Efficacy and tolerability of policosanol in hypercholesterolemic postmenopausal women.

This randomized, double-blind, multicenter placebo-controlled study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of policosanol, a cholesterol-lowering drug purified from sugar cane wax, in women who had experienced menopause and showed elevated serum total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels despite a 6-week standard lipid-lowering diet. Thus, 56 eligible patients were randomized to receive placebo or policosanol 5 mg/day for 8 weeks and the dose was doubled to 10 mg/day during the next 8 weeks. Policosanol (5 and 10 mg/day) significantly decreased LDL-cholesterol (17.

[Low-frequency vibrations in the treatment of patients with acute maxillary sinusitis and ethmoiditis. Non-specific resistance and immunity].

The authors present clinicoroentgenological and immunological evaluation of low-frequency mechanical intermittent biovibromassage used in the treatment of acute maxillary sinusitis alone and in its combination with ethmoiditis. The massage provides simple-in-use and effective impact on inflammation in the cells of the ethmoidal labyrinth. It can be practiced both in hospital and outpatiently.

English and Hebrew letter report by English- and Hebrew-reading subjects: evidence for stimulus control, not hemispheric asymmetry.

Three experiments were conducted using tachistoscopic circular displays of English and/or Hebrew letters that were equidistant from a fixation point. It was found that: (1) Irrespective of native language, English or Hebrew, subjects initiate their reports of English letters from the upper left quadrant and of Hebrew letters from the upper right quadrant of the display. In addition, subsequent letter reports come mostly from the same quadrant.

Bimodal electrodermal activity in schizophrenia.

Acute schizophrenics were found to be EDA hyper-responders, while chronics were hypo-responders. Within groups, acutes with positive symptoms tend to overrespond and chronics with negative symptoms to underrespond. Bimodality is thus most likely to arise when a sample containing both subtypes is tested.

[Topography of the gap junctions in human skin and their possible role in the nonneural transmission of information].

Localization and distribution of the gap junctions in the human epidermis have been studied. They are mainly concentrated in the area of biologically active (acupunctive) points and in so called meridians connecting these points. A supposition is made that the gap junction system performs certain integration of the information from the skin surface and its aneural transmission to remote areas.

[Use of vibrostimulating footgear in the complex treatment of stroke patients].

Under observation there were 95 patients with a history of a cerebral stroke. The therapeutic combination given to 65 of them included vibrostimulation of the bearing zones of the soles of both feet. The stimulation was effected inthe rhythm of man's walk with the use of special footwear developed at the Institute of Engineering Science, the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Electrodermal activity in depression: clinical and biochemical correlates.

Electrodermal activity was measured in a group of depressive patients and normal controls. Those patients classified as endogenous on the Newcastle Scale had significantly lower skin conductance levels than either the non-endogenous patients or controls. The endogenous depressives also contained significantly more non-responders to the experimental stimuli.

Bromocriptine in the treatment of hyperolactinemic amenorrhea.

Thirty women with secondary amenorrhea and hyperprolactinemia were studied; galactorrhea was present in 25 of them, and 18 were infertile. Serum prolactin (PRL) levels were high in all cases, between 26 and 120 ng/ml. All women were treated with bromocriptine in increasing doses from 2.

Plasma levels of norepinephrine during the periovulatory period in normal women. Further studies.

Eleven normally cycling women in whom laparotomy was indicated for benign gynecologic pathology were studied. Surgery was performed on day 0 (expected day of ovulation). Blood samples were drawn daily from day -8 to day -4, and every 8 hours from day -3 to day +2; estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), norepinephrine (NE), and LH were determined by RIA.

Pituitary and ovarian response to acute stimulation with LH-RH in normal and anovulatory women.

The LH FSH estradiol and progesterone responses to acute stimulation with LH-RH were studied in 12 normal women with ovulatory cycles (4 in the initial follicular phase, 4 in the mid-follicular phase and 4 in the late follicular phase) and in two castrated women, two under hormonal contraception, two with ovarian amenorrhea, twelve with central amenorrhea of no detectable origin (6 with normal and 6 with low basal gonadotrophins), eleven anovulatory patients with pseudomenstruation, two with anorexia nervosa, and two with pituitary amenorrhea. Each woman received a rapid i.v.

[The effect of cholinergic substances on individual mechanoreceptors--Pacinian corpuscles].

Acetylcholine and nicotine application to the intact pacinian corpuscle failed to stimulate the spike activity, but changed the sensitivity to the mechanical stimulation: low concentration (1.10(-6) g/ml) increased the sensitivity and high concentration (1.10(-4) g/ml) decreased it.

[Treatment of the anovulatory sterility with LH-RH (author's transl)].

Thirthy one infertile women with different forms of anovulation were treated with LH-RH on various schemes of application: continuous intravenous (i.v.) infusion, intramuscular (i.

Daily variations of FSH, LH and testosterone response to intravenous luteinizing hormone-releasing factor (LRF) in normal men.

The responses of FSH, LH and testosterone to acute stimulation with synthetic LRF were studied in 6 healthy, fertile men aged 33.4 plus or minus 1.6 yr (X plus or minus SE).