[A role of glutamate decarboxylase in Alzheimer's disease].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the levels of the main GABA synthetic enzyme, glutamate decarboxylase (represented by two isoforms, GAD65 and GAD67) in the cerebellum cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mentally healthy subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples of the cerebellum cortex from 13 mentally healthy subjects (the control group) and 13 patients with AD were studied. Samples obtained after autopsy were frozen and stored at -80 °C. The groups are matched by sex, age, postmortem interval and cause of death. Protein extracts from cerebellum tissues were obtained after removing of nuclei and cell debris by centrifugation and treatment of the obtained fractions with detergent (SDS). Relative amounts of GAD65 and GAD67 were determined using SDS-PAAG-electrophoresis with the following semi-quantitative ECL-Western-immunoblotting with chemiluminescence detection. RESULTS: The amounts of both isoenzymes (GAD65 and GAD67) were significantly reduced in AD samples. CONCLUSION: The decreased amount of both glutamate decarboxylase isoenzymes suggests the decreased synthesis of neurotransmitter and basic GABA pools that indicates insufficient functioning of the GABA system in the cerebellar cortex of AD patients.

[The opinion of mothers brining up disabled children about quality of medical care].

The article presents the results of questionnaire survey of mothers brining up disabled children aged from 1 to 4 years organized to evaluate respondents' satisfaction with delivered medical care and to establish mothers'awareness of disease of child. The results testify that alongside with applied measures directed to improve quality of medical care the activities are needed to be applied to parents to increase their awareness of child health condition, causes of development of disease and characteristics of its course, methods and perspectives of treatment and prognosis of disease.

[Glutamine synthetase-like protein, glutamate dehydrogenase, and cytochrome c-oxidase in platelets of patients with the first episode psychosis in the course of treatment].

The authors searched for correlations between amounts of platelet proteins and results of psychometric tests in patients with the first episode psychosis (schizophrenia, schizoaffective psychosis) in the course of their combined antipsychotic treatment with haloperidol and clozapine. Psychometric evaluations (PANSS, BPRS) and analyses of platelet enzymes - glutamine synthetase-like protein (GSLP), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), and cytochrome c-oxidase (COX) - were carried out before, during, and after the treatment. These proteins were also analyzed in matched controls. All the parameters comprised a database, followed by statistical data processing using Statistica 6.0 (StatSoft) software, nonparametric statistics module. The patients before the treatment, when compared with controls, demonstrated significantly decreased COX activity (p=0,0000001) and increased GSLP amount (p=0,006) with a positive correlation between GSLP amount and PANSSneg (R=0,34, p<0,01). Those patients who displayed initially low COX activity (below median) demonstrated significant increase in COX activity after the treatment. Negative correlations were revealed between COX activity and PANSS, PANSSpsy scores during the treatment, i.e. the lower was COX activity, the more severe syndromes were observed. Negative correlations were found between the initial COX activity and PANSS, PANSSpsy, BPRS scores after the treatment, i.e., the higher was COX before the treatment, the less prominent syndromes were observed after the treatment. Significantly more "non-responders" by PANSSneg were found among the patients with low GSLP level (below median) than their calculated expected amount. The COX activity measured before the treatment was significantly lower in patients with schizophrenia than in patients with schizoaffective disorder (SAD) (p=0,038). In SAD patients, the initial COX activity was negatively correlated with PANSSpsy and BPRS scores after the treatment (R=-0,5, p=0,02), i.e. the lower was the COX the activity before the treatment, the more prominent syndromes were observed after the treatment.

[The health conditions of children being left of parental custody as factor of refusal of admission into the surrogate family].

To investigate the causes of the denial by prospective foster parents to accept orphan children and children without parental custody into their family a special study was organized. The medical inferences of 307 children, inmates of children's homes registered in the data base of Regional of Ivanovskaya oblast and comparative characteristics of their somatic health were analyzed. It is established that among children denied to be accepted by the families prevailed ill-health children and number of diseases per one child was higher. The prospective parents deny not accepting children in the family both suffering from severe pathology and diseases which can be easily corrected.

[Laboratory diagnosis of infected pancreonecrosis].

The results of treatment and examination were analyzed in 175 patients admitted to a clinic for sterile pancreonecrosis (PN). The significance of routinely available (clinical, biochemical, and microbiological) laboratory tests in the diagnosis of purulent complications was analyzed in patients with varying severity of pancreatic autolysis. Complex laboratory monitoring was found to be of importance in predicting and detecting infected PN with obligatory fine-needle punctures under ultrasound guidance and further microscopic studies of puncture specimens.

[Microbial communities of ancient seeds derived from permanently frozen Pleistocene deposits].

Microbial communities from the surface of ancient seeds of higher plants and embedding frozen material dated to the late Pleistocene (formed about 30 thousand years ago) were studied by various methods: scanning electron microscopy, epifluorescence microscopy, and inoculation of nutrient media, followed by identification of isolated cultures. Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms were found on the surface of ancient seeds. The total quantity of bacterial cells determined by direct counting and dilution plating (CFU) for the samples of ancient seeds exceeded the value in the embedding frozen material by one to two orders of magnitude. This pattern was not maintained for mycelial fungi; their quantity in the embedding material was also rather high. A significant difference was revealed between the microbial communities of ancient seeds and embedding frozen material. These findings suggest that ancient plant seeds are a particular ecological niche for microorganisms existing in permafrost and require individual detailed study.

[The social profile of women, who abandoned the infant in the maternity hospital].

The social profile of mothers of social orphans based on the results of questioning the women who abandoned the infant in the maternity hospital is exposed. The social factors are determined to allot the risk group of women refused to bring up their children already before their birth. It is established that a significant part of women needs the social, financial and psychological support in bringing up their children. The timely care provision can not only to change the mother's decision to refuse bringing up her child but to promote the prevention of social orphanage.

[On the issue of prevention of the social orphanage].

The issue of social orphanage is discussed. The risk factors are picked up to develop the tables forecasting the risk of non-returning of the children temporarily placed into children's home into one's biological family. It is proved that the timely carrying out of comprehensive actions related to the children's coming back to their family will permit to impact significantly the decrease of the number of social orphans.

[The complex neurochemical assessment of brain proteins in mentally healthy subjects and schizophrenic patients].

Relative amounts of the glutamate metabolizing enzymes - glutamine synthetase, glutamine synthetase-like protein, three isoenzymes of glutamate dehydrogenase as well as creatine phosphokinase (a main astroglial energy metabolism enzyme) and major proteins of astro- and oligodendroglia - a glial fibrillary acidic protein and a myelin basic protein were determined in postmortem brain extracts from three areas - the prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus and cerebellum - from mentally healthy subjects (n=21) and patients with chronic schizophrenia (n=23). To single out "metabolic types" the data obtained have been subjected to cluster analysis. It has been demonstrated for the first time that the cluster analysis of the biological parameters (enzymes and proteins) with correction for age, gender, postmortem interval and presence/absence of diagnosis, enables to distinguish "mentally healthy" cases and "schizophrenic patients" with a high degree of significance (mean mixing error <20%, small er, Cyrillic>>0,00004). Thus, we suppose that mentally healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia are objectively divided into different "metabolic types".

[The somatic health of children's home inmates with the perinatal affections of central nervous system].

The characteristics of somatic health of children's home inmates with the perinatal affections of central nervous system of slight and average severity are analyzed. It is established that these children are characterized by more frequent morbidity and formation of chronic pathology in earlier periods as compared with their coevals from families. They have significantly higher rate of background pathology and more numbers of health disorders falling to 1 child. This testifies to significant impact on the health state of early age children of both perinatal affections of central nervous system and educational conditions.

[Glutamate dysmetabolism in patients with schizophrenia].

The glutamate-ergic hypothesis of schizophrenia pathogenesis has been substantially expanded due to recent data on changes in glutamate metabolizing enzymes (GME) in the brain of patients with schizophrenia. Significant changes in the amounts of glutamate synthetase (GS), glutamate synthetase-like protein (GSLP), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) have been found. Alterations in the cerebral metabolism of glutamate (together with disturbances in glutamate receptors and transporters) apparently play an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Glutamate dysmetabolism has been shown to be of systemic nature, i.e. the amounts of GME (GDH and GSLP) are elevated in platelets of patients with chronic schizophrenia, and these enzymes may be vital markers of glutamate system status. The amounts of GDH and GSLP were monitored in platelets of chronic patients during treatment with olanzapine, an atypical neuroleptic modulating glutamate concentration in the brain and blood of patients. GSLP amount can serve as a predictor of the duration of treatment to achieve a positive outcome. Further studies of GME in blood may result in elaboration of prognostically valuable biological tests not only for schizophrenia treatments, but also for other mental and nervous system diseases in which the glutamate system is substantially implicated.

[The system of forecasting the health disorders among the adolescents at the age of 15-17 years].

The issues of forecasting of health disorders among adolescents at the age of 15-17 years are discussed. The analysis and assessment of the factors of biological and social anamnesis of the adolescents is carried out. The psychological and functional risk factors are revealed. The tables to make up the forecasting of the development of health disorders among adolescents are developed. It is proved that the forecasting of health disorders among adolescents is to be implemented considering the successfulness of their education.

[Modern aspects of health of children brought up at children's homes]. / Sovremennye aspekty formirovaniia zdorov'ia detei, vospityvaiushchikhsia v domakh rebenka.

The health condition of small-age children brought up at children's homes of Ivanovo Region was in the focus of the case study. An overwhelming majority of the examinees had abnormalities in the physical and nervous-psychic development; 4.5 deviations were on the average diagnosed in one child. The poor health indices of inmates in children's homes necessitate better medical care for the discussed category of children. There is also a need in state contribution to it. Main trends are defined for the children's homes in optimizing the health and physical development of their inmates.

[Comparative study of the elemental composition of vegetative and dormant microbial cells]. / Sravnitel'noe izuchenie élementnogo sostava vegetativnykh i pokoiashchikhsia kletok mikroorganizmov.

X-ray microanalysis showed that vegetative cells, viable resting forms, and nonviable forms (micromummies) of the bacteria Bacillus cereus and Micrococcus luteus and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae differ in the contents of bioelements S, P, Ca, and K and the Ca/K and P/S ratios. Viable resting forms (cystlike refractory cells and bacillar endospores) had more calcium and less phosphorus and potassium than vegetative cells, the difference being higher for bacilli than for micrococci and yeasts. The distinctive feature of all viable resting microbial forms was their low P/S ratios and high Ca/K ratios. The differences revealed in the cellular content and ratios of bioelements probably reflect changes in ionic homeostasis accompanying the transition of vegetative microbial cells to the dormant state. Relevant potassium parameters indicate that the membranes of viable resting forms retain their barrier function. At the same time, the nonviable forms, even morphologically intact, of B. cereus and S. cerevisiae exhibited an anomalously low content of potassium, while those of M. luteus had an anomalously high content of this element. This suggests that the cellular membranes of micromummies lose their barrier function, which results in a free diffusion of potassium ions across the membranes. The possibility of using the elemental composition parameters for quick analysis of the physiological state of microorganisms in natural environments is discussed.

[Detection of microorganisms in the environment and the preliminary appraisal of their physiological state by X-ray microanalysis]. / Primenenie metoda rentgenovskogo mikroanaliza dlia vyiavleniia i predvaritel'noi otsenki fiziologischeskogo sostoiania mikroorganizmov v ob'ektakh okruzhaiushchei sredy.

The paper deals with the X-ray microanalysis of the elemental composition of bacteriomorphic particles in 170,000-year old Antarctic permafrost sediments and in indoor dust. A comparative analysis of the phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, and potassium contents and the Ca/K and P/S ratios in these particles and in reference microbial cells occurring in different physiological states showed that the absence of P and/or S peaks in the X-ray spectrum of an object may indicate that it is abiotic. Resting microbial forms can be revealed on the basis of the following characteristic features: an increased content of Ca, a high Ca/K ratio, and a low P/S ratio. Model experiments with nonviable bacterial and yeast micromummies with alterations in the structural and barrier functions of the cytoplasmic membrane showed that micromummies can be recognized by a super-high content of a marker element (e.g., P, K, or Si), accumulated due to facilitated diffusion along the deliberately created concentration gradient. Such an analysis of the permafrost sediment and dust made it possible to suggest the presence of mummified cells in these objects. The possibility of using X-ray microanalysis for the detection of microbial cells in natural habitats in order to enhance the efficiency of ecological monitoring of the environment is discussed.

[Impaired cerebral glutamate metabolism in mental diseases (Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia]. / Narushenie metabolizma glutamata v mozge pri psikhicheskoi patologii (bolezn' Al'tsgeimera, shizofreniia).

There is strong evidence for the involvement of the neurotransmitter glutamate system in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. In these mental diseases, the brain shows changes in the levels of glutamate and in the function and expression of its transporters and receptors. Since the levels of glutamate are largely determined by the rate of its metabolism, the changes of its concentrations may be associated with dysfunctions of appropriate enzymes. Actually, disturbances of glutamate metabolic enzymes, such as glutaminase, glutamate decarboxylase, and glutamine synthetase were detected in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The alterations in the expression of glutamine synthetase, glutamine synthetase-like protein, and three isoenzymes of glutamate dehydrogenase in the frontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia suggest that there are impaired glutamate metabolism in this mental disease and Alzheimer's disease.

[Micromycetes and actinobacteria under conditions of many years of natural cryopreservation]. / Mikromitsety i aktinobakterii v usloviiakh mnogoletnei estestvennoi kriokonservatsii.

Almost all of the investigated samples of the Arctic and Antarctic permafrost sediments of different genesis with ages from 5-10 thousand to 2-3 million years were found to contain viable micromycete and bacterial cells. The maximum amounts of viable cells of fungi (up to 10(4) CFU/g air-dried sample) and bacteria (up to 10(7)-10(9) CFU/g air-dried sample) were present in fine peaty sediment samples taken from different depths. The identified micromycetes belonged to more than 20 genera of the divisions Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, and Zygomycota, and some represented mitosporic fungi. Thawing the samples at 35 and 52 degrees C allowed the number of detected fungal genera to be increased by more than 30%. Aerobic heterotrophic prokaryotes were dominated by coryneform, nocardioform, and spore-forming microorganisms of the order Actinomycetales. Analysis of the isolated fungi and actinomycetes showed that most of them originated from the microbial communities of ancient terrestrial biocenoses.

[Use of laser flow-type fluorescence aerosol particle counter to evaluate the concentration of microbes in the surface air under high dust content]. / Primenenie lazernogo protochno-fliuorestsentnogo schetchika chastits aérozolei dlia otsenki schetnoi i massovoi kontsentratsii mikrorganizmov v prizemnom sloe vozdukha v usloviiakh vysokoi zapylennosti.

The paper deals with the use of a laser flow-type fluorescence aerosol particle counter to evaluate the concentrations of microbes in the surface air under high dust content. Various circuits of flow-type optic aerosol recorders are analyzed. Flow spectral luminescence analysis of some particles flow while exciting the fourth harmonics of a pulse laser on yttrium-aluminium garnet with neodymium by ultraviolet radiation is shown to be the most optimum method for indication of individual aerosol particles. Experiments were conducted on the authors' model of a pilot plant based on this method. The model of a laser flow-type optic analyzer was developed for experimental studies that give a clear display of biological aerosols in complex aerosols. The laser flow-type analyzer-based unit developed may provide a fluorescence signal of aerosol particles in the flow of a sample and that light diffusion signal from them at an exciting light wavelength of 266 nm. Experiments with BVC aerosols and soil dust particles were conducted in different regions of Russia. They showed it possible to detect and to rapidly calculate soil microorganisms by laser flow-type fluorescence assay of individual particles when excited by ultraviolet radiation.

[Extracellular alkaline ribonucleases produced by Bacilli strains from the permafrost of the Kolyma lowland]. / Vnekletochnye shchelochnye ribonukleazy batsill vechnomerzlykh gruntov kolymskoi nizmennosti.

Aerobic spore-forming bacteria were isolated from the permafrost of the Kolyma lowland. Two strains of bacilli are shown to produce a relatively large amount of extracellular low-molecular weight alkaline RNases. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of the RNases secreted by these strains are similar. This suggests that the protein sequences of the RNases of Bacillus species have been conserved in the course of evolution.