[The efficacy of basic therapy in rheumatoid arthritis with methotrexate].

Overall 25 patients with rheumatoid arthritis received methotrexate as basic therapy in a weekly dose of 7.5 mg. The patients were followed up for a year.

[The clinico-echocardiographic characteristics of heart involvement in seronegative spondylarthritis (Reiter's disease, Bechterew's disease and psoriatic arthritis)].

As many as 136 patients (76 with Bechterew's disease, 40 with Reiter's disease and 20 with psoriatic arthritic) and 35 practically healthy persons were examined by echocardiography combined with electro-, phonocardiographic and by clinical, x-ray and laboratory methods. 62 patients were examined over time (within a period from 1 to 4 years). Echocardiography was used to study in detail the central and intracardiac hemodynamics, the status of the valvular apparatus of the heart and of the aorta.

[Hemodynamic factors forming glycoside resistance in patients with mitral valve defects complicated by congestive heart failure].

Overall 75 patients with rheumatic mitral heart disease were examined for the effect of the clinical and echocardiography characteristics of central and intracardiac hemodynamics on the efficacy of the use of digoxin. The development of digoxin resistance in patients with the predominance of stenosis of the mitral opening depended to the greatest degree on the duration of heart decompensation, area of the mitral opening and duration of the phase of left ventricle relaxation; in patients with the predominance of mitral insufficiency, it depended on the level of endosystolic stress, pressure of left ventricle filling and duration of the phase of isometric left ventricle contraction. Based on the calculation of the information content of the parameters under study, a prognostic table was made.

[The clinico-prognostic assessment of DNA antibodies and antinuclear factors in rheumatoid arthritis patients].

As many as 195 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were examined for the clinical characteristics of the disease course depending on the presence or lack of antibodies to DNA or of antinuclear factor (ANF). Provided the patients' blood serum contained antibodies to DNA and ANF, RA was noted to run a graver course associated with a high-active process, marked erosive and destructive lesions of the joints, and the development of systemic manifestations. Excess production of the antibodies in question was accompanied by an increase of circulating immune complexes and rheumatoid factor, and a decrease of serum IgG.

[The use of contact thermography for evaluating joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis].

The paper is concerned with the results of a study of the hand joints in patients with different variants of a course and activity of rheumatoid arthritis by a method of contact liquid crystal thermography. Methods for assessment of thermography taking account of qualitative and quantitative indices were described. They showed correlation with a degree of disease activity, the presence of the rheumatoid factor, extraarticular symptoms and a time-period.

[Comparative efficacy of the long-term use of long-acting nitroglycerin (sustak) and molsidomine after myocardial infarct complicated by heart failure].

Clinical and hemodynamic efficiency of long-term treatment with sustak and molsidomin was assessed in 56 patients following myocardial infarction complicated by circulatory insufficiency within 9 months after discharge from hospital. In spite of the same mechanism of action, long-term treatment with these drugs produces different clinical and hemodynamic effects. The efficiency of prolonged and continuous sustak treatment is shown to decline after 3 months, as reflected in weaker antianginal and hemodynamic effects of the drug.

[Use of high doses of glucocorticoids in patients with rheumatic diseases].

Short-term application of high doses of glucocorticoids removes the acuity of the generalized patterns of systemic rheumatic diseases. This is documented by the reported data and analysis of the authors' own 15 observations. The dose of glucocorticoids, duration of their application and administration routes are determined by the degree of the pathological process activity and by the organs concerned (kidneys, central nervous system).