Vol 89, No 4 (2017)

Aim. To evaluate the vascular bed and lung perfusion in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) by computed tomography (CT) and to compare the severity of pulmonary arterial (PA) thrombotic lesions concurrent with parenchymal perfusion disorders with angiopulmonographic findings and clinical and hemodynamic characteristics. Subjects and methods. In the period from November 2015 to May 2016, 22 patients (7 men, 15 women) aged 27 to 67 years with a verified diagnosis of CTEPH were examined using an Aquilion ONE VISION Edition 640 (Toshiba Medical Systems, Japan) CT scanner with a 320-row detector. Perfusion defect in this study was evaluated with the new software allowing one to combine contrast and contrast-free images by a subtraction method. CT data analysis included visual assessment of the vascular bed and lung parenchyma and quantitative assessment with perfusion map construction and semi-automatic determination of the obstruction index (OI) and perfusion defect index (PDI). OI was compared with PDI and mean LA pressure according to the data of right heart catheterization and 6-minute walk test. Results. A statistically significant correlation was found between OI and PDI in patients with CTEPH (Pearson r=0.56; p=0.0065). There were no relationships between mean LA pressure and vascular perfusion indices (OI and PDI) or between vascular perfusion parameters and 6-minute walk test results. Conclusion. CT angiopulmonography in conjunction with pulmonary perfusion assessment (within one study) allows evaluation of the severity of vascular lesions and perfusion disorders and determination of the efficiency of treatment in patients with CTEPH.

Aim. To study of the impact of shock-wave therapy (SWT) on the functional status of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Subjects and methods. Thirty-four CHD patients (including 33 men) with left ventricular (LV) asynergic segments, as evidenced by echocardiography (EchoCG), were examined. Their mean age was 60.1±1.76 years. All the patients received a SWT cycle according to the standard scheme. The patient examination protocol involved EchoCG, dobutamine EchoCG, treadmill exercise EchoCG, and tissue Doppler EchoCG, which were performed at baseline, immediately and one month after the end of a SWT cycle. Results. Following a SWT cycle, all the patients were noted to have a significant decrease in mean angina pectoris and heart failure functional classes and in the frequency of daily intake of nitrates. EchoCG showed that at baseline the LV ejection fraction (EF) was 51.1±1.02%; end- diastolic volume index, 71.5±3.6 ml/m2; end-systolic volume index, 34.4±2.2 ml/m2. According to exercise EchoCG, the tolerance threshold was 6.4±0.1 Меts (Bruce protocol); the total exercise time of 5.05±0.23 min was achieved in an average of 75.2±1.32%. Immediately and one month after a SWT cycle, there was an increment in EF from 51.1±1.02 to 55±0.8 and 57±1.7%, respectively; a substantial increase in the tolerance threshold to 8.17±0.24 and 9.45±0.34 Меts, as compared to the baseline values. The exercise time increased up to 6.41±0.17 and 7.7±0.29 min immediately and one month after SWT, respectively. The increment in EF in response to exercise was 8.54±2.12, 14±1.5, and 16±1.2% at baseline, immediately and one month after SWT, respectively. Moreover, myocardial relaxation and diastolic function improved. Conclusion. Shock-wave therapy in patients with CHD is accompanied by their improved functional status, which is manifested by increased tolerance threshold and exercise duration, a rise in rest and exercise LV EF, better relaxation of LV, and its diminished stiffness.

Aim. To study the parameters of microcirculation and permeability of the microvessels in young people who have ceased smoking. Subjects and methods. The study enrolled 35 healthy young adults (male to female ratio, 20:15; mean age, 21.71±0.46 years) who had stopped smoking 1 month to 10 years (mean 2.63±0.43 years) ago. The compared group consisted of 16 smokers (male to female ratio, 6:10; mean age, 21.62±0.72 years) and 29 non-smokers (male to female ratio, 8:21; mean age, 21.62±0.48 years). Computer-assisted video biomicroscopy of the bulbar conjunctiva was performed. When the results were assessed, attention was drawn to a change in the degree and extent of intravascular erythrocyte aggregation (IVEA) and vessel wall permeability. Results. As compared to the smokers, those who had quit smoking showed a decrease in the degree of IVEA in the arterioles (p1=0. 044, van der Waerden test), its prevalence in the central, transitional, and perilimbar regions (p1<0.0001), and a decline in the number of conjunctival areas that exhibited IVEA (2.2 and 3.437; p1=0.0002). Those who had given up smoking versus the smokers were found to have more rarely local foci of conjunctival edema (formation of veils; p1=0.0217). Conclusion. In the young people who have ceased smoking versus the smokers, IVEA decreases and miscovascular permeability restores.

Aim. To elucidate the role of intestinal carbohydrases (glucoamylase, maltase, sucrose, and lactase) in the etiology and pathogenesis of functional bowel diseases (FBD). Subjects and methods. 74 patients (36 men and 38 women) aged 18 to 50 years with FBD were examined. According to Rome IV criteria (2016), there was diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in 21 patients, functional diarrhea (FD) in 33, constipation-predominant IBS in 6, functional constipation (FC) in 4, and mixed IBS in 10. The activity of carbohydrases in the small intestine mucosa (SIM) was investigated by the Dahlquist method modified by Trinder in the duodenal biopsy specimens obtained during esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Results. Lactase deficiency was identified in 87.8% of the patients; maltase deficiency in 48.6%; sucrose deficiency in 51.3%; and glucoamylase deficiency in 85.1%. The activity of all the investigated enzymes was reduced in 23 (31.1%) patients with FBD; deficiency of 1—3 carbohydrases was found in 47 (63.5%). Normal enzymatic activity was established in 4 (5.4%) patients. Conclusion. In the majority of patients with FBD, the intestinal symptoms are caused by the decreased activity of SIM carbohydrases. Therefore, disaccharidase deficiency associated with an established damaging agent (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, acute intestinal infections, etc.) should be considered to be a more precise diagnosis.

Aim. To investigate the clinical and pathogenetic features of the non-acidic types of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and to evaluate the impact of combined therapy versus monotherapy on the course of this disease. Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 62 patients with non-acidic GERD. The follow-up period was 6 weeks. The patients were divided into 2 groups: 1) weakly acidic gastroesophageal refluxes (GER); 2) weakly alkaline GER. Then each group was distributed, thus making up 4 groups: 1) 19 patients with weakly acidic GER who received monotherapy with rabeprazole 20 mg/day; 2) 21 patients with weakly acidic GER had combined therapy with rabeprazole 20 mg and itopride; 3) 8 patients with weakly alkaline GER who received ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) monotherapy; and 4) 14 patients with weakly alkaline GER who had combined therapy with UDCA and itopride, The clinical symptoms of the disease, the endoscopic pattern of the upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT) mucosa, histological changes in the esophageal and gastric mucosa, and the results of 24-hour impedance pH monitoring were assessed over time. Results. During differentiation therapy, the majority of patients reported positive clinical changes and an improved or unchanged endoscopic pattern. Assessment of impedance pH monitoring results revealed decreases in the overall number of GERs, the presence of a bolus in the esophagus, and the number of proximal refluxes. These changes were noted not only in patients taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), but also in those treated with UDCA monotherapy or combined PPI and prokinetic therapy. Conclusion. A differentiated approach to non-acidic GER treatment contributes to its efficiency. Adding the prokinetic itomed (itopride hydrochloride) to PPI therapy in a patient with weakly acidic GER enhances the efficiency of treatment, by positively affecting upper GIT motility. The mainstay of therapy for GERD with a predominance of weakly alkaline refluxes is UDCA, the combination of the latter and the prokinetic can exert a more pronounced effect on the clinical and endoscopic pattern and upper GIT motility.

Aim. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of laxatives with different pharmacological effects in the combination therapy in patients with chronic constipation (CC) concurrent with obesity, hypertensive disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Subjects and methods. A total of 110 people (45 men, 65 women) aged 45 to 72 years with CC in the presence of concomitant diseases: grade 1 or 2 hypertensive disease + obesity + type 2 DM. The investigators determined the severity of abdominal pain syndrome and flatulence, by indicating the mean frequency of defecations per week and fecal consistency according to the Bristol stool scale; anthropometric parameters; serum biochemistry tests; and serum lipoprotein phenotyping. Quality of life was assessed by the SF-36 questionnaire. The patients were divided into 3 groups according their use of agents: 1) dietary fiber (psyllium); 2) osmotic laxatives (disaccharides); 3) osmotic laxatives (polyethylene glycol). Results. The patients taking psyllium to treat constipation showed an increasing frequency of defecations and normalization of stool consistency. Incorporating psyllium into combination therapy was accompanied by a significant decrease in the levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. A similar trend was observed for serum triglycerides. The patients receiving combination therapy including other laxatives displayed no significant differences between lipid metabolic parameters at the beginning and after the end of treatment. Conclusion. The whole complex of properties of psyllium (Mucofalk) can be fully realized in patients with comorbidity and chronic constipation, which is accompanied not only by the normalization of bowel emptying, but also by marked positive changes in the main lipid metabolic parameters and by a reduction in overweight.

The paper describes a case of primary diagnosis of functioning patent ductus arteriosus in a 75-year-old female patient.

Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a glycoprotein that is a representative of the tumor necrosis factor-α receptor superfamily. Information about the possible role of OPG in the development of cardiovascular diseases has begun to appear in the literature in recent years. This review discusses the role of increasing the level of OPG in the development and progression of atherosclerosis and as a consequence of coronary heart disease and chronic heart failure.

The approvals and provisions of the Management of Helicobacter pylori infection-the Maastricht V/ Florence Consensus Report and those of the Kyoto Global Consensus Conference on H. pylori-associated gastritis, concerning with the primary and secondary prevention of gastric cancer (GC), unambiguously suggest that H. pylori infection is the most important risk factor of GC. Accordingly, the basis for the primary and secondary prevention of GC is the optimization of H. pylori eradication therapy. The clear direct relationship of the risk of GC to the severity and extent of atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia and no reversal of intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia in the presence of H. pylori eradication presume that gastroprotective agents should be used for primary and secondary prevention. Experimental and clinical findings can lead to the conclusion that rebamipide is a highly effective and safe agent for the primary and secondary prevention of GC in patients with and without H. pylori infection, by optimizing anti-Helicobacter therapy, its anti-inflammatory effect and ability to restore the cellular structure of the gastric epithelium.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare clonal proliferative disorder that belongs to class I histiocytoses and is characterized by infiltration of one or many organs by Langerhans cells to form granulomas. The literature analysis could identify a lot of etiological, pathogenetic, and trigger factors and mechanisms for LCH development, which determine the diversity of the clinical picture and course of the disease. The clinical manifestations of LCH are very variable and depend on the severity of lesions and the age of patients. In addition to skin lesions, there is involvement of one or more visceral organs. Difficulties in diagnosing the disease lead to statistical variations of LCH in different countries of the world and require more attention by physicians of all specialties.