboembolic complications, the concentrations of C3a (736 +/- 95 ng/ml) were significantly higher than in those without such complications (334 +/- 14 ng/ml) (p less than 0.001). The data obtained permit discussing the role of anaphylatoxins in the development of thromboembolic complications in DCMP patients.

[Thrombocyte function in physical exertion and induced myocardial ischemia in patients with ischemic heart disease]. / Funktsiia trombotsitov pri fizicheskoi nagruzke i indutsirovannoi ishemii miokarda u bol'nykh ishemicheskoi bolezn'iu serdtsa.

Reaction to graded bicycle exercise in patients with newly developed angina pectoris, patients with chronic IHD and subjects without IHD with normal coronary arteries was studied. Platelet activation by physical exercise was significantly more often (35.7%) in patients with newly developed angina pectoris than in patients with chronic IHD (12.8%) and patients without IHD (13%). It is shown that myocardial ischemia during physical exercise does not influence the frequency of the platelet activation signs determination. Development of platelet activation in physical exercise was promoted by minor disease duration, lower basic platelet functional activity and more evident increase in haematocrite in physical exercise.

[Adrenocorticotropic hormone in hypertension]. / Adrenokortikotropnyi gormon pri gipertonicheskoi bolezni.

The corticotropic function of the adenohypophysis was investigated in patients with essential hypertension considering the stage of the disease and development of crisis. There was found functional activation of the system under study at the labile stage of essential hypertension without crisis as well as in patients with crisis at labile and stable stages of the disease. Unidirectional shifts were observed in the function of the vasopressor part of the hypothalamus-neurohypophyseal system.