[Structural heterogeneity of epileptic foci in local drug-resistant epilepsy]. / Strukturnaya geterogennost' epilepticheskikh ochagov pri lokal'noi farmakorezistentnoi epilepsii.

BACKGROUND: To study etiopathogenesis is one of the most important tasks of modern neurology. Various types of structural changes occur in drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE); however, they are described as distinct phenomena. OBJECTIVE: To provide a comprehensive characterization of structural changes in the cortex and adjacent white matter in the electrophysiological activity zone (in the epileptic focus) in patients undergoing surgery for DRE. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Biopsy material of fragments of the temporal lobe and hippocampus from 16 patients aged 21 to 54 years (mean age, 25 years) with DRE were intraoperatively obtained at the Prof. A.L. Polenov Russian Research Institute of Neurosurgery. The investigators studied histological sections stained with H&E, toluidine blue according to the Nissl method and the Spielmeyer method, as well as the results of immunohistochemical reactions with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), vimentin, and neurofilaments (NF) (Dako antibodies, Denmark). RESULTS: Histological examination revealed a set of heterogeneous changes, reflecting the complex pathogenetic interactions that developed during the formation of an epileptic focus. Structural brain damage involved both gray and white matter. Focal cortical dysplasia was diagnosed in 14 (87.5%) cases; white matter neuronal heterotopia in 100%; neuronal reactive and destructive changes in 100%; epileptic leukoencephalopathy (vascular demyelination, microcysts, sclerosis and dystonia, gliosis) in 100%, cortical atrophy in 12.5%, and hippocampal sclerosis in 20% (in 2 out of the 10 examinees). CONCLUSION: The morphopathological heterogeneity in the structure of epileptic foci reflects the complexity of etiopathogenetic interactions, the polymorphism of epileptic manifestations, and the individual nature of formation of the epileptic system, which requires an integral approach to understanding the pathogenesis and morphogenesis of formation of the epileptic system and provides a direction for a personalized approach to epilepsy treatment.

[Tanatogenetic role of type 2 diabetes in neurosurgical patients]. / Tanatogeneticheskaia rol' sakharnogo diabeta 2-go tipa u neirokhirurgicheskikh bol'nykh.

The idea of diabetes in the aspects of its impact on the course of different diseases and tanatogenesis remains little investigated. OBJECTIVE: To define the tanatogenetic significance of 2 type diabetes in neurosurgical patients. SUBJECT AND METHODS: Forty-three patients aged 22-75 years, who had died after neurosurgery, were examined. Case histories and the time course of changes in blood glucose levels were analyzed. The manifestations of macroangiopathy were taken into account at autopsy; those of microangiopathy were considered at microscopy of the internal organs and tissues; Van Gieson and periodic acid-Schiff staining was additionally applied. The expression of insulin, glucagon, synaptophysin, S100 proteins, and neurofilament protein was found in the pancreas. The number and volume of islets and an insulin-to-glucagon ratio were morphometrically estimated. RESULTS: Type 2 diabetes mellitus was identified in 28 (65.1%) patients: 11 (25.6%), 8 (18.6%), and 9 (20.9%) with clinically obvious, subtle, and latent types, respectively; while it was as a background underlying disease in 3 (7.0%) patients. Among the immediate causes of death, there was a preponderance of local angiogenic complications (hemorrhages, infarctions, swelling, and displacement of the brain) (64%). Indurative pancreatitis was not inferior to cardiovascular diseases among complications and concomitant diseases and was detected in most diabetic patients (n=24, or 85.7%) and in 6 (a quarter) patients with acute pancreatic necrosis, which was the immediate cause of death in 2 cases. In the places of paravasal sclerosis, there was a reduction in the terminals of nerve fibers as a manifestation of diabetic neuropathy. CONCLUSION: Type 2 diabetes mellitus was much more frequently encountered in the most critically ill and dead neurosurgical patients than in the general population and was embodied in the pattern of immediate causes of death. Diabetic neuropathy with a reduction in the terminals of nerve fibers can serve as a substantial basis not only for vascular, but also for ductal dystonia and dyskinesia, which can become an important factor in the pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis in patients with diabetes mellitus.