[Experience with selenium used to recover adrenocortical function in patients taking glucocorticosteroids long].

Aim: To study the effect of selenium on adrenocortical function in patients taking glucocorticosteroids (GCS) long.

Subjects And Methods: The study included 56 patients who had been long taking oral GCS for the underlying disease. Adrenocortical function was evaluated by a short synacthen test; adrenal insufficiency (mean cortisol level 8.

[Comparative investigation of quality of life and clinical pancreatic index in patients with chronic pancreatitis].

Aim: To compare efficacy of using EORTC QLQ-C30 and clinic pancreatic index (CPI) in assessment of severity and treatment efficacy of chronic pancreatitis (CP).

Material And Methods: The CPI is proposed which is an integrated quantitative index based on formalization of CP symptoms (number of operations for CP complications, efficacy of outpatient treatment, number of treatment courses in hospital, body mass loss, pain intensity, degree of steatorea, number of daily defecations, other dispeptic complaints, glucose tolerance). Quality of life (QoL) estimated with EORTC QLQ-C30 was compared with CPI in 22 patients before and 1 month after start of treatment of CP with enzyme medicine in combination with proton pump inhibitor and, on demand, analgetic from the group of nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs.

[Assessment of some oxidative stress parameters in bronchial asthma patients beyond add-on selenium supplementation].

The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of selenium deficit replenishment in patients with bronchial asthma (BA) on manifestations of oxidative stress and conditions of the antioxidant system (AOS). The need of correction of selenium deficit in BA-patient is determined by the increased needs in antioxidants due to chronic inflammatory process responcible for pathogenesis of BA. Latvia and also Eastern Finland, Byelorussia, some regions of Ukraine, some regions of the NorthWestern Russia, New Zealand belong to endemic areas with marked selen deficit in soils and foodstuff.

[External respiration function and quality of life in patients with bronchial asthma in correction of selenium deficiency].

Aim: To examine the effect of selenium (Se) adjuvant therapy on external respiration function (ERF) and quality of life (QOL) in bronchial asthma (BA) patients.

Material And Methods: 26 patients with BA received standard therapy and adjuvant 200 mcg/day selenium (SelenoPRECISE, PharmaNord, Denmark) for 16 weeks. ERF was estimated by FEV1 and FVC, QOF--by the response to Juniper Adult Asthma Quality of life Short Questionnaire (AQLQ-S) at initiation and end of the study.

[Ultrasonographic assessment of chronic pancreatitis severity. Pancreatic index].

Aim: To introduce the pancreatic index assessing severity of chronic pancreatitis (CP).

Material And Methods: Ultrasonography was made in 28 patients with clinically documented diagnosis of CP. A total of 6 groups of ultrasonographic signs served the basis for calculation of scores for a complex formalized semiquantitative criterion--the pancreatic index (PI).

Antioxidant defense and trace element imbalance in patients with postradiation syndrome: first report on phase I studies.

More than 6000 residents of Latvia were involved in recovery work in Chernobyl. They were healthy men exposed to substantial ionizing radiation (0.01-0.

[The determination of immunoreactive gastrin in gastric juice].

A number of conditions should be observed when pretreating gastric juice for gastrin measurements, in order to obtain reliable results. The authors compare the results of gastric juice pretreatment by various methods and the results obtained with the use of different radioimmunoassay kits. Calculation coefficients are suggested, based on the results of computer processing of standard curves.

[Functiono-morphologic substantiation of the diagnostic value of the atropine test in patients with duodenal ulcer].

The basal production of hydrochloric acid, pepsin, the level of immunoreactive gastrin-17 in the blood serum and gastric juice, endocrine G-, EcI- and Ec-cells of the gastric mucosa were studied in 42 patients with duodenal peptic ulcer. Patients with a negative atropine test were characterized by a high production of hydrochloric acid, hypergastrinemia, an elevated secretion of gastrin with gastric juice, hyperplasia of G- and EcI-cells. In a positive atropine test these indices were lower with the exception of a great amount of Ec-cells in the antral mucosa.

[Insulin in human gastric juice].

As shown by means of radioimmunoassay high amounts of immunoreactive insulin were first to be found in gastric juice of both healthy persons and the patients with duodenal ulcer. Content of insulin in gastric juice was 3-fold as high as in blood serum. Atropine decreased slightly the insulin content in gastric juice, whereas histamine did not affect its concentration.

[Estimation of gastrin in human gastric juice].

Concentration of gastrin was estimated in the stomach contents using a radioimmunoassay following careful collection and conservation of gastric juice. Debit of gastrin and the rate of its secretion are the most informative patterns as compared with estimation of the hormone content in the juice. The estimation of gastrin might be important both in studies of pathogenesis of stomach diseases and of mechanisms of drug action in treatment of the diseases.