Photosensitive epilepsy

Photosensitive epilepsy (PE) is the most frequent form of reflex epilepsy. Authors picked out two PE forms based on the analysis of the 16 own observations. The first form is PE with environmental factors of the process' provocation, which is characterised by genuine character of disease, pre- and pubertal period of its beginning, considerable prevalence of males among the patients, rare generalized tonic and clonic fits and favorable prognosis. The second form of PE is significantly rarer PE form -with self-induction of the fits. It is characterized by the beginning of the disease in preschool period, even sex distribution, quite frequent evaluated organic damages of brain, nonconvulsive fits, non-efficiency of antiepileptic drugs. The mechanisms of pathogenesis and the ways of fits' prophylaxis were discussed.     

Change in folate status with antidepressant treatment

Ninety-nine consecutive unmedicated outpatients with a major depressive illness had blood drawn for measurement of serum folate (SF), red cell folate (RCF), and vitamin B12 within 24 hours of completion of ratings of severity of depression at the beginning and ending of a 5-week trial of desmethylimipramine (mean dose = 149.2 mg/day, range = 75-225 mg). As compared with nonresponders, responders had a significantly higher mean SF at baseline (nonresponders = 13.8 nmol/l; responders = 17.7 nmol/l) and RCF showed a significant inverse correlation with severity of depression and a significant positive correlation with age of onset of illness. At week 5, change in severity of depression was significantly correlated with change in RCF, and significantly more responders than nonresponders had an increase in RCF. The possible role of folate status in the regulation of mood and response to treatment is discussed.     

The place of rheumatic diseases in the pathology of the population of the Russian Federation

A growing body of evidence demonstrates the relevant role of the int-2 (FGF-3) oncogene in human carcinomas. To investigate its angiogenic activity, the human epithelial mammary cell line MCF-10A was infected with a retroviral expression vector carrying the int-2 oncogene. Infected cells were entrapped in an alginate pellet and placed on the chorioallantoic membrane of chick embryos. After 7 days, a dense capillary network was found to grow toward the pellet, whereas parental cells did not show any angiogenic activity. Conditioned medium from int-2-infected cells was injected i.p. twice daily into rats over a period of 10 days. The mesentery of treated rats showed numerous small blood vessels originating from larger vascular arcades and growing through the stromal layer of the mesentery. In control experiments, neither medium for cell culture nor conditioned medium from parental cells was found to induce angiogenesis. In conclusion, the stimulation of blood vessel growth by int-2-infected cells suggests that the production of the int-2 protein is associated with the acquisition of the angiogenic phenotype.     

Innervation of grouped lymphoid nodules (Peyer's patches) by the enteric nervous system and the topography of their interior neural elements in the rat

Using the complex of histological methods (staining with toluidine blue, silver nitrate impregnation and application of retrograde fluorescent dye primulin) the data on the neural elements spatial localization within Peyer patches of the small intestine and their connections with the rest of enteric metasympathetic nervous system in rat was obtained. Submucosal plexus that is significantly developed within this lymphoid organ and is divided into internal and external plexuses was found to be most essential to the innervation of rat Peyers patches. These plexuses innervate all Peyers patch areas:nodules, cupula and internodular zones and the nodule-associated epithelium. Moreover, it was shown that within Peyers patch the plexuses form an integral part with the rest of the enteric nervous system and possess close connections with ganglia that are distant from the patch and are related both to submucosal and myenteric nervous plexuses. Direct inputs into Peyers patch nervous plexuses from extramural ganglia are present as well. These data was considered as a morphological basis for functional interaction of nervous and immune systems within the enteric immune organ and for possible enteric nervous system regulation of immune functions.