[The classification of the late period in closed spinal trauma].

154 patients in the late period of closed trauma of spinal cord were followed up, 40 patients were examined by means of MRT method. There was a progredient course of disease in 20.3% of cases, mainly in patients with compression of spinal cord.

[Magnetic resonance tomography in the diagnosis of the neurological complications of lumbar osteochondrosis].

The analysis of results of magnetic resonance tomography was performed in 289 patients with neurological complications of lumbar osteochondrosis. Among such patients radicular and reflectoral syndromes were observed in 184 patients while diskogenic lumbar-sacral radiculomyeloischemias--in 105 ones. The high informativity of the method was demonstrated in visualisation of localisation, direction and sizes of intervertebral disks' hernias at lumbar osteochondrosis as well as in establishment of such factors which predisposed diskogenic radiculomyeloischemias' development.

[Magnetic resonance tomography in spinal cord trauma].

A total of 44 patients with sequelae of spinal injuries in the periods of 2 months to 46 years were studied by X-ray, neurological and NMR techniques and divided into 3 groups: (1) those with open injuries, (2) those with closed injuries concurrent with compression of the spinal marrow and/or roots of the cauda equina; 3) those with closed injuries without compression. It was shown that NMR tomography enabled the status of the vertebral canal and spinal marrow to be assessed and indications for surgical interventions to be specified. Spinal compression may in later periods result in post-traumatic progressive myelopathy appeared as atrophy of the spinal marrow and myelomalacia (with cyst formation in 18% of cases).

[Nuclear magnetic tomography in the diagnosis of spinal cord cysts].

Magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) was used in examinations of 172 patients with spinal cord abnormalities. Thirty-eight cysts were detected: 25 in syringomyelia, 5 in intramedullary tumors, 4 posttraumatic and 4 postoperational ones. Based on the MRT patterns, two types of syringomyelia were distinguished, the occlusive and idiopathic ones.

[The production of autoantibodies to nerve tissue glycolipid antigens in patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries].

The production of autoantibodies (AAB) to the specific antigen of myelin-containing components of the nervous tissue galactocerebroside (GalC) was revealed in 117 patients with traumatic injuries to the spinal cord of various severity in periods of 18 months to 46 years after the injury. The degree of nervous system destruction, the type of the course of posttraumatic myelopathy, and the level of production of AAB to GalC were found interrelated. The existence of AAB provides evidence of sensitization of the immune system to nervous tissue antigens in spinal cord injury, while the level of AAB to GalC reflects the activity of the continuing destructive process due to the injuring effect of AAB under conditions of impaired permeability of the blood-brain barrier and shows the desirability of desensitization therapy.