Na,K-Atpase in renal tissue of rats in the dynamics of experimental nephritis]

The authors undertook comparative study of the Na, K-ATPase activity in the red cells, ghost corpuscles, and in the cortex and medulla of kidneys of rats with experimental glomerulonephritis (GN) induced by injection of nephrotoxic serum (NTS), during an acute course of the process (1 and 2 weeks after NTS injection) and in chronic affection of the kidneys (10 weeks after NTS injection). The activity of the enzyme both in the red cells and in the ghost corpuscles was reduced significantly, by 28 and 22%, respectively, in the acute period of the disease (one week after NTS injection) but was restored to normal values in the period of chronic affection of the kidneys. The activity of the enzyme did not change in the cortex during the whole period of the study, but in the medulla it diminished in the acute period of the disease and remained reduced (by 27% on the average) during the chronic phase. It is concluded that reduction of the enzyme activity in the studied objects was not caused by the presence of endogenous inhibitors of the enzyme. It is suggested that reduction of Na, K-ATPase activity in the renal medulla may be one of the factors of increase of Na and water excretion in the urine in the chronic phase of GN.     

Antiarrhythmic effect ofRodiola rosea and its possible mechanism

Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 116, N ^o 8, pp. 175–176, August, 1993     

Use of antibiotic and analgesic drugs during lactation.

During lactation, multiple situations can arise that require maternal pharmacological treatment. Because of the many health advantages of human milk to infants, breast feeding should be interrupted only when the needed drug might be harmful to the nursing child and exposure via the breast milk will be sufficient to pose a risk. Since the majority of drugs have not been shown to cause adverse effects when used during lactation, and even temporary interruption of breast feeding can be difficult for the nursing dyad, decisions regarding maternal medication use during breast feeding should be based on accurate and up-to-date information. This article reviews available data on the most commonly used antibiotics and analgesics. The use of most antibiotics is considered compatible with breast feeding. Penicillins, aminopenicillins, clavulanic acid, cephalosporins, macrolides and metronidazole at dosages at the low end of the recommended dosage range are considered appropriate for use for lactating women. Fluoroquinolones should not be administered as first-line treatment, but if they are indicated, breast feeding should not be interrupted because the risk of adverse effects is low and the risks are justified. Paracetamol (acetaminophen), low-dose aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) [up to 100 mg/day] and short-term treatment with NSAIDs, codeine, morphine and propoxyphene are considered compatible with breast feeding. Safer alternatives should be considered instead of dipyrone, aspirin at a dosage >100 mg/day and pethidine (meperidine). In the light of the many safe alternatives for pain control, breast-feeding mothers should not be allowed to experience pain or be made to feel that they must choose between analgesia and breast feeding.     

An IFN-beta-albumin fusion protein that displays improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties in nonhuman primates.

The long half-life and stability of human serum albumin (HSA) make it an attractive candidate for fusion to short-lived therapeutic proteins. Albuferon (Human Genome Sciences [HGS], Inc., Rockville, MD) beta is a novel recombinant protein derived from a gene fusion of interferon-beta (IFN-beta ) and HSA. In vitro, Albuferon beta displays antiviral and antiproliferative activities and triggers the IFN-stimulated response element (ISRE) signal transduction pathway. Array analysis of 5694 independent genes in Daudi-treated cells revealed that Albuferon beta and IFN-beta induce the expression of an identical set of 30 genes, including 9 previously not identified. In rhesus monkeys administered a dose of 50 microg/kg intravenously (i.v.) or subcutaneously (s.c.) or 300 microg/kg s.c., Albuferon beta demonstrated favorable pharmacokinetic properties. Subcutaneous bioavailability was 87%, plasma clearance at 4.7-5.7 ml/h/kg was approximately 140-fold lower than that of IFN-beta, and the terminal half-life was 36-40 h compared with 8 h for IFN-beta. Importantly, Albuferon beta induced sustained increases in serum neopterin levels and 2',5' mRNA expression. At a molar dose equivalent to one-half the dose of IFN-beta, Albuferon beta elicited comparable neopterin responses and significantly higher 2',5'-OAS mRNA levels in rhesus monkeys. The enhanced in vivo pharmacologic properties of IFN-beta when fused to serum albumin suggest a clinical opportunity for improved IFN-beta therapy.     

Endocrine functions in hypertensive rats of the NISAG strain exposed to epinephrine

Endocrine functions were investigated in normotensive (Wistar) and hypertensive (NISAG) rats before and on days 3, 7, and 21 after subcutaneous epinephrine administration. Rats of the NISAG strain are characterized by elevated plasma levels of aldosterone and thyroxine and lowered plasma levels of immunoreactive insulin, and their endocrine system develops a much stronger response to a single epinephrine injection than does that of Wistar rats. This is manifested in a still higher aldosterone level, elevated corticosterone and insulin concentrations, and reduced thyroxine content in the plasma. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 121, No. 5, pp. 495–498, May, 1996     

Analysis of psychomotor activity in children with spastic infantile cerebral palsy by using the computer-assisted test system "Rhythmotest"

The paper considers how to obtain quantitative characteristics of sensomotor responses while tracing, learning, and reproducing rhythmical stimuli of different frequency and modality which can be used to assess psychomotor activity, perception, attention, short-term memory in schoolchildren with infantile cerebral paralysis. The results of examinations of children with this condition are given and analyzed.     

Dynamics of child's cognitive development in transition to schooling

Intensive maturation of arbitrary attention occurs in the making of higher mental functions in children in transition to schooling. The study has yielded standard indices of changes in some higher mental functions at the age of 6-8 years, which makes it possible to make a timely objective diagnosis in mental and neurological practice to predict the child's development, and to provide a required complex of medical and pedagogical corrective measures.     

Computer-assisted screening of the cognitive sphere in school children

The cognitive sphere was studied in schoolchildren with good study progress by using computer test systems. This provided age-dependent standards of major cognitive functions: perception, attention, memory, psychomotor activity, and thinking that determine the quality of cognitive activity. Comparatively, this may objectify age-specific prognosis of schoolchildren and specify causes of learning difficulties in children.     

Autoantibodies to Nerve Growth Factor in Disorders of Mental Development in Infants

Studies were performed using 80 children aged 1–3 years with lesions to mental development. Patients were divided into three groups according to the severity and structure of lesions of mental development: those most strongly characterized by delayed speech development (group 1), those with delayed mental development due to organic CNS lesions (group 2), and those with abnormal mental development and high levels of psychopathological symptoms (group 3). There were significant increases (p < 0.001) in blood levels of autoantibodies to nerve growth factor (NGF) in children in each of these groups as compared with a control group (0.75 ± 0.24 OD units). The levels of anti-NGF autoantibodies increased from group 1 to group 3 (0.95 ± 0.24 OD units in group 1, 1.13 ± 0.27 OD units in group 2, and 1.24 ± 0.4 OD units in group 3). These correlations suggest that the level of anti-NGF autoantibodies can, taken in conjunction with a number of other parameters, be regarded as a potential molecular marker demonstrating abnormal development of the nervous system.