[The structure of the leukocyte DNA in leukemia patients during chemotherapy]. / Struktura DNK leikotsitov bol'nykh leikozom v protsesse khimioterapii.

The authors studied the degree of DNA damage in in vitro cultured human peripheral lymphocytes (PL) and Jurcat's human T-cell lymphoma cells exposed to a stabilized 4 OH-cyclophosphan-mamophosphatide (MA) derivative, as well as in the leukocytes from patients with leukemia who were treated with cyclophosphan. There was an increase in alkaline DNA denaturation rate of LP lysates and T-cell lymphoma cells, which was in proportion to MA concentrations, and a higher sensitivity of LP to the genotoxic effect of MA given in doses of 5-10 micrograms/ml than that of Jurcat's cells, as well as high peripheral lymphocyte and neutrophil DNA damages in patients with leukemia during chemotherapy. The authors consider that the accumulation of single-strand breaks and alkaline-labile sites, which was recorded from the increase in alkaline DNA denaturation rate of cell lysates, is a highly sensitive test for detecting DNA damages in resting and slowly proliferating cells and can be useful in revealing and evaluating the severity of human genotoxic effects.

[The determination of the D-arabinitol content of the blood serum--a method for the diagnosis and monitoring of an invasive candidal infection in cytopenia patients (preliminary data)]. / Opredelenie soderzhaniia D-arabinitola v syvorotke krovi--metod diagnostiki i monitoringa invazivnoi kandidoznoi infektsii u bol'nykh s tsitopeniiami (predvaritel'nye dannye).

Gas chromatography was used to identify D-arabinitol over time (5-6 times on the average) in the blood serum of 24 patients with fever of unclear etiology. The patients were in a state of cytostatic and/or cytostatic and radiation cytopenia. In 20 donors, D-arabinitol was identified once. In the majority of the donors, that indicator did not exceed 1 microgram/ml, amounting on the average to 0.7 +/- 0.3. In patients with invasive candidiasis, the concentration of D-arabinitol surpassed 1 microgram/ml, reaching 4.0-5.5 micrograms/ml in some patients. In patients colonized with Candida, that indicator also exceeded 1 microgram/ml, not reaching, however, such high values as those seen in invasive candidiasis. Identification of the D-arabinitol level reflects the total activity of the fungi of the Candida genus contaminating the patients' mucous membranes at the moment of investigation irrespective of the process site, whereas monitoring allows one to follow tendencies of that activity and to correct therapy.