The role of melatonin in pathogenesis of aspirin-sensitive asthma.

Background: Platelets are involved in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma, including aspirin-sensitive asthma (ASA). The pineal hormone melatonin (MT) has been described as inhibiting several physiological processes in platelets. The MT metabolite - N-acetyl-5-methoxy-kynurenamine - has a chemical structure similar to that of acetylsalicylic acid.

[Antagonists of ionotropic glutamate receptors as the object of research in psychopharmacology].

Ionotropic glutamate receptors antagonists are now widely considered as potential medications for a variety of disorders, such as seizures, neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, and opiate tolerance and dependence. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the safest drugs are to be found amongst antagonists acting at glycine and polyamine sites of NMDA-receptor complex, low-affinity channel blockers, subtype-selective competitive NMDA-receptor antagonists, as well as non-NMDA glutamate receptors antagonists. These antagonists exhibit little or no abuse liability and are less likely to induce phencyclidine-like attention deficits and disruption of sensomotor gating.

[Dendritic antigen-presenting cells of the distal section of the female reproductive tract in normal, experimental and in pathological conditions].

Female lower genital tract (the vulva, vagina and uterine cervix) contains a system of dendritic antigen-presenting cells (APCs) which are the main elements of the afferent limb of its local immune system. These cells are found both in mucosal epithelium and lamina propria and possess specific ultrastructural, cytochemical, immunocytochemical and functional properties. Most numerous and well-studied populations of APCs in female lower genital tract are Langerhans cells which are highly sensitive to hormones and noxious factors.