Chemical Composition and Therapeutic Effects of Several Astragalus Species (Fabaceae).

The review integrates information on the component composition and biological activity of some Astragalus L. (Fabaceae) species from studies reported over the past 5-7 years. The aerial and underground parts of 34 Astragalus species contain triterpene saponins, flavonoids, polysacharides, tannins, free organic acids, higher fatty acids, vitamins, trace elements, and other constituents.

[Effects of infusion therapy during anesthesia on circulating blood volume, osmolality and colloid-osmotic pressure].

The problems of infusion therapy during anesthesia and surgery, relevant for clinical practice, have been reviewed. The changes in circulating blood volume, plasma osmolality and colloid-osmotic pressure have been studied depending on quantitative and qualitative structure of the infusion therapy as well as on the duration of surgical intervention. The dependence observed indicates that infusion therapy during anesthesia and surgery must not be considered a routine procedure.

[Radionuclide evaluation of the state of the heart in chronic post-embolic pulmonary hypertension].

The study examines the potentialities of using radionuclide methods in the diagnosis of cardiac dysfunctions in chronic post-embolic pulmonary hypertension (CPPH). The most informative parameters are shown to be ejection fraction of the right (RV) and left ventricles (LV), severity of RV hypertrophy and dilation, which show changes in relation to the severity of pulmonary hypertension and the disease length. Radiocardiography employed in CPPH has some limitations.

[Hemodynamic changes in pulmonary thromboembolism].

Three variants of hemodynamic reaction to massive thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery are encountered--hyperkinetic, eukinetic, and hypokinetic. Their manifestations are determined by the patient's cardiovascular status at the onset of thromboembolism, the volume of the embolic obstruction, the degree of pulmonary hypertension, and the concomitant cardiopulmonary pathology. Effective treatment leading to marked reduction of pulmonary hypertension is conducive to increase in the proportion of the hyperkinetic type; ineffective thrombolysis, thrombosis of the inferior vena cava antiembolic filter, recurrent thromboembolism, and infarction pneumonia are the causes of diminished right-ventricular systolic function and reduced cardiac index, i.

[Hemodynamic aspects of the treatment of patients with "critical ischemia" of the lower extremities].

A complex examination of 60 patients with different stages of disturbances of blood circulation (by the Fontain classification) with chronic arterial insufficiency was performed. Specific features of regional hemodynamics were revealed in patient with "critical ischemia" (3rd and 4th stages of the disease). Threshold values of the "critical ischemia" were determined, most informative of them being the malleolus index and oxygen pressure on the foot.

[Scintigraphy of the myocardium with 201Tl and equilibrium ventriculography in thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery].

The results of scintigraphy of the right ventricular myocardium with 201T1 and equilibrium ventriculography were described in patients with the acute stage of thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery and chronic post-embolism pulmonary hypertension. A method of quantitative assessment of a degree of right ventricular hypertrophy and dilatation was proposed. Some regularities in the pulmonary heart formation were revealed with regard to a period of disease and the gravity of hemodynamic disturbances in the lesser circulation.

[Method of radionuclide determination of the right ventricular ejection fraction].

The authors developed a method of evaluation of the right ventricular (RV) ejection fraction based on the use of the left oblique projection for visualization of the right ventricle, separation of the RV contour into the systole and diastole, and subtraction of the surrounding tissue background calculated by a distance-dependent method. The proposed algorithm was shown to be versatile in evaluation of the background for RV and LV investigations. The results of determination of the RV ejection fraction in patients with chronic pulmonary hypertension of III-IV degree were suggestive of a significant decrease in RV contractility of these patients as compared to controls.

[A method of studying microcirculation in the gastric and duodenal walls].

The paper is concerned with the results of clinical application of a new method of investigation of microcirculation in the gastric and duodenal wall. The method is based on the administration of a radiopharmaceutical in the submucous layer of the stomach and duodenum through the bioptic channel of a gastroscope with further recording of its rate of discharge on a gamma-chamber. A total of 48 patients with different gastroduodenal diseases were investigated.

[Method of processing the results of dynamic radionuclide studies based on methods for solving incorrect problems].

The authors have proposed a method for the calculation of distribution function of the time of a radioactive indicator entry in the studied organ. Function type is determined by a technique of indicator injection in the vascular bed and the state of the major vascular pathways of indicator transfer from an injection spot to a recording spot. The calculation technique is based upon the application of the methods of the solution of ill-posed problems to the calculation of the parameters of a model of indicator primary passage through the organ.