CORRELATES OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS CHARACTERISTICS IN MILITARY PERSONNEL.

Atopic dermatitis, despite its relatively wide distribution and low severity, was statistically often a disqualification condition for military service. The aim of our study is to determine correlations between characteristics of atopic dermatitis in military personnel. 144 people with atopic dermatitis were under our observation, 78 of them military personnel, 26 military family members and 40 civilians, 62 men and 82 women. We studied the following characteristics: gender, age, marital status, education, social status, place of service location, genetic anamnesis, recurrence during the year, laboratory indicators of attached infections, focus of localization, other skin diseases, comorbidities, compliance with hygienic conditions, wearing a military uniform, the frequency of changing bed linen. 3-5 times recurrence a year shows a reliable positive correlation with: wearing a uniform for 12-24 hours, SSA/eosinophilia, mycosis, pathology of the respiratory system, military personnel. Staphylococcus aureus is associated with other infections - St. hominis, fungus, also shows a reliable positive correlation: localization on the face and torso, wearing the uniform for 1 week and more. Staphylococcus hominis shows a reliable positive correlation: localization - torso, wearing uniform for 1 week or more,y. Shows a reliable positive correlation with fungus: localization scalp, neck, lower limb, military serviceman; reliable positive correlation with SSA/eosinophilia: increased IgE, localization on the upper limbs, mycosis, change of bed linen - once every 2 weeks; IgE - localization of dermatosis on the upper limbs and torso area, pathology of the digestive system, changing bed linen once every 2 weeks, military serviceman. It shows a reliable positive correlation with helminthiasis: Localization on the genitals, mycosis, pathology of the digestive system, change of bed linen once a month. Development and recurrence of atopic dermatitis in military personnel correlates with living conditions and infections. Determining the differences between civilian and military patient populations will allow clinicians to better investigate the risk factors that predispose to the manifestation of dermatitis in the military.

Selective lesion of GABA-ergic neurons in the medial septum by GAT1-saporin impairs spatial learning in a water-maze.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the medial septal (MS) GABAergic cells in hippocampal dependent spatial learning using the immunotoxin GAT1-SAP to produce selective lesions of GABAergic MS neurons. In current study rats were trained in a visible platform version of the Morris water maze in which either a place or cue strategy could be used to escape successfully. Immunohistochemical studies showed that intraseptal injection of GAT1-SAP extensively damaged GABAergic MS neurons and spared most cholinergic neurons. The rats' responses on the competition test were classified as either cue or place, based on the swim path for those trials. An overview of the data from both competition trials for each group show that the control rats in 14 trials out of 16 competition test trial used place strategy, while MS-lesioned ones used this strategy in 2 trials only. Decreased place-bias in MS-lesioned rats compared to the control rats was significant (P<0.01). The data obtained in the control and GAT1-SAP lesioned animals in the present study, demonstrate that lesioned rats were impaired in hidden platform trials during training, and displayed a pronounced cue-bias in competition tests. Therefore, above data suggest involvement of the MS GABAergic neurons in organization of the spatial map-driven behavior and this structure, along with the hippocampus, should be viewed as a constituent of the functional system responsible for the cognitive types of spatial memory.

Exploratory behavior and recognition memory in medial septal electrolytic, neuro- and immunotoxic lesioned rats.

In the present study, the effect of the medial septal (MS) lesions on exploratory activity in the open field and the spatial and object recognition memory has been investigated. This experiment compares three types of MS lesions: electrolytic lesions that destroy cells and fibers of passage, neurotoxic - ibotenic acid lesions that spare fibers of passage but predominantly affect the septal noncholinergic neurons, and immunotoxin - 192 IgG-saporin infusions that only eliminate cholinergic neurons. The main results are: the MS electrolytic lesioned rats were impaired in habituating to the environment in the repeated spatial environment, but rats with immuno- or neurotoxic lesions of the MS did not differ from control ones; the MS electrolytic and ibotenic acid lesioned rats showed an increase in their exploratory activity to the objects and were impaired in habituating to the objects in the repeated spatial environment; rats with immunolesions of the MS did not differ from control rats; electrolytic lesions of the MS disrupt spatial recognition memory; rats with immuno- or neurotoxic lesions of the MS were normal in detecting spatial novelty; all of the MS-lesioned and control rats clearly reacted to the object novelty by exploring the new object more than familiar ones. Results observed across lesion techniques indicate that: (i) the deficits after nonselective damage of MS are limited to a subset of cognitive processes dependent on the hippocampus, (ii) MS is substantial for spatial, but not for object recognition memory - the object recognition memory can be supported outside the septohippocampal system; (iii) the selective loss of septohippocampal cholinergic or noncholinergic projections does not disrupt the function of the hippocampus to a sufficient extent to impair spatial recognition memory; (iv) there is dissociation between the two major components (cholinergic and noncholinergic) of the septohippocampal pathway in exploratory behavior assessed in the open field - the memory exhibited by decrements in exploration of repeated object presentations is affected by either electrolytic or ibotenic lesions, but not saporin.

Effects of the uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist memantine on spatial memory in medial septal lesioned rats.

These experiments examined the effects of acute administration of memantine (2.5 or 5 mg/kg) or saline on spatial memory and learning process within single sessions, on place versions of food-rewarded maze in MS electrolytic lesioned and sham-lesioned rats. Sham-lesioned rats trained in the place task learned more rapidly than did MS electrolytic lesioned rats. This fact certifies for obvious deficit of the place learning performance strategy in the MS-lesioned rats. The results indicate that the drug-treated (5 mg/kg memantine) sham-lesioned rats exhibited significantly impaired performance relative to the saline controls in terms of trials-to-criterion (P<0.05). 2.5 mg/kg memantine administered 30 min before behavioral testing, did not affect performance in place learning task. 2.5 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg memantine administered before behavioral testing, did not improve performance in place learning task in MS electrolytic lesioned rats. Our experimental data support the interpretation that memantine does not produce intolerable side effects in human AD patients because it is being used at doses that are below the threshold for interacting with NMDA receptors.

Effects of the uncompetitive nmda receptor antagonist memantine on recognition memory in rats.

Memantine is an NMDA receptor antagonist that has been recently approved in EU for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. The previous studies have not allowed for the evaluation of the possible effects of this drug at therapeutic doses on different forms of memory. To address this question, we administered memantine to adult rats, using doses 2.5 or 5 mg/kg and evaluated the effects of these doses on open field activity and recognition memory. Memantine or saline was administered daily by intraperitoneal injection beginning on the day of behavioral testing and continuing 5 days. The main results of experiments are as follows: the memantine treatment produced a dose-related suppression of total ambulations. There was no significant impairment in detecting spatial and object novelty in the 2.5 mg/kg memantine treated rats. However, the 5 mg/kg intraperitoneal dose of memantine disrupted both recognition memory and locomotor behaviors. Our evaluation of memantine reveals that at doses lower than are required for neuroprotection disrupt memory. This raises the possibility that the beneficial effects seen in AD patients may be attributable to the interaction of memantine with other transmitter systems.

Effects of excitotoxic lesions of the CA1 region of the hippocampus on acquisition of a place and cue water maze task.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of excitotoxic lesions of the dorsal CA1 region of the hippocampus on acquisition of a place and cue water maze task. The ibotenic acid injections into CA1 produced removal of the pyramidal cells in CA1, while saving most of the pyramidal cells in CA3 and granule cells in DG intact. In conditions of visible platform training trials, differences in the platform reaching latency between the animals of different groups, were not found. When testing was performed in conditions of submerged platform, the latency of the platform finding was significantly increased (P<0.05). This fact certifies for deficit of the place learning strategy in the CA1-lesioned rats. Decreased place-bias in CA1-lesioned rats in hidden platform training trials compared to the sham-operated rats was significant, but in testing trials when required to choose between the spatial location they had learned and the visible platform in a new location majority of them swam first to the old spatial location. Decreased place-bias in CA1-lesioned rats compared to the sham-operated rats was not significant. We suggest that spatial learning deficits observed after dorsal hippocampal lesions cannot be accounted solely to the loss of dorsal hippocampal CA1 region cells.

Object exploration and reactions to spatial and nonspatial changes in dentate gyrus lesioned rats.

In order to investigate the possible involvement the DG in spatial and object recognition memory, we have opted for a non-associative task where no explicit reward was present. Colchicine was used for bilateral DG lesions for its well-known specificity for DG lesion. Colchicine-induced lesions produce severe damage in the granule cells of DG, while minimally affecting pyramidal cells in CA1 and CA3. The main results are as follows: The overall habituation to the familiar environment in DG lesioned rats was decreased than in sham operated rats. There was no significant impairment in detecting spatial novelty. Lesions of the DG did not affect the detection of a novel object placed in a familiar location. Considering both the impaired habituation and the generally intact detection of spatial changes, we suggest that exploratory activity in relation to the entire environment and to the particular objects is thought to be subserved by diverse nervous substrate, and testing in the given conditions allows for their differential estimation.

Effects of the selective lesions of cholinergic septohippocampal neurons on different forms of memory and learning process.

The aim of this study was to investigate the modulation of the hippocampal function by the cholinergic cells of the septum and the role of the septo-hippocampal cholinergic system in learning and memory. Immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin was used to produce selective lesions of cholinergic septohippocampal neurons. Hippocampal AChE was used as a quantitative measure of lesion extent. A total of 16 male outbred albino rats were used in the present study to investigate the ability of sham-operated and medial septal (MS) immunotoxin lesioned rats to learn the location of a visible, as well as submerged platform in a water maze. The rats' responses on the competition test were classified as either cue or place, based on the swim path for those trials. Examination of the AChE stained sections showed that after injections of 192 IgG saporin into the MS, animals exhibited significantly less AChE staining in hippocampus as compared to sections obtained from sham-operated animals. Differences in the platform reaching latency between the animals of different groups for the training trials were not found. Data from both competition trials for each group show that the sham-operated rats in 13 trials out of 16 competition test trial used place strategy and MS-lesioned ones used this strategy in 11 trials. Decreased place-bias in MS-lesioned rats compared to the sham-operated rats was not significant. These findings suggest that the septo-hippocampal cholinergic system is not essential for all types of hippocampal-dependent memory and deficits observed after septal electrolytic lesions cannot be accounted solely to the loss of hippocampal ACh.

[Formation of spatial short-term memory in 18-54-month old children]. / Formirovanie mekhanizmov prostranstvennoi kratkosrochnoi pamiati u detei v vozraste 18-54 mesiatsev.

The development of the spatial short-term memory (SSTM) in children aged 18-54-months was assessed by performance of the inverted delayed-response task (IDR). A child perceived the localization of a target object in one of the two containers (left or right) situated on a table in front of the child. The distance between the containers was 30 cm. Then the child was escorted to the opposite side of the table so that the target object that was earlier in the left container seemed to be in the right one. After the rotation, in 74% of cases children at the age of 18-24-months failed to localize the object correctly despite the presence of various reference objects in the room. Percent of correct responses increased with age. Children aged 24-54-months performed the IDR better in the presence of reference objects than in their absence. The preschool children at the age of 48-54-months correctly localized the object in 70% of cases even in the absence of the experimental reference objects. The results of this experiment demonstrate the stages of the SSTM development in children.