Increased expression of uPA, uPAR, and PAI-1 in psoriatic skin and in basal cell carcinomas.

There is substantial evidence implicating the urokinase system in tissue remodeling during neo-vascularization, inflammation, tumor invasion, and metastasis. Regulated degradation of the extracellular matrix at the leading edge of migrating cells, mediated by uPA and uPAR, is required for tissue remodeling, invasiveness, and angiogenesis. Psoriasis and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) are the most common skin diseases.

[Lipoid necrobiosis in the practical work of a therapist and dermatologist].

This paper deals with the main aspects of etiology and pathogensis, clinical picture and therapy of lipoid necrobiosis. A case of successful treatment of the disease that developed long before clinical and laboratory manifestations of disturbed carbohydrate metabolism is reported.

[Comparative analysis of methods for laboratory diagnosis of Lyme's disease in early stages of infection].

Different methods of laboratory diagnostics were comparatively analyzed in examining 25 patients at the early infection stage. Sera were measured by using various serological reactions. Specific antibodies were determined by using the reaction of indirect immune-fluorescence (RIIF), the immune-enzyme analysis (IEA) and the complement-binding reaction (CBR) in 83.

[Diagnosis and treatment of malignant melanoma of the skin (a lecture)].

The authors analyse specific features of the diagnosis and treatment of malignant melanoma of the skin in individuals follaved up in 1985-1990. A program of active diagnosis of skin melanoma has been developed and introduced into practice which allowed detection of the tumor at the first stage of its development in 83% of patients and to limit the radical management to a quite economical resection (by 2-5 cm from the border of the tumor) in 72% of patients. Five-year survival was 92%.

[Treatment of epitheliomas].

In a period of 6 years the authors had 615 patients with epitheliomas. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was found in 22 of them, meta-typical carcinoma in 2, and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in the remaining cases. The frequency of application and comparative efficacy of various methods of treatment were appraised.

[Groups at high risk for skin cancer].

A special program aimed at detecting skin cancer at early stages was worked out and launched into use in 1989. It provides for a series of measures for primary examination and subsequent follow-up of population. Dermatologists conducted examinations of persons at high risk 2-4 times a year depending on the disease.

[Radiation therapy of Kaposi's sarcoma with accelerated electrons].

Kaposi's sarcoma and AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma resistant to chemotherapy were irradiated locally in 14 and 1 patient, respectively, and followed up for 1--6 years. The energy (10 MeV) in the total focal dose of 24--40 Gy was emitted as high-speed electrons from a medical accelerator. An immediate response was obtained in all the patients.

[Skin cancer morbidity among a constant contingent of the population].

A study of skin cancer morbidity in the population followed within 1985-1989 showed skin epithelioma to be the most frequent cancer over the whole period making up 18.2-22.5% of the total number of malignancies.

[Evaluation of plasmapheresis effectiveness in patients with psoriasis].

A pronounced therapeutic effect of plasmapheresis recorded in 21 psoriasis patients correlated with changes in hemostasis and immune status supporting the conception of autoimmune origin of the disease. Using present-day methods of immunological and hemostatic investigation it becomes possible to manage the oriented correction which is an important factor in psoriasis therapy.

[Plasmapheresis in dermatology].

Overall 105 patients with different dermatoses were placed under observation. The patients received plasmapheresis (PA) treatment. PA was tolerated well by the majority of the patients, with the method efficacy amounting to 96%.

[Plasmapheresis in the therapy of refractive forms of psoriasis].

Plasmapheresis efficacy was assessed in 18 patients with psoriasis running a prolonged and torpid course resistant to therapy administered before. Intermittent flow plasmapheresis method was employed. The course of treatment consisted of 5-8 sessions, 600-1050 ml of plasma was removed per session.

[Ethacizine in the treatment of psoriasis].

Ethacizine (2-carbethoxyamino-10 (3-diethylaminopropionyl) phenothiazine hydrochloride) has been administered in a daily dose of 150-200 mg for 8-10 weeks to 46 patients with diffuse psoriasis. The treatment has been effective in 84.8% of the patients.

[Disorders of oxygenation and skin capillary blood flow rate in psoriasis and correction of them with ethacizine].

Oxygen and hydrogen polarography has revealed functional changes of the oxygen regimen and hemoperfusion of both involved and apparently intact skin in patients with common psoriasis. These changes developed by stages and their intensity varied. Ethacizine therapy has been effective in 91% of the patients, improving the parameters of the skin capillary blood oxygenation and volumetric rate both during the stationary and progressive forms of the disease.

[Effect of ethacizine on indices of the oxygen regimen and blood perfusion of the skin in psoriasis patients].

Oxygen regimen and hemoperfusion of affected and visually unchanged skin were studied in 35 patients with psoriasis universalis using methods of H and O polarography. Latent disorders of the microcirculatory system detected by functional tests were noted in visually unaffected skin zones. Sharp changes of oxygen regimen and hemoperfusion indices were noted in affected skin, especially during progression of disease.