Changes in ganglion nodosum neurons associated with stress-related cardiac deficiency.

Cell bodies of cardio-vascular receptors localized in the ganglion nodosum of rabbits exposed to experimental emotional stress were studied with the light and electron microscope and histochemically. Under emotional stress some rabbits demonstrated almost unchanged arterial pressure and only a small increase in heart rate, while other animals displayed strongly marked disturbances of their blood circulation leading to the acute heart deficiency at the end of the experiment. In the stress-resistant rabbits, microscopic anatomy and ultrastructure of neurons indicated their increased activity.

Gentle and strong acupuncture: a short review of the two main approaches to treatment.

For centuries, the Qi secondary pathways have been known. Although in many diseases puncturing their points can be very effective, such treatment, surprisingly, is used very restrictively. In this article we present some methods allowing the relief of these pathways in their most limited sites.

Silent myocardial ischemia in patients with essential hypertension.

The aim of this study was to determine the significance of the "coronary factor" in patients with essential hypertension (EH). Electrocardiogram Holter monitoring was performed in 61 patients with EH stage II (according to the World Health Organization criteria). Silent, ie, painless ST-segment depression, was found in 34 patients on whom echocardiography, a treadmill test, and transesophageal pacing were performed.

Serum neopterin--possible immunological marker of myocardial inflammation in patients with dilated heart muscle disease.

Measurement of neopterin in biological fluids is a sensitive and specific tool for detecting activation of the T cell/macrophage system. Serum neopterin level, detected by radioimmunoassay, and data from morphological investigations of myocardium were compared in 29 patients with a clinical diagnosis of dilated heart muscle disease. According to the results of endomyocardial biopsy (22 cases) and autopsy (seven cases), 14 patients had morphological features of myocarditis, 13 dilated cardiomyopathy and two a fibrotic subtype of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMP).

Immunohistochemical investigation of autoantibodies to nerve fibers in cardiomyopathy.

The immunofluorescence technique was used to trace auto-antibodies to neural structures in the blood serum of 180 patients with various cardiomyopathies and 20 healthy probands (controls). Incubation of cryostat slices of heart, kidney, spinal cord and medulla oblongata of Wistar-rats or of cell cultures of embryonal spinal cord with the blood serum of patients with cardiomyopathies resulted in immunofluorescence of nerve fibres and neuronal perikaryon. The controls were negative.

Quantitative histoenzymological characteristics of the myocardium in sudden cardiac death.

Enzymes in the human myocardium following sudden death were examined for activity in a quantitative histoenzymological study, these were NAD-dependent dehadrogenases of succinate (SDG), lactate (LDG), beta-hydroxybutyrate (beta-HOBDG), alpha-glycerophosphate (alpha-GPDG), alcohol (ADG), glucoso-6-phosphate (G-6-PDG), and NAD-diaphorase (NADse), and catalase. Autopsies were performed within 3 h after death. beta-HOBDG and LDG were found to show an increase in activity in the cardiomyocytes of sudden death subjects with coronary heart disease without apparent changes.

Current status and prospects for arterial hypertension research in the Soviet Union.

Research on arterial hypertension is being conducted in the Soviet Union under a program organized by the National Cardiology Research Center. Four program directions are included: (a) basic research on the pathophysiologic mechanisms in the development of hypertension, including vascular wall viscosity and elasticity, associated regulatory mechanisms, and molecular and cellular mechanisms of vascular tone; (b) clinical research on the pathophysiology of hypertension and the mechanisms responsible for the course and prognosis of the disease, including biobehavioral and psychological aspects and the effects of sodium kinetics and a sodium-limiting diet; (c) approaches to treatment, both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic; and (d) population studies of children, adolescents, and adults.

Psychophysiological interrelations and reactivity characteristics in hypertensives.

Two hundred three patients with essential hypertension (20- to 55-year-old men) were examined initially and at the end of a 1-year follow-up. Clinical, psychological, and psychophysiological methods were used. In the psychophysiological assessment, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate, and respiratory rate were recorded at rest and during various emotional stressors.

Extracorporeal methods in the management of severe and malignant arterial hypertension.

Novel approaches to managing refractory arterial hypertension (AH) have been tested in 130 patients aged 28 to 59 years with severe or malignant hypertension. Hemosorption was performed in 70 patients in whom AH was caused by chronic diffuse glomerulonephritis (49 cases) or chronic pyelonephritis (21 cases) accompanied by the appearance of chronic renal failure. In all patients, blood pressure after hemosorption decreased by 15% to 16% on the average, resulting in progressively improved renal function and a nearly 2.

Efficacy of relaxation techniques in hypertensive patients.

We examined 117 outpatients (20- to 45-year-old men) with mild essential hypertension before treatment, after the main treatment course (6 weeks), and at 12-month follow-up. The patients were randomized into two major groups: (a) a treatment group that received autogenic training (23 patients), biofeedback (24 patients), or breathing-relaxation training (23 patients) and (b) a control group that consisted of 24 patients who did not receive any intervention and 23 patients who were treated with a "psychological placebo." Clinical, psychological, and psychophysiological data from all patients who were offered relaxation therapy were analyzed.

Autogenic training in the treatment and secondary prevention of essential hypertension: five-year follow-up.

Ninety patients with essential hypertension were followed for 5 years. Initially the patients were randomized into two groups: (a) an experimental group consisting of 44 patients who received autogenic training and (b) a control group of 46 patients who did not receive any behavioral intervention. By the end of the follow-up period, the experimental group was significantly different from the control group, with reduced blood pressure (by 5.

Characteristics of lymphocyte beta-adrenoceptors in essential hypertension: effects of propranolol treatment and dynamic exercise.

The density of beta 2-receptors in intact lymphocytes was studied by binding with 125iodo-cyanopindolol in 18 male patients with mild or moderate hypertension before and after monotherapy with propranolol. The density of these receptors was also determined in 5 patients before and after dynamic exercise. We found that propranolol therapy evoked different changes in the density of beta-receptors in patients with essential hypertension.

Value of electrocardiography and echocardiography for diagnosing ventricular enlargement in dilated cardiomyopathy.

A comparison is made of the informative value of ECG voltage criteria, echocardiographic signs (90 cases) and autopsy findings (38 cases) for diagnosing heart enlargement in dilated cardiomyopathy. Besides enlargement of both ventricles there can also occur predominant enlargement of the left or right ventricle. Echocardiographic signs of the ventricular dimensions correlate closely with the ventricular mass established by separate weighing at autopsy.