[An influence of submaximal (submineximal) doses of mexidol on oxidant stress and inflammation in the acute period of ischemic stroke]. / Vliianie submaksimal'nykh doz preparata meksidol na protsessy oksidantnogo stressa i vospaleniia v ostreishem periode ishemicheskogo insul'ta.

AIM: To study an effect of submaximal doses of mexidol on the dynamics of biochemical markers of inflammation and damage to brain tissue in the acute period of ischemic stroke. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 60 patients admitted in the first 6h after disease onset with a verified ischemic stroke (7-9 points on the ASPECT scale) were enrolled in the study. Thirty patients in the study group received submaximal doses of mexidol: 750 mg infusion dropwise in 250 ml of 0.9% NaCl solution for 6 days. Thirty patients of the control group received standard therapy. Biomarkers and neurological status were evaluated within 60 minutes from the time of admission to the hospital and after 6 days. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In both groups, the changes in CRP, IL-6, and fibrinogen did not contribute to the efficacy of mexidol. The brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) biomarker, plasma-A-associated pregnancy (PAPP-A) biomarker, average NIHSS score and mean cerebroasthenia score on the MFI-20 scale in the study group were significantly reduced compared to the control group. This study indicates a decrease in oxidative stress and signs of inflammation, a reduction of the severity of neurological deficit and an increase in physical activity of patients treated with submaximal doses of mexidol. Given the activation time of the damaged antioxidant system of the body, the recommended period of treatment is 3 months.

Intraspecific phylogeography of Lacerta vivipara and the evolution of viviparity.

The lacertid lizard Lacerta vivipara is one of the few squamate species with two reproductive modes. We present the intraspecific phylogeny obtained from neighbor-joining and maximum-parsimony analyses of the mtDNA cytochrome b sequences for 15 individuals from Slovenian oviparous populations, 34 individuals from western oviparous populations of southern France and northern Spain, 92 specimens from European and Russian viviparous populations, and 3 specimens of the viviparous subspecies L. v. pannonica. The phylogeny indicates that the evolutionary transition from oviparity to viviparity probably occurred once in L. vivipara. The western oviparous group from Spain and southern France is phylogenetically most closely related to the viviparous clade. However, the biarmed W chromosome characterizing the western viviparous populations is an apomorphic character, whereas the uniarmed W chromosome, existing both in the western oviparous populations and in the geographically distant eastern viviparous populations, is a plesiomorphic character. This suggests an eastern origin of viviparity. Various estimates suggest that the oviparous and viviparous clades of L. vivipara split during the Pleistocene. Our results are discussed in the framework of general evolutionary models: the concept of an oviparity-viviparity continuum in squamates, the cold climate model of selection for viviparity in squamates, and the contraction-expansion of ranges in the Pleistocene resulting in allopatric differentiation.

First records of Hyalomma aegyptium (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) from the Russian spur-thighed tortoise, Testudo graeca nikolskii, with an analysis of tick population dynamics.

During the fall of 1995 and the spring of 1996, 77 statistically comparable tick collections, comprising 792 specimens, were made from adults of the Russian spur-thighed tortoise, Testudo graeca nikolskii, at 4 sites along Russia's Black Sea coast. These are the first tick collections reported from T. g. nikolskii since its recognition as a taxonomic entity. All ticks were determined to be Hyalomma (Hyalomma) aegyptium, a common tortoise parasite in southern Russia that in 1930 was erroneously designated the type of subgenus Hyalommasta. Male ticks were recovered from more tortoises (67) than were females (57) or immatures (14), and nymphs were seen only in the fall. Significantly more ticks parasitized male tortoises than females, perhaps because males of T. g. nikolskii have larger home ranges. However, no functional relationship was found between tortoise ventral surface area and degree of tick infestation. Like other tortoise ticks, H. aegyptium is expected to decline in concert with its increasingly threatened hosts.