Cognitive Development and Adaptive Skills of Children in Institutions of Russian Federation

In present study we examine cognitive development and adaptive skills of children raised in institutions (called Baby Homes) in Russian Federation. Previously it was shown that children in institutions leg behind their age peers in physical and motor development, show deficits in cognitive and language development. However, during the last few years important changes have been introduced in the institutional care system in Russian Federation and there is a dearth of research on cognitive development of children in Baby Homes after the changes have been implemented. The purpose of the current study was to examine cognitive development and adaptive skills of children residing in modern baby homes. We examined 59 children in the age range from 35 to 59 months: 38 children living in baby homes (M = 45,42, SD = 7.04; 17 girls, 21 boys) and 21 children living in biological families (M = 44,90, SD = 7,76; 13 girls, 8 boys). To evaluate cognitive development of children we used three non-verbal scales of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the Vineland Behavior Adaptive Scales to obtain information about children’s adaptive skills. Results show that children in baby homes show significantly lower scores on all the scales of cognitive development and adaptive skills in comparison with children in biological families. These results demonstrate the necessity of future changes in the institutional care system in order to improve the environment for children in institutions, nurturing their development

Free Radical Oxidation and Sleep Disorders in Andro- and Menopause (Literature Review)

This review presents data on changes in the physiology of sleep during reproductive aging. It is noted that insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) are the main sleep disorders. The results of foreign and domestic studies in the field of free radical oxidation during sleep deprivation in animal models are presented, indicating the dependence of processes on the duration of sleep deprivation. The largest number of studies of free radical processes in a person with somnological pathology was carried out in the study of OSAS. Blood, urine, saliva, condensate of exhaled air can be biomaterial for determining the parameters of free radical oxidation. It was shown that the intensity of oxidative stress depends on the severity of OSAS, as evidenced by the positive correlation of the level of active products of thiobarbituric acid, the products of oxidation of proteins and carbonyl groups with the apnea/hypopnea index, determining the development of not only oxidative, but also carbonyl stress in patients with a severe degree OSAS. Biomarkers such as thioredoxin, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and reduced iron have shown a more stable relationship between increased oxidative stress and OSA. Despite the results obtained, the question of the association of oxidative stress and hypoxia in OSA remains debatable, which is associated with the opposite results of some studies. Insomnia, which occurs mainly in females, is accompanied by a high level of end products of lipid peroxidation with a decrease in the activity of antioxidants such as paraoxonase, an enzymatic component of the glutathione system. Along with this, menopausal women present low levels of uric acid, which correlates with high scores of the Pittsburgh sleep quality index questionnaire. Recent studies have identified an association between the activity of the «lipoperoxidation – antioxidants» system and the Clock 3111T/C gene polymorphism in menopausal Caucasian women, indicating the protective role of the minor allele

INSOMNIA AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS OF MELATONIN IN MENOPAUSAL WOMEN

The aim of the review is to analyze literature data about sleep homeostasis and the role of the one of circadian system key elements – melatonin – in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle in women in menopause. It was shown that the prevalence and structure of sleep disorders depends on the menopausal phase. It was revealed that the melatonin content in the body, determined in various biological media (blood, saliva, urine), depends on age, sex, race, and chronotype. It was shown that morning melatonin can be used as a biological marker for determining the chronotype. Most studies indicated a decrease in melatonin level with aging. Moreover, women have lower melatonin level than men. In case of insomnia, lower melatonin level was found, although the results of the studies are ambiguous. The shift in the peak of hormone secretion in the early morning hours was described in menopausal women. Also, the dependence of melatonin circadian rhythm on the menopausal phase was revealed, which determines different approaches to insomnia therapy. We revealed the association of melatonin secretion circadian rhythms with Clock 3111T/C gene polymorphism in Caucasian patients with insomnia, which allows considering 3111T allele as risky in the formation of melatonin circadian rhythm disturbances in these patients

Performance of Metabolic Parameters in Formation of Sleep Disorders in Menopausal Women

Background. It is known that menopausal women suffer from sleep disorders. As additional diagnostic methods, it is possible to use the equations of linear classification functions.Aim: to determine the most informative parameters among the lipid profile, the “lipid peroxidation – antioxidant protection” system parameters and the melatonin secretion chronobiological rhythms in menopausal women with sleep disorders.Materials and methods. 56 perimenopausal women and 70 postmenopausal ones in accordance with the inclusion criteria participated in this study. Diagnoses of insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome were made according to the results of specialized somnological questionnaires and polysomnographic monitoring. Spectrophotometric methods for studying of lipid metabolism and the “lipid peroxidation – antioxidant protection” system parameters, an enzyme immunoassay method for determining melatonin were also used. A multidimensional discriminant analysis to reveal the most informative parameters among the parameters studied was used.Results. The most informative indicators of the metabolic system for sleep disorders in perimenopausal women with insomnia are melatonin 06.00–07.00 h, melatonin 18.00–19.00 h, melatonin 23.00–00.00 h, ketodienes and conjugated trienes, oxidized glutathione; with insomnia and OSAS – melatonin 06.00–07.00 h, melatonin 12.00–13.00 h, melatonin 23.00–00.00 h, substrates with conjugated double bonds, total cholesterol; in postmenopausal women with insomnia – diene conjugates, α-tocopherol, total antioxidant capacity, active products of thiobarbituric acid, reduced glutathione; with insomnia and OSAS – total antioxidant capacity, α-tocopherol, substrates with conjugated double bonds.Conclusions. The results obtained indicate a great strain in the antioxidant protection system in menopausal women with sleep disorders in response to changes in free radical homeostasis

Comparative Analysis of Clinical, Hormonal and Morphological Studies in Patients with Neuroendocrine ACTH-Producing Tumours

This paper highlights the problem of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) with clinical symptoms of hypercorticism caused by hypersecretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) by tumour cells. In most cases (85%), the tumours were localized in the pituitary gland (Cushing's disease); 15% of the patients had an extrapituitary tumour that manifest as an ectopic ACTH secretion (EAS). Comparative analysis of clinical, hormonal, histological, and immunohistochemical characteristics of pituitary and extrapituitary ACTH-secreting NET was performed. It included 46 patients with CD and 38 ones exhibiting ectopic ACTH secretion (EAS). Results of the study suggest differences between CD and EAS in terms of the severity of clinical manifestations and duration of the disease. Hormonal studies showed that EAS unlike CD was associated with high plasma ACTH and cortisol levels, late-evening salivary cortisol and daily urinary free cortisol, the absence of a 60% or greater reduction of cortisol in the HDDST test, and the presence of a low (less than 2) ACTH gradient in response to desmopressin administration with catheterization of cavernous sinuses. The study of morphofunctional characteristics of the removed NET demonstrated the ability of both pituitary and extrapituitary NETs to express ACTH as well as GH, PRL, LH, and FSH. The angiogenic markers (CD31 and VEGF) were detected with equal frequency regardless of the NET localization. The histological structure of all corticotropinomas suggested their benign origin, but extrapituitary NETs were represented by different morphological types with varying malignancy, invasiveness, and metastatic properties. A higher cell proliferation potential (Ki-67) was documented for NET in patients presenting with an ectopic ACTH secretion compared to those having corticotropinomas

ETHNIC DIFFERENCE OF HEALTH DISORDERS IN INDIGENOUS ETHNIC GROUP OF BAIKAL REGION (LITERATURE REVIEW)

An analysis of the researches showed that the indigenous ethnic group of Baikal region has high level of adaptation to a place of residence in comparison with migrant. Rate and clinical manifestations of diseases in the Buryat ethnic group have significant differences from the Russian (moderate type 1 diabetes, severe reproductive disorders). Also, there are some differences of redox protection state in indigenous ethnic group of Baikal region that could be an additional biochemical marker of disease severity

MENOPAUSE AND SLEEP DISTURBANCES

The article contains the review of literature data of domestic and foreign researchers concerning the issues of climacteric period, in women

THE STATE OF ANTIOXIDANT SYSTEM OF THE WOMEN UNDERGOING THE PROCEDURE OF IN VITRO FERTILIZATION

The antioxidant system activity was studied in 74 patients undergoing infertility treatment by the vitro fertilization, depending on the effectiveness of the procedure

Academic Genres and Federal State Educational Standard: on Course to Compromise

The article is devoted to the organization of work with postgraduate students of Russian universities. The urgency of the problem of teaching the principles of presentation of results of own research activities in written and oral form in Russian and foreign (English) languages is stated. The authors consider the generalization of learning objectives and equivalence of requirements for the mastery of the mother tongue and a foreign language in a modern high school standards at the stage of bachelor, master and PhD programs one of the important reasons that hinder the solution to the problem. Uneven number of hours distinguished for studying of Russian and foreign languages starting from the senior secondary school is also noted. Based on their long-time experience, the authors set out their vision of ways of solving this problem for the Russian audience. As a compromise in the existing conditions it is proposed to introduce for these categories of students the new integrated, bilingual course. The aim of the course is to help postgraduate students of different specialties in the preparation and publication of scientific works in Russian and English and to enable them part-time and full-time participation in conferences of Russian and international level. The choice of the course name and the components of its content is carried out taking into account the analysis of foreign experience and Russian rhetorical tradition. The authors’ development of the modules of the course “Scientific writing and scientific rhetoric” is presented, a brief description of their contents is given