[The composition of the cerebrospinal fluid in children with tuberculous meningitis with different patterns of the mycobacterial population]. / Sostav spinnomozgovoi zhidkosti detei, bol'nykh tuberkuleznym meningitom, pri razlichnom kharaktere mikobakterial'noi populiatsii.

Composition of the liquor with regard of mycobacterial population was investigated in 113 children with tuberculosis meningitis. The changes in the liquor were most pronounced in bacterial variant of the causative agent and were minimal in the absence of both bacterial and L-forms of M. tuberculosis. This, however, does not mean that tuberculosis etiology of meningitis is ruled out.

[Clinical symptoms and course of tuberculous meningitis in children: isolation of L-forms from the cerebrospinal fluid]. / Klinicheskaia simptomatika i techenie tuberkuleznogo meningita u detei pri vydelenii iz spinnomozgovoi zhidkosti L-form vozbuditelia.

The paper deals with the clinical symptoms and course of childhood tuberculous meningitis which were associated with M. tuberculosis form detected in the cerebrospinal fluid. It was found that with the bacterial forms of the agent in the liquor, the disease is characterized by an acute onset and rapid development of inflammatory changes. The timely chemotherapy of this group of the patients can cause a more rapid and marked effect. The clinical symptoms of tuberculous meningitis accompanied by the isolation of M. tuberculosis L forms only from the cerebrospinal fluid are characterized by an insidious onset and slow accumulation of pathologic changes. Basal and cerebrospinal forms of the disease are relatively frequent in these patients and their antituberculosis chemotherapy happens to be less effective.

[Characteristics of the mycobacteria in children with tuberculous meningitis]. / Kharakteristika mikobakterii pri tuberkuleznom meningite u detei.

The article deals with the characterization of Myco. population and its qualitative changes in the course of treatment of 128 children with tuberculous meningitis. An extensive microbiological examination of the cerebrospinal fluid of all the patients was undertaken to detect the presence of bacterial and L-forms of M. tuberculosis. A target-oriented search for the altered forms (L-forms) of M. tuberculosis provided an increase of the proportion of smear-positive cases of tuberculous meningitis of specific etiology. During chemotherapy a quick disappearance of the bacterial forms and more persistent presence of the altered forms of the agent in the cerebrospinal fluid are observed. The latter might be important from the clinical point of view, thus indicating the possibility of a chronic development and the danger of relapses.