[An infant form of Alexander disease (a clinical case and literature review)]. / Mladencheskaya forma bolezni Aleksandera (opisanie klinicheskogo nablyudeniya i obzor literatury).

We present a case of the infant form of Alexander disease. The case uniqueness is that the patient's examination had been started at the preclinical stage and was continued during the manifestation and fastigium of disease. We present rare images obtained during neurosonography at the preclinical stage of the disease as well as the unique findings of MRI studies. The MRI findings at disease onset and 3 years later indicate that the infant form of Alexander disease is characterized by clinical stages.

Oral isotretinoin and haemophilia A.

The effects of oral isotretinoin on the coagulation system are still not well known: some case reports describe thrombocytopenia or thrombocytosis, others present different effects on fibrinolysis. We report a case of severe acne treated with oral isotretinoin in a patient affected with haemophilia A. In this case, which differs from the only other case reported in the literature, oral isotretinoin did not appear to influence the haemophilic patient's need of factor VIII.

[A comparative assessment of the efficacy of different types of sealants for the prevention of caries in the permanent teeth of children in the oral hygiene system]. / Sravnitel'naia otsenka éffektivnosti raznykh vidov germetikov dlia profilaktiki kariesa postoiannykh zubov u detei v sisteme sanatsii polosti rta.

Three hermetics are assessed: chemically hardened Delton, light-hardened Estiseal, and composite Evikrol. The study was carried out in 126 children aged 6 years. The decrease of the increment of dental caries depends on the retention of hermetics on the occlusion surface of the teeth, and the efficacy of caries prevention in permanent teeth is much higher if hermetic sealing of fissures and fossae is combined with local fluorine prophylaxis and oral hygiene. All types of hermetics can be used to prevent permanent teeth caries, but chemically hardened ones should be preferred.

[The determination of oral care habits by surveying the children of Russia and Finland]. / Vyiavlenie navykov ukhoda za polost'iu rta putem anketirovaniia detei Rossii i Finliandii.

Questionnaires were distributed among 1187 children aged 7, 9 and 12 living in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Kuopio and dental examinations of these children were carried out. Children together with their parents answered the questions concerning tooth cleaning, consumption of sweets, parents' education. Analysis of the results helped detect the population motivation to proper care of the oral cavity and time course of this motivation.

Background factors affecting dental caries in permanent teeth of Finnish and Soviet children.

The aim of this study was to analyze the association between some general background factors and caries experience in two groups of Finnish children (from Helsinki and Kuopio) and Soviet children (Moscow and Leningrad). A total of 1187 schoolchildren, ages seven, nine and twelve years, were examined and information about their health habits was gathered by questionnaire. Questions included use of sweets, cakes, soft drinks, sugar-sweetened coffee and tea, toothbrushing frequency and mother's education. Except for age, the factors that explain caries experience clearly differ in Finnish and Soviet children.

[Specificity of action of extracellular proteases from Streptomyces spp]. / O spetsifichnosti deistviia vnekletochnykh proteaz iz Streptomyces spp.

The ability of an Actinomyces strain--Streptomyces spp. to produce extracellular proteases has been studied under varied cultivation conditions during the growth cycle. The activity of enzyme preparations precipitated from the culture liquid was determined with various substrates--gelatin, casein, fibrinogen, fibrin and collagen. The isolated enzyme complex possessed caseinolytic, fibrinolytic, thrombolytic and collagenolytic activities.

Surface-specific effect of a mineralizing agent on the permanent teeth and on periodontal status.

In a two-year clinical trial the surface-specific effect of a mineralizing agent on selected permanent teeth was evaluated as well as the effect of this agent on periodontal health in children. Compared with positive controls (Control group, n = 123, biweekly mouthrinsing with placebo and 0.2% NaF solutions), among children in the test group (n = 123, biweekly mouthrinsing with 2% Remodent and 0.2% NaF solutions) the mineralizing agent clearly affected periodontal health (as determined by the prevalence of subjects with gingival bleeding and occurrence of affected sextants at risk) positively, in addition to having a positive effect on the incidence of EFD lesions. The mineralizing agent tested was not found to have adverse effects (as determined by the prevalence of subjects with dental calculus and occurrence of affected sextants at risk). Use of the mineralizing agent is recommended especially during posteruptive maturation of permanent teeth.

Effect of the mineralizing agent on the permanent teeth.

In a two-year pragmatic clinical trial, the effect of the mineralizing agent was evaluated on permanent teeth of the first eruption group among Finnish children (7-years old at the beginning of the study) with a low prevalence of DFS. In the test group (n = 123, biweekly mouthrinsing with a 2% solution of mineralizing agent and 0.2% NaF solution) the percentage reduction in increment of both EFDS and DFS was high, whereas in the control group (n = 123, biweekly mouthrinsing with placebo and 0.2% NaF solutions) the incidence for symptoms of caries disease did not differ from that normally found in this age cohort. Positive clinical effect of tested solution was age-related and was associated with remineralization of old and inhibition of occurrence of new EFD lesions.

[Effect of vitamin A on immunological status of patients with chronic pneumonia]. / Vliianie vitamina A na sostoianie immuniteta pri khronicheskoi pnevmonii.

Effect of vitamin A on some patterns of specific and unspecific immunity was studied in patients with chronic pneumonia. The vitamin was administered into the patients during 7 days at a daily dose of 500,000 IU. Administration of vitamin A was found to stimulate several immunological patterns: content of T- and B lymphocytes in peripheral circulation as well as IgG and IgM blood serum were increased. After the vitamin A treatment the cellular immunity was also stimulated, involving the activation of lymphocyte blast transformation with PHA and the increase in exhibition of skin reaction towards PHA. In response to vitamin A administration activation was observed of unspecific bactericidal, and complement activities in blood serum as well as of the myeloperoxidase activity in leukocytes of peripheral circulation. Administration of vitamin A into the control patients within a week at a daily dose of 10,000 IU did not alter the immunological patterns studied.