[The membrane pathochemical mechanisms of the thermal dependence of the neurological deficiency in multiple sclerosis]. / Membranopatokhimicheskie mekhanizmy termozavisimosti nevrologicheskogo defitsita pri rasseiannom skleroze.

The authors studied acetylcholine esterase (ACE) activity, that of red cell membranes in the range of physiological temperatures 34-41 degrees C interferometrically in 47 patients with multiple sclerosis. Michaelis constant (CM) and maximal rate of substrate saturation (Vmax) were assumed criteria of the above activity. Two abnormal peaks of thermodependent ACE activity at 35 and 40 degrees C were observed. At 35 degrees C ACE activity was low and fluctuated with severity of MS. At 40 degrees C ACE activity proved universally maximal. Abnormal ACE activity peaks coincide with unusual rises in red cell density at the same temperatures detected by capillary viscosimetry, and with maximal activity of red cell Na+, K(+)-ATPase. The authors give their version of pathogenetic origin of reversible thermodependent deficiency which is characteristic of MS clinical picture.

[Functional activity of cell membranes in multiple sclerosis]. / Funktsional'naia aktivnost' kletochnykh membran pri rasseiannom skleroze.

A study was made of the activity of the marker enzymes of plasma membranes Na+,K(+)-ATPase and AChE comparatively to the changes in red blood cell suspension viscosity. Interferometry and capillary viscosimetry were employed to examine red cell membranes of 100 patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. In the interval of physiological temperatures, the two temperatures areas -35 degrees and 40 degrees C characterized by specific behavior of the enzymes and viscosity changes were discovered. These temperature areas are viewed from the standpoints of temperature-induced structural transformations. Each of them has a definite clinical importance for the estimation of the activity of the underlying process. The fact of the existence of the complexly organized system of abnormal structural transformations attests to gross imbalance of red cell membranes. This phenomenon may also be observed as regards other membranes including the membrane of the oligodendrocyte. In addition to the evidence for the membrano-patho-chemical component in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis, the temperature-induced structural transformations play the role of diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis.

[Prognostic value of NA K ATPase activity in multiple sclerosis]. / Prognosticheskoe znachenie aktivnosti Na+, K+ ATFazy v techenii rasseiannogo skleroza.

The paper is concerned with the results of measuring the activity of Na+, K+, ATPase in red blood cell suspension in patients with different courses of multiple sclerosis (MS) within the range of physiological temperatures (34 to 42 degrees C). Account was taken of the interrelation of structural phasic transitions in cell membranes to the changes in enzymatic activity. There was a spasmodic increase of the activity of Na+, K+, ATPase at 35 degrees C and 40 degrees C at the moment of the clinical signs of disease exacerbation together with a twofold lowering of the enzymatic activity at a temperature of 35 degrees C during remission. The rise of the enzymatic activity at a temperature of 35 degrees C anticipates clinical exacerbation and thus may be of prognostic importance in the determination of the type of the disease course.

[A rheological method of diagnosis of multiple sclerosis]. / Reologicheskii sposob diagnostiki rasseiannogo skleroza.

A new method for the diagnosis of disseminated sclerosis is suggested, based on the determination of the red cell suspension viscosity within the range of physiologic temperatures. Three viscosity peaks (maxima): at 35, 37-38 (the physiologic), and at 40 degrees C have been detected, probably corresponding to thermotropic phase transitions in red cell membranes. The curves reflecting the eta (t degrees C) dependence in disseminated sclerosis are characteristic of this disease and may be used as a test for the laboratory diagnosis of disseminated sclerosis.