[Clinical and laboratory features in tuberculosis and osteomyelitis of the spine].

Tuberculous spondylitis runs atypically with its acute onset, high fever, and violent pain in 20% of cases. This disease is characterized by a high specific activity of T lymphocytes, by high levels of antituberculous antibodies, by a higher activity of adenosine deaminase, by higher concentrations of IgA and IgE. The gradual onset and few-symptom course of hematogenous osteomyelitis were revealed in 15% of cases.

[Neutrophilic and lymphocytic factors of an immune response in renal tuberculosis].

Fifty-eight patients with nephrotuberculosis at its peak were found to have a high functional activity of neutrophilic granulocytes, as determined by the lysosomal cation test, by the levels of myeloperoxidase and lactoferrin. The subpopulation of lymphocytes, concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-2 (IL-2), as well as those of IL-2 in a combination with its soluble receptor (SR-2) in the serum and supernatant of cellular cultures stimulated by phytohemagglutitin and PPD were studied. The findings suggest that there is a close correlation between the high concentrations of IL-2 and PP-alpha and the decreased content of activated lymphocytes expressing receptors to IL-2 (CD25+).

[Immunity in patients with active tuberculous spondylitis].

Immunological parameters were studied in 45 patients with active tuberculous spondylitis, admitted for surgical treatment, who were divided into 2 groups in accordance with the prevalence of exudative-necrotic, or productive components of inflammation in the vertebral bodies and paravertebral tissues. The patients with a predominantly exudative-necrotic component of inflammation exhibited a severe clinical course with frequent neurological disorders, large abscesses in the paravertebral tissues, inflammatory changes in the leukogram, enhanced specific T-lymphocytic activity in the PPD blast-transformation reaction, significant increases in the levels of tuberculosis antibodies and IgE, IL-2 and it soluble IL-2 receptor RR-alpha, an excessively high increase in the functional activity of neutrophilic granulocytes, and lower with IgG2. The degree of immunological disorders corresponds to the severity of a course of tuberculous spondylitis.

[Surgery on tuberculosis lymphatic system and abdominal organs].

The paper presents data on surgery for tuberculosis of the lymphatics and abdominal organs. Removal of tuberculosis-affected peripheral lymph nodes during etiotropic therapy yields positive therapeutical results in 84.6% of patients.

[State of local immunity in patients with inflammatory diseases of the spine].

The paper presents the results of examination of spinal fluid in tuberculous spondylitis (n = 83), its sequelae (n = 58), spinal osteomyelitis (n = 25) for the levels of tuberculosis antibodies (TAb) by applying the routine enzyme immunoassay, specially adapted to this biological object, and immunoglobulins. A relationship was found between TAb detection and the rate of the process and the severity of a spinal cord lesion. Forty one patients had severe spinal cord disorders (paraplegia and deep paraparesis).