[Clinical aspects and classification of primary osteoarthrosis deformans].

The authors reported the results of investigation of 70 patients with osteoarthrosis deformans followed up for 3-10 yrs. They defined 3 variants of a course of the disease: with rapid progression, slow progression, without noticeable progression. These variants differed in disease spreading, the frequency of arthrotic synovitis and the presence of hereditary predisposition.

[Possibilities of predicting the hypotensive effect of surgical treatment of vasorenal hypertension].

The results of long-term (1 to 6 years) follow-up of 43 patients operated on for vasorenal hypertension were compared to preoperative data. The predictive value of the duration of arterial hypertension, patient's age, plasma renin activity coefficient and quantitative intrarenal flow data obtained at angiography with a simultaneous droperidol test, was determined. Intrarenal flow of the contralateral kidney was shown to be the most valuable predictive parameter for the prognosis of the hypotensive effect of the operation.

[Morphology of articular cartilage in osteoarthrosis].

A combined histological, histochemical, histoenzymochemical and morphometric study of 42 articular cartilage samples from patients with different degrees of osteoarthrosis (OA) was made. Ten cartilages without pathology taken at autopsy were used as controls. A characteristic feature in case of cartilage destruction by OA is a progressive loss of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) from the matrix with its defibrination and uzur formation.

[Characteristics of the early phase of ankylosing spondylitis].

100 patients with several clinical and suspicious radiological symptoms of Bechterev's disease (Institute of Rheumatology Moscow) and 100 patients with the clinical symptoms of Bechterev's disease without radiological symptoms of a sacroiliacal arthritis (Medico-Policlinical Institute Leipzig) have been examined within a common research programme since 1976 and analysed concerning the frequency of the complaints as well as of clinical symptoms at the beginning of the disease. The main complaints at the beginning of Bechterev's disease are nocturnal pains in the lumbosacral region, pains in the joints, in which cases 50% of the patients spoke of swellings of the joints. 42% of the patients complained of the feeling of the morning rigidity in the lumbar spinal column and 22% spoke of increased temperatures.