[Protective effect of melatonin and epithalon on hypothalamic regulation of reproduction in female rats in its premature aging model and on estrous cycles in senescent animals in various lighting regimes].

Potential neuroprotective effects of the pineal gland hormone melatonin and peptide preparation epitalon on estrous cycles and the central regulation of reproduction in female rats exposed to unfavourable environmental factors have been studied. Estrous cycles of young, mature and aging rats exposed to light pollution were described. The diurnal dynamics and daily mean content of biogenic amines in the hypothalamic areas responsible for gonadotropin-releasing hormone synthesis and secretion in animals of different age groups were investigated.

Gonorrhoea surveillance, laboratory diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in 11 countries of the eastern part of the WHO European region.

Quality-assured worldwide surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is crucial for public health purposes. In the countries of the eastern part of the WHO European region the knowledge regarding gonococcal AMR is limited, and antimicrobials of many different types, sources and quality are used for gonorrhoea treatment. This study surveyed gonorrhoea incidence, laboratory diagnosis and gonococcal AMR testing in 11 independent countries of the former Soviet Union.

Guidelines for the laboratory diagnosis of mycoplasma genitalium infections in East European countries.

The present guidelines aim to provide comprehensive information regarding laboratory diagnosis of Mycoplasma genitalium infections in East European countries. These guidelines are intended primarily for laboratory professionals testing specimens from patients at sexual health care clinics, but may also be useful for community-based screening programmes. Diagnosis of M.

Comparison of microscopy, culture and in-house PCR and NASBA assays for diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Russia.

This study aimed to assess the laboratory diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in St. Petersburg, Russia. In total, 334 consecutive symptomatic patients were enrolled.

Pooling samples: the key to sensitive, specific and cost-effective genetic diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis in low-resource countries.

The aims of this study were to compare the performance characteristics and cost-effectiveness of pooling endocervical samples for screening and diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis, and to investigate the prevalence of C. trachomatis infection in women in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. A total of 1500 endocervical samples were tested individually and when pooled in groups of 5 and 10 samples, respectively.

Diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis in Russia--in-house PCR assays may be effective but overall optimization and quality assurance are urgently needed.

In the present study, the performance of the cell culture method, two non-Russian direct immunofluorescence (DIF) assays, and three different in-house polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests used in St. Petersburg, Russia, for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urogenital specimens was evaluated. A total of 650 patients were examined and it was most disquieting that previous C.

Effects of phentermine and phenformin on biomarkers of aging in rats.

Background: Caloric restriction (CR) is the only treatment known to substantially prolong both average and maximal life span in experimental animals. Interventions that mimic certain effects of CR could be potential anti-aging treatments in humans. Drugs which reduce appetite (anorexiants) represent one class of candidate treatments.

Functional morphology of ductus venosus in human fetus.

Objectives: The morphology of region umbilical vein, umbilical sinus and ductus venosus of human fetuses have been investigated.

Material And Methods: 26 human fetuses between 20 and 40 weeks' gestation were examined by morphological methods. The umbilical vein, DV and the portal vein were obtained after termination of gestation.

[Myeloperoxidase in the human placenta at preterm labor].

In the present study the level of myeloperoxidase in the human placenta at premature was investigated. Mycloperoxidase content did not depend on its localization in placenta and decreased at premature labour. It is suggested that the decrease in the myeloperoxidase content in placenta results in the weakening of antimicrobial barrier in the system mother-placenta-fetus and plays an important role in pathogenesis of premature delivery at later term.

Disturbances of diurnal rhythms of biogenic amines contents in hypothalamic nuclei as an evidence of neurotropic effects of enterotropic carcinogen 1,2-dimethylhydrazine.

Objectives: Our data on the contents of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and the metabolite of serotonin 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) measured in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), preoptic area (PA) and median eminence (ME) of hypothalamus of rats after single subcutaneous injection of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) as well as the effect of this carcinogen on formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the PA are presented in this paper.

Results: Diurnal changes of DA in all studied brain structures and of NE in the PA have been observed in the control group. Their morning levels were higher than evening ones.

[Expression in vivo of the lacZ gene, delivered to mouse lungs using synthetic microspheres].

A capacity of MF-2 synthetic microspheres to serve as the vehicle for transfer of the marker LacZ gene to mouse lung epithelial cells was studied after a single intranasal administration of the MF-2/gene complex. Two types of plasmids carrying marker gene LacZ were used in the experiments: with cytoplasmic (pCMV-LacZ) and nuclear (pCMV-nlsLacZ) localization of the gene product (beta-galactosidase). As early as 7 days after the complexes MF-2/pCMV-LacZ and MF-2/pCMV-nlsLacZ were administered, specific staining for beta-galactosidase revealed this enzyme activity in the epithelial cells of bronchi, bronchioli, and alveoli.

Functional and biochemical criteria for investigation of brain development disorders.

Functional state and creatine kinase (CK) activity in the amniotic fluid and blood of anencephalic fetuses was studied in the second trimester of pregnancy with the following pathomorphological investigation of the state of their CNS to reveal possible markers of development disorders. The extent of neurological disorders in newborn infants was retrospectively compared with data from functional studies of components of a biophysical profile (motor-cardiac reflex, heart rhythm oscillations, respiratory movements) and with CK activity in the amniotic fluid and blood of fetuses with hemolytic disease and fetuses of diabetic mothers and normal mothers in the third trimester of pregnancy. The results revealed informative indices of fetal CNS developmental disorders in the prenatal period that are of importance for predicting a prognosis of the extent of neurological disorders in newborn infants.

[Allelic polymorphism and analysis of haplotypes of the muscle protein kinase genes and haplotype analysis in residents of northwestern Russia and patients with myotonic dystrophy].

The distribution of alleles with various CTG-repeat numbers was studied and the haplotypes for polymorphic sites HhaI and HinfI of mouse muscle protein kinase (DMPK) were analyzed in inhabitants of northwestern Russia and in patients with myotonic dystrophy (90 and 18 chromosomes, respectively). Twelve normal alleles with the triplet-repeat number from 5 to 24 were identified and the alleles with five (42.5%) and 11-13 (37%) repeats were found to be predominant.

[Free-radical processes in blood serum, liver and large bowel during 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced carcinogenesis in rats].

Rats were injected 21 mg/kg dimethylhydrazine (DMH), in a single dose, subcutaneously (experimental run I), or 5 times at weekly intervals (experimental run II) to measure free-radical process indices in blood serum, liver and large bowel 24 hr after a single exposure and 6 months after 5 exposures. Run I identified marked DMH inhibition of blood-serum level of active forms of oxygen (AFO). However it did not involve any changes in the concentrations of such products of lipids peroxidation (LP) as dien conjugates, Schiff's bases and protein peroxides (PP).