Psychiatric Hospital, Kovin,Serbia and Montenegro

Psychiatric Hospital, Kovin,Serbia and Montenegro

Monoamine oxidase(MAO)is one of the primary enzymes regulating metabolism of biogenic amines. Two distinct isoforms of the enzyme, MAO A and MAO B,have different substrate and inhibitor specificities.These enzymes are reportedly involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinsons disease (PD) through the production of oxygen radicals from catabolism of dopamine and activation of exogenous neurotoxins, such as MPTP and its analogues and also possible association of MAO gene polymorphisms with PD remains to be elucidated. This study was aimed at investigating the relationship between platelet MAO activity in patients with PD and their clinical status (age, onset of the disease, duration of the therapy, dose of L-dopa) as well as with their clinical scores(NWUDS,HY,Hamilton scale and MMSE),with attempt to characterize platelet MAO as marker of disturbed neurotransmission system(s) in PD. Subjects of the study were the control(35 healthy volunteers) and the experimental group (44 patients). Platelet MAO activity was measured by spectrophotofluorimetric procedure with kynuramine as a substrate. MAO activity in healthy women was significantly higher than in men. The sole correlation among the platelet MAO activity in patients and their clinical status and clinical scores was established for Hamilton scale (depression). Platelet MAO activity may indicate a vulnerability to depression in PD, what would suggest to state of hyposerotonergic function in the brain, respectively low platelet MAO activity reflects low brain serotonin capacity, what is related to depression in PD.

GUIDELINES FOR POSSIBLE DIAGNOSTIC STRATEGY IN ANEMIA

S.Bugarinovic and D.Pap¹

Psychiatric Hospital, Kovin,Serbia and Montenegro

¹Clinical-biochemical Laboratory, Medical Center Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia and Montenegro

Anemia is defined as the inability of the blood to supply tissue with adequate oxygen for proper metabolic function. Anemia is usually associated with decreased levels of hemoglobin and haematocrit. The worlds population at all ages suffering from anemia in roughly 30%. Around half of these cases are caused by iron deficiency, while approximately 20% are caused by vitamin B₁₂ and folate deficiencies. Anemia is a sign of an underlying pathology, the recognition of which requires the identification of the mechanism and causes of the red blood cell deficit. Determining the specific cause of anemia is important in order for physician to apply appropriate therapy. The primary diagnosis of anemia is made by referring to patient history, signs and symptoms and hematological laboratory findings. The aim of the study was to investigating anemia and iron metabolism disorders, diseases of iron deficiency, diseases of iron overload, anemia of chronic disease, vitamin B₁₂ and folic acid deficiency and to present hematological and biochemical markers as a guidelines for the differential diagnosis of anemia.

Astghik R. Sukiasyan

The plant Artemisia absinthium L. is widely employed in Armenian popular medicine as a stimulator, a tonic and a remedy for digestion debility. Several other plant products with similar therapeutic applications may have such effect based on the antioxidant content of flavonoids. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of Artemisia absinthium L. water extracts on the antioxidant defenses of cow brains. During influence of preparations of Artemisia absinthium L. with ended concentrations 1, 5, and 10mg/ml. it was noticed its suppressed activity by decreasing of the concentration of first products of lipid peroxidation (tiene conjugate) on 63, 54, and 38%, and by decreasing of the concentration of second products of lipid peroxidation (malone dialdehyde) on 71, 50, and 46%. While investigation the concentration of flavonoids in these preparations it was found that during increasing the volume of Artemisia absinthium L. extracts by 1, 5, and 10mg. quantity of flavonoids increased by 0,08, 0,15, and 0,6%. We assume that this decreasing of inhibitory activity of plant is connected with increasing the concentration of flavonoids. These results can be useful in medicine.

FRACTAL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF THE STRETCH ON VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLES

Öztürk N.

Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics, Ankara, Turkey

It is known that spontaneous oscillations (vasomotion) observed on the wall of the small arteries play an important role on the regulation of blood flow to various organs. Hormonal changes and stretch due to increased pressure affect these oscillations. Stretch increases the frequency and decreases the amplitude of these spontaneous contractions. It is proposed that the stretch induces these effects by depolarizing the membrane and causing the opening of the voltage dependent calcium channels. Studies have also shown that stretch causes an increase in the level of IP₃ which is a factor that stimulates contractions.

Dimension of a system gives the number of independent parameters that must be used in order to define that system. Therefore, in a number of studies, fractal dimension of the arterial system has been calculated by means of the spontaneous oscillations in order to assess the mechanisms behind the vasomotion. This study was carried out to find whether the increase in the frequency of the spontaneous contractions after stretch is due to the involvement of a new mechanism in addition to the mechanisms that generate the spontaneous contractions. Experiments were carried out on the portal vein isolated from the guinea-pigs. The preparations were immersed into a bath containing the Krebs solution at 37 ^oC. Initially a preload of 0.5 g was applied. The length of the muscle was measured and designated as Lo. After an adaptation period of about half an hour at that condition, the spontaneous contractions were recorded for about an hour. Then the length of the preparation was increased to a length of 1.2 of the previous length (Lo). After ½ hr spontaneous contractions were recorded for that length. The same procedure was repeated for 1.4xLo. After the experiments the power spectral density functions of the spontaneous contractions were calculated using the FFT algorithm, for each length. Fractal dimensions of the same records were calculated according to Grassberger-Procacci. It was observed that the fractal dimensions of the portal vein were: 4.36 0.45 at Lo, 4.22 0.43 at 1.2xLo and 4.410.51 at 1.4xLo ( n=6). There was no significant difference between the dimension values. It was concluded that the increase in the frequency of the spontaneous contractions to higher frequencies occurs without addition of the new mechanisms. Rather the contribution if different mechanisms to the oscillations is varying during stretch.

This study was supported by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (SBAG 1929)