[Risk factors for bacterial vaginosis - a 3-year study in four medical centers].

BACKGROUND: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common infection of the lower genital tract among women of reproductive age. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of BV and the important etiological agent Gardnerella vaginalis in Bulgarian patients of different age groups, as well as, the risk factors forBV METHODS: One thousand five hundred and twenty-three (1523) women aged 16 to 45 years without previous antimicrobial therapy were included in this study. The methods used were: scoring of Gram staining of vaginal smear and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for G. vaginalis. RESULTS: Positive for BV according to the microscopic examination criteria were 47.80% from the 1523 tested women. In 88.87% from the positive samples G. vaginalis was detected using PCR, thus demonstrating high comparability of the both methods and the leading role of G. vaginalis. The most affected with BV is the age group of 21-25 years (33.21% of all subjects with BV). The most important detected risk factors were: smoking (more than 55% with BV), single marital status (only 15% with BV are married), more than I sexual partner (more than 36% had changed the sexual partner), early onset of sexual activity (75% of B V asocciated subjects started their sexual activity by the age 15-18 years). CONCLUSIONS: The established early age for aquiring BV among Bulgarian women is very important and alarming sign. This is the first study on the etiological role of G. vaginalis and on the risk factors for BV in Bulgaria.

[Effect of a protein hydrolysate on enzymatic activity in the aorta wall in experimental atherosclerosis]. / Vliianine na beltûchen khidrolizat vürkhu aktvnostta na niakoi enzimi v stenata na aortata pri eksperimentalna ateroskleroza.

Kirk, Antonini, Weber and others have found that the activity of the specific phosphomonoesterase 5-nucleotidase is lowered. In the present study, carried out on male guinea pigs and fed with cholesterol for a period of 150 days, the authors discovered analogous change in 5-nucleotidase activity of the aortic wall. Administration of protein hydrolysate induced a statistically significant increase of the enzymic activity in the aorta of animals, fed with cholesterol. The combined treatment with protein hydrolysate and vitamins caused even more significant activation of the enzyme. The established changes in the activity of 5-nucleotidase were similar to the changes in the activity of adenylpyrophosphatase of animals under the same experimental conditions.

Changes of adenosine triphosphatase activity in the testes of albino rats under combined influence of low-frequency vibration and intoxication with the herbicide "Ramrod".

The authors follow up the changes of the ATP-ase activity in the testes of albino rats under the influence of Ramrod and low-frequency vibrations, applied separately or in combination. They find that under the influence of a 30-days vibration period upon the gonads of the test animals, there appear changes in the energetic metabolism of a utilizing type, which manifest themselves with an increase of the enzyme activity. The intoxication with Ramrod during four months decreases that activity, whereas through prolongation of the intoxicating period the effect is reverse. The combination of both factors induces a synergetic action which is followed by a considerable increase of the ATP-ase activity.