Role of cytokines, IL1-β and IL-10, in the development of endocrine ophthalmopathy in Graves’ disease

Background: Endocrine ophthalmopathy (EO) is a disease which is characterized by progressive autoimmune inflammation of extraocular muscles and retrobulbar adipose tissue, and is accompanied by infiltration, edema and proliferation of retrobulbar adipose tissue, muscles and connective tissue, leading to worsened quality of life, limited capacity for work and even ocular atrophy. It has been demonstrated that cytokines are involved in the development of autoimmune ophthalmopathy in Graves’ disease (GD). Thus, the secretion of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNFα were increased several dozenfold in active ophthalmopathy, but the specificity of cytokines in EO is still a subject of discussion among researchers. Purpose: To assess the levels of proinflammtory cytokines (IL-1β) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10) in Graves’ disease complicated by endocrine ophthalmopathy. Material and Methods: Forty-three patients with Graves’ disease (33 women and 10 men; age, 18 to 71 years) underwent an examination. They were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of EO: GD plus EO (24 patients) and GD only (19 patients). Disease duration was 2.2±0.4 years for patients with GD plus EO versus 3.98±0.74 years for patients with GD only (р<0.05). All patients were treated with antithyroid drugs (mercazolil and thyrozol) and were classified as having compensated thyroid disease at the time of the study. All patients with GD plus AO had a CAS score exceeding 3 (the active stage of EO). Patients underwent an examination including ultrasonic assessment of thyroid gland volume, hormonal examination (serum TSH, free T4 (fT4), and free T3 (fT3)), assessment of serum antithyroid antibodies (anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies and TSHR-Ab) and serum IL-1β and IL-10 levels. Results: Serum IL-1β levels were significantly increased in patients with Graves’ disease compared to healthy controls. Serum IL-1β levels for patients with GD plus EO were significantly higher than for patients with GD only (45.48 ± 16.19 pg/ml versus 10.44±5.17 pg/ml; р 0.05)

Peculiarities of Calculating the Cost of Public Goods (from the Necessary to the Desired): Domestic Realities and European Experience

Social needs and instruments for their satisfaction — public goods — have been studied. Attention is drawn to the fact that social needs are composed of individual and collective needs of economic entities. They are interrelated and complementary. An important difference between individual and collective needs is in their personification (individualization) and divisibility. Proper consideration has been paid to concepts related to the needs of society — the public interest (as a form of social needs), public goods (all the goods, services that can satisfy social needs). For studying social needs and benefits in this work there was taken one of the most popular of their classification, which lies in their division into primary and secondary ones. Emphasis is placed on importance of its use in determining the priority of financing public goods. The focus is on the approach to calculating the cost of public goods. It is regarded as one of the stages in satisfying social needs (along with planning and analysis of the degree for their satisfaction). An approach to determining the structure of financing the total volume of public goods, calculating minimum admissible and desired volume of financing has been presented. The current interest in the European experience prompted the authors to analyze the cost and structure of financing public goods in France, the available statistical base allowing it to be implemented. The determined dependence between the indicators enabled conducting calculations of the desired volumes of financing the public needs per person according to three scenarios: optimistic, satisfactory and critical relevant to phases of the economic cycle. This simulation is aimed at being used in management decisionmaking, development of social and economic policy, etc. There have been noted serious shortcomings related to the lack of quality and reliable statistical information on Ukraine, which hamper the calculation and consideration of foreign experienc