[Effectiveness of control over hemodynamic indexes and prognosis for patients with CHF and atrial fibrillation in real-life clinical practice].

BACKGROUND: Earlier studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with CHF. It was noticed that tachycardia and hypotension provoked high risks for cardiovascular mortality. The presence of arterial hypertension (AH) in CHF patients also impairs life prognosis. AIM: To determine prognosis for patients based on the control of hemodynamic indexes and titration of pulse-slowing therapy in real-life clinical practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study with a one-year followup period included 580 patients after decompensated CHF who were discharged from the Municipal Center for Treatment of CHF. 46.9% of patients had AF. Patients with AF were divided into groups with paroxysmal and persistent AF (combined) and permanent AF. RESULTS: Among patients with CHF and AF, 56.3%, 38.6%, and 5.1% had permanent, persistent, and paroxysmal AF, respectively. Patients with permanent AF had a higher CHF FC. The FC was evaluated using the 6­min walk test and Clinical Condition Scale at baseline and after the one-year follow-up. Incidence of hypotension and tachycardia was higher in the group with permanent AF. In patients without AF, baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) (139.5±24.5 mm Hg) was higher than in patients with any AF type (132.1±24.2 mm Hg, p.

Histamine plays an essential regulatory role in lung inflammation and protective immunity in the acute phase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

The course and outcome of infection with mycobacteria are determined by a complex interplay between the immune system of the host and the survival mechanisms developed by the bacilli. Recent data suggest a regulatory role of histamine not only in the innate but also in the adaptive immune response. We used a model of pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in histamine-deficient mice lacking histidine decarboxylase (HDC(-/-)), the histamine-synthesizing enzyme. To confirm that mycobacterial infection induced histamine production, we exposed mice to M. tuberculosis and compared responses in C57BL/6 (wild-type) and HDC(-/-) mice. Histamine levels increased around fivefold above baseline in infected C57BL/6 mice at day 28 of infection, whereas only small amounts were detected in the lungs of infected HDC(-/-) mice. Blocking histamine production decreased both neutrophil influx into lung tissue and the release of proinflammatory mediators, such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), in the acute phase of infection. However, the accumulation and activation of CD4(+) T cells were augmented in the lungs of infected HDC(-/-) mice and correlated with a distinct granuloma formation that contained abundant lymphocytic infiltration and reduced numbers of mycobacteria 28 days after infection. Furthermore, the production of IL-12, gamma interferon, and nitric oxide, as well as CD11c(+) cell influx into the lungs of infected HDC(-/-) mice, was increased. These findings indicate that histamine produced after M. tuberculosis infection may play a regulatory role not only by enhancing the pulmonary neutrophilia and production of IL-6 and TNF-alpha but also by impairing the protective Th1 response, which ultimately restricts mycobacterial growth.

[Prenatal ontogenesis of the human brain cortex temporal area].

Prenatal ontogenesis of temporal areas of the human cortex was studied. In the fetal cortex at the gestational age of 16-18 weeks three zones can be distinguished: marginal zone (eI layer), cortex plate and subplate. At 20-26 weeks cortex plate is divided into following layers: eII, eIII, eIV, eV and eVI, with "efferent" complex of layers being wider than "associative" one. The subplate neurons are eliminated in the fetus at 27-33 weeks, when "associative" complex composes over 50 per cent of the cortex thickness. The subplate has been identified by positive correlation between layer eII and the upper subplate layer spu cell density.

Analysis of differentiation of stem/progenitor cells in tissue culture of neocortical primordium of mouse brain.

Differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells from neocortical primordium of the brain from 14-day mouse embryos was studied by immunohistochemical methods during their culturing. Non-differentiated cells expressing nestin and vimentin persisted in freely floating neurospheres throughout the experiment. Glioblasts, neuroblasts, and differentiated neurons were found in neurospheres cultured in differentiating medium. However, neurons disappeared with increasing the number of passages, the formation of neuroblasts was terminated, and only astrocytes and nestin-positive cells were seen in the culture. It was found that cells of mouse embryonic neocortex lose the capacity for spontaneous multipotent differentiation during culturing.