[Competitive hormonally active adrenal tumours (aldosteroma and pheochromocytoma)].

The development of two hormonally active tumours in one adrenal gland is a very rare event. Four cases with this condition are reported. Clinical, instrumental, and morphological characteristics of aldosteromas and pheochromocytomas are presented.

[Role of immunohistochemical study of extracellular matrix components in the estimation of the malignant potential of adrenal pheochromocytomas].

The changes occurring in the extracellular matrix structure and composition greatly affect cell behavior. The present investigation has indicated that active tenascin-C expression is observed in malignant pheochromocytomas, suggesting the altered composition of the extracellular matrix, there is also activation of metalloproteinase-9 and cyclooxygenase-2, which play an important role in many biological processes, including the invasion and metastatic spread of tumor cells, as well as in neoangiogenesis. Benign pheochromocytomas display a slight immunopositive staining of these antigens.

[Adrenal gland surgery].

The authors of the article analyze more than 30-year experience of surgical treatment of adrenal gland diseases, offering a detailed description of clinical and morphological features of the main nosological forms such as Itsenko-Cushing disease and syndrome, primary hyperaldosteronism, pheochromocytoma, incidentaloma, and malignant adrenal tumors. The paper contains basic diagnostic criteria, indications to operative treatment, and extents of surgery for each of the diseases considered, as well as comparative analysis of peculiarities of conventional ("open"), and endoscopic adrenal gland surgeries. The article demonstrates significance of various immunohistochemical markers in differentiation between malignant and benign adrenal tumors.

[Application of fungal metabolites for evaluation of pine stand vigor in conditions of industrial pollution].

Two methods for evaluation of pine stand vigor were tested on permanent sample plots near Krasnoyarsk City: visual evaluation and exposure to fungal metabolites. In the first case, forest vigor was estimated using the six-point system of the Sanitary Regulations of the Russian Federation as the mean score for 200 trees on the sample plots. In the second case, the vigor was evaluated from the size of the necrotic spot on the tree cortex after inoculation of 22-25 randomly chosen pines with the extract of fungus Ceratocystis laricicola Red-fern and Miter.