[The spread of antibodies to cytomegalovirus and Toxoplasma among donors of blood components]. / Rasprostrannenost' antitel k tsitomegalovirusu i toksoplazme u donorov gemokomponentov.

The spread of IgG antibodies to cytomegalovirus and Toxoplasma in the blood sera of 323 donors of hemocomponents was studied. Among young males in the northwestern region of Russia three fourths were found to be seropositive to cytomegalovirus and one third, to Toxoplasma. In older ages the proportion of seropositive persons somewhat increased. In donors with blood group O (I) antibodies to cytomegalovirus occurred almost twice as often (91%) as in donors with blood group AB (IV) (47%). Among donors with blood group AB (IV) the proportion of persons seropositive to Toxoplasma (54%) was twice as great as that among donors with blood group O (I) (27%).

[Vitamin metabolism in children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Effect of length of illness, severity, and degree of disruption of substance metabolism]. / Obmen vitaminov u detei, bol'nykh insulinzavisimym sakharnym diabetom. Vliianie dlitel'nosti zabolevaniia, ego tiazhesti i stepeni narusheniia obmena veshchestv.

Correlation between the state of vitamin metabolism and the impairments in carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism was studied in 35 children of 9-13 years of age with diabetes mellitus of various severity standing for up to 7 years. Deterioration of riboflavin metabolism in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, expressed as an increase of the vitamin excretion with urine, was augmented with prolongation of the disease duration; the deterioration was sometimes related to the value of glycemia and glucosuria, being the indicative symptom of the disease. In spite of some limitations in validity of experiments related to insufficient number of children in some groups, a decrease in excretion of 1-methyl nicotinamide with urine was detected in all the children with the comatose state, in acidoketosis and glucosuria (above 20 g/day), whereas normal content of nicotinamide coenzymes was found in erythrocytes. Deficiency in vitamins B1, B6 and C was observed more often (5-100%) in children with elevated content of cholesterol as compared with 7-67% of children exhibiting normal level of cholesterol. Optimization of vitamins B and C consumption in children as well as use of any means for correction of these vitamins deficiency are discussed.

[Vitamin status of children with diabetes mellitus]. / Vitaminnyi status detei, stradaiushchikh sakharnym diabetom.

A vitamin status was studied in 32 children of both sexes at the age of 9-15 years with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus within 2-3 years. The adequate consumption of all the vitamins studied was found only in two children. Polyhypovitaminosis was detected in 19% of these children. Deterioration of riboflavin metabolism observed was manifest, as a decrease in the vitamin content in tissues in line with an increase in its excretion with urine. As a result of this impairment metabolism of vitamins B6 and PP was disturbed with development of these vitamins secondary deficiency of the non-alimentary type. Obligatory correction of the water soluble vitamin deficiency in the patients with diabetes mellitus is discussed.

[Autoantibodies to glutamate decarboxylase in children with newly detected insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus]. / Autoantitela k glutamatdekarboksilaze u detei s vpervye vyiavlennym insulinzavisimym sakharnym diabetom.

Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) is considered as target antigen in pancreatic beta cell autoimmunity. Two isoforms of GAD (islet and brain GAD) were detected recently. In circulation of approximately 80% of recently detected patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) autoantibodies to brain GAD (bGAD) have been demonstrated. To detect autoantibodies to bGAD blood sera of 48 children aged 1 to 14, 36 of these with newly diagnosed IDDM, 2 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), 10 healthy controls, were tested. Indirect immunofluorescent staining of rat cerebellum cryoslices was carried out. The results were assessed using fluorescent microscopy and processed by statistical methods. Autoantibodies to bGAD were found in 30 out of 36 patients with IDDM: 83.3 +/- 12.4% (p = 95%), in 1 with IGT, and in none of controls. The fact that all controls were antibody-negative proves a high specificity of this immunological marker of IDDM. Family history or a younger age by the moment of diabetes onset were conductive to a higher prevalence of autoantibodies to GAD, each of these factors being unrelated to the other.