Chronic eczema. The search for treatment of severe forms

Objective: to study the clinical efficacy of re-PUVA therapy in patients with torpid forms of chronic true hand eczema. Materials and methods: the study involved 78 patients (47 women, 31 men) with severe and moderate forms of chronic true hand eczema. Clinical indices were used before and after treatment: HECSI, DLQI. The patients were randomly divided into 3 groups: 1 group (25 people) received standard therapy (antihistamines, external glucocorticosteroid drugs, emollients); 2 group (27 people) received the indicated standard therapy against the background of PUVA; Group 3 (26 people) -standard therapy on the background of re-PUVA (combination of PUVA with retinoids (isotretinoin)). The duration of therapy was about 3 months. Results: in group I, before treatment, the average value of the HECSI index was 76.0 ± 37.9, and after the treatment, 63.6 ± 30.2; in group II, before treatment, the average value of the HECSI index was 78.3 ± 34.2, and after treatment it decreased to 51.5 ± 24.0, in group III, respectively, before treatment, the average HECSI was 77.2 ± 35.3, and after course of therapy 28.7 ± 14.0. The duration of remission in the first group after a course of standard therapy was 2.52 ± 1.1 weeks, in the second group 15.7 ± 7.5 weeks, in the third group 61.7 ± 32.4 weeks. Conclusions: The re-PUVA method is most effective in the treatment of chronic eczema of the hands in comparison with the PUVA and standard therapy

CLINICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PATIENTS TREATING WITH BOTULOTOXIN A IN DYNAMICS

Purpose: To investigate the dynamic changes of immune system in aesthetic patients treated with botulinum toxin type A. Materials and methods: The study involved 20 patients treated with botulinum toxin type A to reduce mimic wrinkles.Phenotypic and functional characteristics of immune cell were investigated during the study. Immune parameters were discovered before and in 14 and 90 days after injections with standard immunological methods as a flow cytometry, immunodiffusion in Manchini test and enzyme immune test.Results: During the study a positive clinic aesthetic effect and differences in immune status were observed in all patients. Parameters of immune system in 2 weeks after injection were characterized by increasing of immune suppression, rising cytotoxic activity of T-cells and activation of IF-γ synthesis. It results in overweight of antiinflamatory cytokines compared with proinflamatory cytokines. These changes have been kept for 3 months with a tendency to increasing of intracellular cooperation and IF-γ synthesis.Summary: In patients effectively treated with botulinum toxin injections there are different immune changes. It shows a physiological reaction of immune system to the introduction of heterogenous antigens

Relief and geology of the north polar region of the planet Venus

Description of topographic features is given for the North polar region of the planet Venus. Principal geomorphic types of terrain are characterized as well as their geologic relations. Relative ages of geologic units in Venus North polar region are discussed

Evidence of orbital reconstruction at interfaces in La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 films

Electronic properties of transition metal oxides at interfaces are influenced by strain, electric polarization and oxygen diffusion. Linear dichroism (LD) x-ray absorption, diffraction, transport and magnetization on thin La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 films, allow identification of a peculiar universal interface effect. We report the LD signature of preferential 3d-eg(3z2-r2) occupation at the interface, suppressing the double exchange mechanism. This surface orbital reconstruction is opposite of that favored by residual strain and independent of dipolar fields, chemical nature of the substrate and capping.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Location of the Energy Levels of the Rare-Earth Ion in BaF2 and CdF2

The location of the energy levels of rare-earth (RE) elements in the energy band diagram of BaF2 and CdF2 crystals is determined. The role of RE3+ and RE2+ ions in the capture of charge carriers, luminescence, and the formation of radiation defects is evaluated. It is shown that the substantial difference in the luminescence properties of BaF2:RE and CdF2:RE is associated with the location of the excited energy levels in the band diagram of the crystals

Re-entrant superconductivity in Nb/Cu(1-x)Ni(x) bilayers

We report on the first observation of a pronounced re-entrant superconductivity phenomenon in superconductor/ferromagnetic layered systems. The results were obtained using a superconductor/ferromagnetic-alloy bilayer of Nb/Cu(1-x)Ni(x). The superconducting transition temperature T_{c} drops sharply with increasing thickness d_{CuNi} of the ferromagnetic layer, until complete suppression of superconductivity is observed at d_{CuNi}= 4 nm. Increasing the Cu(1-x)Ni(x) layer thickness further, superconductivity reappears at d_{CuNi}=13 nm. Our experiments give evidence for the pairing function oscillations associated with a realization of the quasi-one dimensional Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) like state in the ferromagnetic layer.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, REVTEX4/twocolum

Scaling behaviour of relaxation dependencies in metaloxide superconductors

Superconducting glass state has been investigated in different types of metaloxide ceramics, Y-Ba-Cu-O, Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O, Ba-Pb-Bi-O, using the highly sensitive SQUID magnetometer. The analysis of long-time relaxation processes of thermoremanent magnetization m(sup trm) (+) = M(sub o) - Slnt displayed scaling dependence of the decay rate S = -dM/dlnt on quantity of trapped magnetic flux M(sub o): 1gs = 31g M(sub o) - observed universal dependence S is approximately M(sup 3) (sub o) seems to one of the features of superconducting glass state in metaloxide ceramics

HYSTYOCYTOSIS X: VERIFICATION OF DIAGNOSIS

A clinical case of histiocytosis X, rarely found in the practice of a dermatovenereologist, is described, the pathognomonic clinical symptoms of this dermatosis, including skin lesions, that occur in 50 to 80 % of cases of all forms are displayed. The modern classification of histiocytosis, pathogenetic mechanisms of development and clinic of histiocytosis Х are given. Particular attention is paid to diagnostic methods, the necessity of interaction of narrow specialists (dermatovenerologists, hematologists, oncologists, pulmonologists) is underlined

Evaluation morphological changes in temporo-mandibular joints with experimental animals in the process of modeling fibrous ankylosis and the impact of transkranial electric stimulation on them

The results of morphological changes in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) with 30 experimental animals in the process of modeling fibrous ankylosis are given in the article. The analysis of the results obtained has shown the positive impact of transkranial electric stimulation (TES-therapy) which reduced the destructive processes in bone tissue of mandibular head and mandibular fossa thus accelerating the process of their restructuring and the promotion of osteogenesis process compared to the fabrics of TMJ with experimental animals to whom the TES-therapy has not been applied