[Assessment of Tc-99m MIBI uptake mechanism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and normal cells (fibroblasts and myocytes) cultures]. / Studiul mecanismului de captare a Tc-99m MIBI pe culturi de Mycobacterium tuberculosis si de celule normale (fibroblaste si miocite).

One of the factors which can explain the scintigraphic Tc-99m MIBI positives images in pulmonary tuberculosis could be the Mycobacterium tuberculosis radiotracer uptake; this can be investigated in vitro, on cell culture, in comparison with normal cell types known to have high (myocites) or low (fibroblasts) uptake. Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures were realised on Löwenstein Jensen medium, by standard methodology. Myocites and fibroblasts cultures were realized from neonatal rat hearts. Monolayer cells culture were incubated with a same 1.85 kBq/?l Tc-99m MIBI concentration, at 37 degrees C for 15, 60 and 90 minutes. The kinetic was stopped by rapidly washing the cells, with a 4 degrees C physiological saline solution and than scrapped cells were counted for the uptaken radioactivity. The results show that radiotracer cellular uptake (reported at the protein concentration) in myocites was maximum at 60 minutes. Cellular uptake in fibroblasts was very low at all the intervals. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis a peak was observed after 15 minutes, the uptake being similar to that of 60 minutes incubated myocites, considered 100%. After 90 minutes the Mycobacterium tuberculosis uptake was smaller than the 15 minutes value (65.82%). In conclusion, Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro uptake results could explain the more positives scintigraphic images in BK positive patients obtain at 15 minutes, in comparison with the delayed images.

[The importance of the use of selenium in the role of an antioxidant in preventing cardiovascular diseases]. / Importanta utilizarii seleniului cu rol antioxidant în preventia bolilor cardiovasculare.

The evaluation of the results of the oxygen free radicals (RLO2) formation is a current subject in biology and medicine. The oxidative stress, which is the altering of the balance between the higher activity of oxygen and the enzymatic or nonenzymatic protection systems, may be one of the causes that starts and aggravates a disease. In this context, the supplementation of the diet with selenium, superoxide dismutase, vitamins A, C, E, is considered a primary prevention measure (for the apparently healthy persons) and a secondary one (for those with advancing forms of disease) that is both efficient and modern by utilization of some "drug-food" products. The transversal study realized on a group of 39 blood donors presence of the cardiovascular risk determined by the raising of the prevalence of some atherogenic factors (active smoking, hypercholesterolemia) which is also expressed by the lowering of the level of some oxidative stress indicators (glutathione peroxidase--GSH-Px < 0.139 moli/ml and catalase < 2.20 U/ml). The simultaneous low intake of selenium from the central drinking water supplies in the city of Iasi (0.1-1 g/l) has permitted us to consider necessary the diet supplementation both with foods rich in vitamins with an antioxidant role and with specific medication with selenium, as a protective micro-element.

[Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) as an antioxidant factor of exogenous origin]. / Cercetari privind extractul de Ginkgo biloba (EGb 761) ca factor antioxidant de natura exogena.

Extracted from Ginkgo biloba leaves, the EGb 761 has a great number of therapeutical properties and anti-stress effects, for example the antioxidant one. We estimated in our experiment the influence of a chronic treatment with EGb 761 on the concentration of the main product of lipidic degradation--malondialdehyde (MDA), in cerebral cortex, in diencephalon, thymus and gastric mucosa. The experiment was performed on Wistar rats, male, young. The MDA estimation was performed by the spectrocalorimetry. We have determined that the stress raised the MDA concentration in all examined structures with approximately 100% and 80% of animals manifested stress ulcer. The treatment with EGb 761 before a stress inhibits the post-stress growth of MDA concentration and the process of stress ulcer formation.

[Melatonin and ubiquinone as endogenous antioxidant factors]. / Cercetari privind melatonina si ubiquinona ca factori antioxidanti endogeni.

We studied the effect of restraint stress upon the degree of lipidic peroxidation in the fronto-temporal cerebral cortex, diencephalon, thymus and gastric mucosa. We determined the malon-dialdehyde (MDA) by spectrocolorimetry, the percentage of animals with stress gastric ulcer and the surface of gastric ulcerations. The results demonstrated an important increase of the MDA correlated with frequency and intensity of the gastric ulcer. In the second stage of the experiment, we studied the influence of the ubiquinone and melatonin on the same parameters studied in the first part. In every structures these two substances had antioxidative effect. For ubiquinone, results showed significant variations in the thymus and gastric mucosa, while at the cerebral level the results were doubtful. As antioxidant and antiulcerogenic factor, melatonin was more effective than ubiquinone, because determined significant decrease, or even disappearance of the peroxidative process in the cerebral cortex and the thymus and significantly diminished both peroxidation and ulcerogenesis in the gastric mucosa.

[The clinico-epidemiological premises for antioxidant prevention and treatment in chronic myocardial infarct]. / Premisele clinico-epidemiologice pentru preventia si tratamentul antioxidant în infarctul miocardic cronic.

The improvement of therapeutic and recoverable proceeding to chronic myocardial infarction (IMC) imposes a complex epidemiological estimation of the global cardiovascular risk, of their clinical and biological status. The retrospective evaluation of the risk factors (RF) by epidemiological methods, in 38 hospitalized prevalence of both constitutional and behavioral factors, and the quantification of the risk state, according to graph Euro 194, has pointed on the fact that 50% of IMC cases have presented a global risk of 10-20%. That justified the application of a preventive conduct in order to continually neutralize the associates FR. The biochemical determinations have allowed to frame the dyslipidemic patients, according to the ARCOL classification in the classes D (29.2%), E (25.0%) and B (20.8%) with direct implication in the adopted therapy. The colorimetric dozing with thyo-barbituric acid of the malonly dialdehyde (MAD) each is a product of the lipidic peroxidation, as well as the interpreting or correlation of the registered values with an evolutive clinic stage, and with the existence of some existing diseases (diabetes, chronic hepatitis etc.) along with signification of other dismethabolical parameters (cholesterol, triglycerides, LDLc, apoB) have confirmed the necessity of a complex therapy, including an antioxidative treatment, having the role to directly inhibit or exclude the free radicals resulted after the oxidative stress of the infarct.

Antioxidant action of a new flavonic derivative in acute carbon tetrachloride intoxication.

The antioxidant potential of a new flavonic derivative named conventionally theophylline-rutoside [TR-1722] was estimated by the measurement of G-6-Pase activity (marker enzyme for the endoplasmic reticulum), catalase activity (enzyme involved in the antioxidant defence process), and total -SH groups from the hepatic homogenate, using CCl4 as a free radical generating model. To show changes in the permeability of the hepatocyte membrane, the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in plasma was determined. The obtained results suggest that TR-1722 acts by curtailing both lipid peroxidation and alkylation processes.

[Multidisciplinary epidemiological observations on the role of mineral elements and other environmental factors in inducing essential arterial hypertension]. / Observatii epidemiologice multidisciplinare asupra rolului unor elemente minerale si altor factori ambientali în inducerea hipertensiunii arteriale esentiale.

The results of a pluridisciplinary epidemiological study carried out on a series of 225 adults from rural areas, in whom the prevalence of arterial hypertension disease (AHTD) and borderline (AHTB) was of 19.0% and 14.4%, respectively, are presented. In 19.0% of the carriers of over five associated risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the classical lipid constants (triglycerides-TG. total lipids-TL. total cholesterol-TC. HDL-cholesterol-HDL-c), plasma (PML) and erythrocyte magnesium level (EML), as compared to the degree of drinking water mineralization were determined. The environmental conditions, also expressed in water hardness (21.650 G) or magnesium water intake (85.13 mg/l) correlate in 41.0% of the subjects with a decrease in PML (1.8 mg/l) and in 70.48 with a decrease in EML (4.8 mg/l) through the association of some behavioral or metabolic risk factors: stress, consumption of atherogenic foods, excess alcohol and lipid dysmetabolism (TG: 130-140 mg/l = 59.5%; TL: 8 g%-30.9%; TC: 220 mg/l = 19%; HDL-c: 35 mg/l + 1.9%).

[The evaluation of a method for determining apolipoproteins as a sensitive indicator in assessing lipid metabolic disorder in a population at risk for essential arterial hypertension (EAHT)]. / Validarea metodei de dozare a apoliproproteinelor ca indicator sensibil de apreciere a dismetabolismului lipidic la populatia cu risc pentru hipertensiunea arteriala esentiala (HTAE).

The increased efficiency of epidemiological screening tests in determining the prevalence of risk factors carriers required the use of highly sensitive markers able at detecting early, in reversible stages, the disturbances in the lipid metabolism genetically induced or acquired during lifetime, known as major risk factors for essential hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. The authors report the preliminary results of some investigations on the predictive value of apolipoproteins. Immunokits manufactured by BioMérieux--France were used. In 50 admitted patients with essential hypertension and family history of risk, high levels of apoA1 and apoB were recorded although cholesterol and other biological markers were within the normal. At the same time, in our case the apoB/apoA ratio was supraunitary, fact proving the validity of the method.

[The lipid peroxidation process in depression: the effect of trazodone]. / Contributii la studiul procesului de peroxidare lipidica în depresie: efectul trazodonei.

We investigated the lipid peroxidation in depression by determining the markers of this process: melondialdehide, total SH groups and catalase. We used blood samples from inpatients with specific psychiatric symptoms. The medication consist of hypnotic nitrazepam and antidepressant trazodone, using film-coated tablets trazolon, 50 mg once a day, three weeks. In the second part of our experiment, we studied the antioxidant properties of trazodone, using blood samples from healthy subjects. It remain to establish if the free radicals are responsible for the initiation of depression or not.

[The effect of the ascorbic acid-Cu (II) couple on enzyme activity]. / Efectul cuplului acid-ascorbic-Cu (II) asupra activitatii unor enzime.

Ascorbic acid (AA), Cu (II) and their association affect in different ways the activity of G6P-ase and G6PDH from the rat hepatic cytoplasm enriched in microsomes. G6P-ase is inhibited at a wide range of concentrations: 200-2 mM AA and 1-0.1 mM Cu (II). The association AA-Cu in the above mentioned concentrations, proved to be a stronger inhibitor than AA or Cu (II) introduced separately in the incubation medium. The activity of G6PDH is stimulated by AA-Cu (II) association and inhibited by AA in the dialyzed and nondialyzed cytoplasm. Cu (II) inhibits the activity of G6PDH in the nondialyzed cytoplasm and stimulates it following dialysis. The compounds with recognized antiradical action prove to be inefficient in restoring the activity of G6PDH affected by the AA-Cu (II) association.

[Glutathione and the redox index in different types of cellular oxidative stress. I. Acrylonitrile (ACN) poisoning]. / Glutationul si indexul redox in diferite tipuri de stres oxidativ celular. I. Intoxicatia cu acrilonitril (ACN).

The professional poisoning with acrylonitrile of some subjects induced a significant decrease of reduced glutathione (81.30%), redox ratio reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione (90.74%) and "Benzi-redox index" (55.84%) but an increase of oxidized glutathione level (112.6%) as compared to normal controls (100%). This proves the occurrence, in time, of the cellular oxidative stress and/or were obtained.

[Sensivity of some enzymes in Guérin tumours after the administration of Nystatin MC]. / Sensibilitatea unor enzime in tumorile Guérin dupa administrarea Nistatinei MC.

In the animals with a 24 hours and 15 days transplant of Guérin lymphotropic epithelioma Nystatin MC in a dose of 800 mg/K body weight/day and 1 800 mg/K body weight/day every 3 and 6 hours daily for 8 days was injected subcutaneously. The dosing of the activity of gluthamin-synthetase, MDH and catalase in tumours of 8, 23, and 38 days showed that Nystatin MC disturbed the activity of the enzymes from mythocondries and cytoplasm especially in the 8 and 23 days tumours, influencing the glycolitic process. The gluthamin-synthesis was inhibited during the entire tumoral activity period, reaching after treatment almost normal values. Cytoplasmic MDH was influenced by the treatment in relation with the age of the tumour and the used dose. I