[Psychopharmacotherapy for depression in rheumatic patients].

Aim: To study attitude towards the disease in rheumatic patients during antidepressant therapy and during further follow-up.

Subjects And Methods: Examinations were made in 122 patients with degenerative joint and vertebral column disease (DJVCD) and in 30 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and concomitant affective disorders during antidepressant therapy for 3 months.

Results: Statistically significant differences were found between all components of the type of attitude towards disease (TATD) in patients with DJVCD or RA before the use of antidepressants.

[Neutrophile apoptosis in patients with chronic rheumatic heart disease].

The purpose of the investigation was to study peculiarities of the functioning of neutrophile granulocytes in chronic rheumatic disease (CRD) complicated by cardiovascular pathology. The subjects of the study were 80 patients with CRD of the heart with valvular defects, accompanied by arterial hypertension (AH) and cardiac arrhythmias: 37 men (mean age 53.6 +/- 9.

[Incidence rates of articular pain in urban and rural population of Russia (preliminary data)].

Aim: Screening of the population sample for articular pain and swelling.

Material And Methods: A screening questionnaire for detection of arthritides and arthralgias was filled in for each adult rural and urban citizen aged over 18 years from 15 RF regions. Rural population was covered with a complete examination, urban one was examined by formation of a representative sample from general population.

[Methodology of determination of the time of death and outlooks for the further development].

A methodological analysis of diagnosing the prescription of death coming (PDC) is described in the paper. Key philosophic fundamentals for further novel and more effective methods of PDC determination are elucidated. Main requirement applicable to postmortem diagnosis are defined.

[Nimesil effectiveness in rheumatoid arthritis].

Clinical efficiency and safety of nimesil were studied in the multicenter open clinical trial of 52 patients with verified rheumatoid arthritis. Nimesil was given for 12 weeks in a daily dose 200-400 mg in addition to basic therapy. Clinical and laboratory parameters were assessed after 4 and 8 weeks of the treatment and after its end.

[Clinico-immunological aspects of renal lesions in rheumatoid arthritis].

The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of different renal lesions in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to determine their relationships with the type of previous drug therapy and with the specific features of immune disorders. Ninety four patients, 84 (89.9%) females and 10 (10.

[Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and kidney damage in rheumatoid arthritis].

Aim: To investigate clinical significance of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and kidney damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Material And Methods: 94 patients (84 women and 10 men, mean age 45.2 +/- 11.

[Articular hypermotility syndrome (AHS): clinical characteristics and specific features of AHS-related rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis].

Articular and extraarticular manifestations of AHS were studied in 114 AHS patients. Locomotor complaints were getting more frequent and serious with progression of AHS. Rheumatoid arthritis arising in the presence of hypermotility was characterized by minor symptoms and destructive changes and was not very active.

[Rheumatoid arthritis: an evaluation of treatment efficacy and some aspects of the physician-patient dyad].

The contribution of conventional therapeutic factors and such factors as psychotherapy, psychotropic drugs, psychological characteristics of the dyad "physician-patient" to overall treatment efficacy was measured in 111 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Among non-traditional factors psychocorrection proved most effective. The skill of the physician to communicate with the patient, to inform him or her about the disease was found unsatisfactory.

[The serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis].

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic chronic inflammatory disease characterized by development of severe destruction of the joints caused by uncontrollable activation of cellular immunity. Activated T-lymphocytes synthesize interleukin-2 (IL-2) and specific membrane soluble receptors (sIL-2r) for this cytokine. The level of sIL-2r release is proportional to the number of molecules expressed on the membrane of activated immunocompetent cells.

[The interrelation of vascular, neurological and functional disorders in the hand of rheumatoid arthritis patients].

The hands of 45 RA patients were studied for vascular, neurological and functional characteristics. The patients underwent functional tests, dopplerography (to study regional arterial flow) and electroneuromyography (to study the peripheral nerves). Induration and defective elasticity of the vascular wall in the radial and ulnar arteries were disclosed in 74% of the cases.

[THe treatment of patients with chronic disease: the viewpoint of the physician and of the patient (exemplified by rheumatoid arthritis)].

The opinions of the experts and the patients with rheumatic arthritis in relation to the disease treatment and preventive measures have been analyzed. The views of the physicians coincided more frequently than those of the patients. It is emphasized that patients benefit from group and individual training, especially from individual conversations.

[Non-invasive diagnosis of lesions of peripheral blood vessels in patients with diabetes mellitus].

Clinical examination of 51 diabetes mellitus patients with the disease running a severe, moderate and light course included ultrasound dopplerography to measure arterial and venous pressure on the malleolus and photoplethysmography to evaluate arterial pressure in the great toe. There appeared a relationship between the disease severity and venous pressure, toe pressure index, pressure gradient malleolus--toe. The closest correlation was with the venous pressure.

[Prostaglandins in the blood serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis].

Radioimmunoassay was used to study the content of prostaglandins in blood plasma of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (PGE in 133 and PGF2 alpha in 102 patients). It has been established that as compared to the control group subjects, it is appreciably elevated and reflects the degree of inflammatory process activity, being pronounced to a greater measure in persons not receiving glucocorticoids than in hormone-dependent patients. A relationship has been revealed between the content of PGE and PGF2 alpha and certain clinical and laboratory characteristics (disease standing, intensity of exudative component of inflammation, the presence of humoral and cellular immunity disorders, anemia, and some visceral lesions), which may be of definite importance in the assessment of the patient's status.

[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.

[The problems, mental disorders and quality of life of rheumatoid arthritis patients].

There were 157 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Of these, only 65 patients (41.4%) failed to show any factor at the disease onset, which could be estimated as provoking.

[Rheumatoid arthritis: cyclic nucleotides in the blood plasma].

The content of cyclic nucleotides in blood plasma was measured in 151 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. As compared to the control, the patients demonstrated a significant decrease of the cAMP content and a rise of the cGMP content. The disease standing was found to produce an appreciable effect on the cAMP content.

[Intra-articular administration of glucocorticoids in rheumatoid arthritis from the doctor and patient's viewpoint].

Based on the opinions of 20 expert rheumatologists from two rheumatological hospitals a number of important assumptions are provided relative to the intraarticular administration of glucocorticoids in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The viewpoints appeared to be many and varied even within the frameworks of the same hospital. The ranging of some rehabilitation factors in certain parameters (efficacy, danger, availability, and so forth) demonstrated that the technique of intraarticular punctures is an effective and popular enough method for the treatment of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.