[Role of staphylococcus aureus hemolytic toxin-alpha in pathogenesis of infectious endocarditis: studies in vitro]. / Rol' alpha-gemoliziruiushchego toksina staphylococcus aureus v patogeneze infektsionnogo éndokardita (issledovanie in vitro).

AIM: To study effects of alpha-toxin (AT) Staphylococcus aureus on human platelets and endothelial cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Concentrations of intracellular calcium in human platelets and endothelial cells were estimated by fluorescence, phosphoinositide metabolism in the endothelial cells was studied using 3H-myoinositole. RESULTS: AT induced a dose-dependent increase of intracellular calcium in blood and vascular cells, stimulates dose-dependent formation of inositol phosphates in endothelial cells. CONCLUSION: AT action on the platelets and endothelial cells results in a significant receptor-independent rise in concentration of intracellular calcium, activation of phosphoinositide metabolism, death of cells. These data support the hypothesis that the platelet and endothelial cell damage is mostly due to the passive Ca2+ influxvia pores formed by AT in cellular membrane.

[Efficacy of moxonidine, an imidazoline receptor agonist, in patients with essential hypertension]. / Opyt primeneniia agonista imidazolinovykh retseptorov moksonidina u bol'nykh gipertonicheskoi bolezn'iu (sobstvennoe nabliudenie).

AIM: Study of zint (moxonidine), a hypotensive drug with the central mechanism of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The hemodynamics and platelet functional activity were assessed in 30 patients with essential hypertension treated by zint in a daily dose of 0.4 mg, taken in the morning, for 3 months. RESULTS: By the end of treatment the systolic arterial pressure decreased by 23 +/- 4 mm Hg, diastolic by 15 +/- mm Hg, mean pressure by 17 +/- 2 mm Hg, and heart rate by 5 +/- 4 str/min. Echography showed that myocardial hypertrophy decreased but negligibly. An evident decrease of ADP-induced platelet aggregation was observed. CONCLUSION: Zint therapy may be a most physiological method of arterial hypertension control.

[The treatment of hypertension patients with Estulic]. / Lechenie bol'nykh gipertonicheskoo bolezn'iu éstulikom.

Estulic, a hypotensive drug of a central mechanism of action, has been tried for effect on hemodynamics, coronary circulation and platelet functional activity in 30 patients with essential hypertension. The findings at tonometry, echoCG, treadmill exercise, platelet aggregation were indicative of a fall in both diastolic and systolic pressure associated with decreased platelet aggregation.

[The functional characteristics of the thrombocytes in patients with hypertension and "silent" myocardial ischemia]. / Funktsional'nye kharakteristiki trombotsitov u bol'nykh gipertonicheskoi bolezn'iu i s "nemoi" ishemiei miokarda.

Functional platelet characteristics were studied in hypertensive subjects having episodes of silent myocardial ischemia. A total of 36 patients with essential hypertension (EH) stage II (WHO criteria, 1979) underwent echocardiography and 24-h ECG monitoring. Platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate was assessed by laser aggregation analyzer. It is demonstrated that platelet aggregation in EH patients with silent ischemia was increased 5-fold as compared to healthy subjects and 2-fold versus EH patients without ischemia. No significant differences existed between the two groups by such parameters as systolic or diastolic pressure and left ventricular myocardial mass. An involvement of elevated platelet aggregation can be suggested in the genesis of coronary insufficiency in EH associated with episodes of silent myocardial ischemia.

[A method for determining individual nifedipine sensitivity in treating hypertension patients]. / Metod opredeleniia individual'noi chuvstvitel'nosti k nifedipinu pri lechenii bol'nykh gipertonicheskoi bolezn'iu.

Nifedipine antihypertensive effect was evaluated in 20 patients with essential hypertension. It was found to depend on pretreatment values of ADP-induced platelet aggregation response. The latter was studied with a new method of laser measurements of the aggregate radius sizes.

[Silent myocardial ischemia in patients with essential hypertension]. / "Nemaia" ishemiia u bol'nykh gipertonicheskoi bolezn'iu.

Holter monitoring was performed in 61 patients with essential hypertension. Painless, silent ST segment depression was found in 34 patients. Exercise myocardial scintigraphy indicated the occurrence of transient perfusion defects without abnormal clearance (Group 1) and those with abnormal clearance (Group 2). The patients from Group 1 showed more severe myocardial hypertrophy, higher platelet aggregation, coronary atherosclerosis was detected in 1 case. The patients from Group 2 exhibited less myocardial hypertrophy, lower platelet aggregation. Coronary atherosclerosis was revealed in 4 cases. The patients from the two groups had elevated plasma norepinephrine levels at the onset of silent myocardial ischemia.

[ADP-induced thrombocyte aggregation in hypertension patients with different degrees of left ventricular hypertrophy]. / Indutsirovannaia ADF-agregatsiia trombotsitov u bol'nykh gipertonicheskoi bolezn'iu s razlichnoi stepen'iu gipertrofii miokarda levogo zheludochka.

Adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-induced platelet aggregation was studied in 59 patients suffering from essential hypertension, stages I and II (WHO, 1979) with different degree of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) by a new optical method. Using a laser aggregation analyzer the mean aggregate radius was measured in relative units. The left ventricular myocardial mass was estimated by echocardiography. Using laser aggregatograms the significant differences in aggregation responses were revealed with 0.5 microM ADP. In a group of patients without LVH, the aggregation response to 0.5 microM ADP did not differ from that in a group of healthy volunteers. With the growth of LVH from moderate to severe the response increased in succession. The same differences which were not, however, significant were observed with higher ADP concentrations. It was also found that the new method of laser aggregometry is more sensitive than the classic Born method.