HYPERPROLACTINAEMIA - ETIOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

The problem of hyperprolactinaemia is a relatively new and the information regarding it is still controversial. The aim of the present investigation is to analyze a five-year experience of the Clinic of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Prof. Paraskev Stoyanov Medical University of Varna in this field. Eighty-six patients with high prolactin levels are analyzed: 81 females at a mean age of 32.4 years and 5 males at a mean age of 37.3 years. The patients are grouped as follows: 25 with prolactinomas, 23 with hypothalamic hyperprolactinaemia, 14 with empty sella syndrome, 6 with another hormone-secreting pituitary tumor, 4 with primary hypothyroidism and 5 with drug-induced hyperprolactinaemia. The diagnosis is based on clinical features, hormone levels, computer assisted tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The main principles of treatment, their side effects and the results are discussed

CHANGES IN THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE LIVER IN THYROTOXICOSIS PATIENTS

No abstrac

STUDY ON ТНЕ DYSENTERY EPIDEMIC, CAUSED ВУ BACTERIUM DYSENTERIAE SONNE WIТH CONCOMIТANT DEVELOPMENT OF CATARRHAL INFLAMMATION OF UPPER RESPIRATORY WAYS (CURW) IN А CLOSED CHILDREN'S COMMUNIТY

Dysentery epidemics, caused bу Васt. dysenteriae Sonne have been described rather oflen in the past decade, especially аmong children groups. More rаrеlу а combined course of the dysentery epidemic is reported with epidemic caused bу adenoviral or other etiological factors. In this country, Sheljazkov and Radev, Slanishev, Nedialkova and Belova have observed clinical angina in patients with dysentery. In the literature reviewed wе couldn't find evidence for simultaneous development of dysentery epidemic - Sоnnе and catarrhal inflammation of the upper respiratory ways (CURW). The latter combination was observed in the boarding school of the village G. nеаг Vаrnа.The first dysentery cases occurred on 3 February, 1964 аnd spread rapidly, reaching the peak on 11 February; the illness was controlled on 15 February. The cases with CURW almost coincide with the dynamics just described.lnformation concerning dysentery discase аnd CURW show that CURW morbidity rаtе is higher than that of dysentery. ln part of the patieпts а combination was disclosed of the two affections. The analysis of the widespreading of the illnesses according to classes, sex аnd dormitories enabled us of establishing the following characteristic features:Boys and girls of the lower classes аге involved in а greater degree bу dysentery affections аnd less bу CURW. The contrary is valid for the children of the upper classes. The morbidity гаtе of dysentery among girls is higher as compared to boys, whereas morbidity of CURW - higher among boys and lower among girls.The involvement of children bу dysentery аnd CURW according to dormitories is reverse. For instaпce, in II dormitory where girls live mainly of III and IV classes, the dysentery cases are 60% and CURW - 36%. whereas in IV dormitory, where boys from the VII class lived, the affected bу dysentery аге 25% and bу CURW - 75%

AN ATTEMPT AT NOSOLOGICAL AND ETIOLOGICAL DIARRHEA SYNDROME DECODING IN PATIENTS WITH PRESUMED ENTERAL INFECTION

No abstrac

Molecular interactions of ASPP1 and ASPP2 with the p53 protein family and the apoptotic promoters PUMA and Bax

The apoptosis stimulating p53 proteins, ASPP1 and ASPP2, are the first two common activators of the p53 protein family that selectively enable the latter to regulate specific apoptotic target genes, which facilitates yes yet unknown mechanisms for discrimination between cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. To better understand the interplay between ASPP- and p53-family of proteins we investigated the molecular interactions between them using biochemical methods and structure-based homology modelling. The data demonstrate that: (i) the binding of ASPP1 and ASPP2 to p53, p63 and p73 is direct; (ii) the C-termini of ASPP1 and ASPP2 interact with the DNA-binding domains of p53 protein family with dissociation constants, Kd, in the lower micro-molar range; (iii) the stoichiometry of binding is 1:1; (iv) the DNA-binding domains of p53 family members are sufficient for these protein–protein interactions; (v) EMSA titrations revealed that while tri-complex formation between ASPPs, p53 family of proteins and PUMA/Bax is mutually exclusive, ASPP2 (but not ASPP1) formed a complex with PUMA (but not Bax) and displaced p53 and p73. The structure-based homology modelling revealed subtle differences between ASPP2 and ASPP1 and together with the experimental data provide novel mechanistic insights

A combined first and second order variational approach for image reconstruction

In this paper we study a variational problem in the space of functions of bounded Hessian. Our model constitutes a straightforward higher-order extension of the well known ROF functional (total variation minimisation) to which we add a non-smooth second order regulariser. It combines convex functions of the total variation and the total variation of the first derivatives. In what follows, we prove existence and uniqueness of minimisers of the combined model and present the numerical solution of the corresponding discretised problem by employing the split Bregman method. The paper is furnished with applications of our model to image denoising, deblurring as well as image inpainting. The obtained numerical results are compared with results obtained from total generalised variation (TGV), infimal convolution and Euler's elastica, three other state of the art higher-order models. The numerical discussion confirms that the proposed higher-order model competes with models of its kind in avoiding the creation of undesirable artifacts and blocky-like structures in the reconstructed images -- a known disadvantage of the ROF model -- while being simple and efficiently numerically solvable.Comment: 34 pages, 89 figure

Association between amygdala reactivity and a dopamine transporter gene polymorphism

Essential for detection of relevant external stimuli and for fear processing, the amygdala is under modulatory influence of dopamine (DA). The DA transporter (DAT) is of fundamental importance for the regulation of DA transmission by mediating reuptake inactivation of extracellular DA. This study examined if a common functional variable number tandem repeat polymorphism in the 3′ untranslated region of the DAT gene (SLC6A3) influences amygdala function during the processing of aversive emotional stimuli. Amygdala reactivity was examined by comparing regional cerebral blood flow, measured with positron emission tomography and [15O]water, during exposure to angry and neutral faces, respectively, in a Swedish sample comprising 32 patients with social anxiety disorder and 17 healthy volunteers. In a separate US sample, comprising 85 healthy volunteers studied with blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging, amygdala reactivity was assessed by comparing the activity during exposure to threatening faces and neutral geometric shapes, respectively. In both the Swedish and the US sample, 9-repeat carriers displayed higher amygdala reactivity than 10-repeat homozygotes. The results suggest that this polymorphism contributes to individual variability in amygdala reactivity