No 1 (2016)

The paper considers the current epidemic situation regarding chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in the Russian Federation. Their wide prevalence is due to severe sociomedical consequences as a predicted increase in the number of patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The financial and economic aspects associated with the organization of medical care and drug provision in patents with CHB and CHC are discussed: the authors analyze the need for drug therapy in this category of patients and define priority goal groups and the sources of drug therapy funding.

The paper gives the results of an epidemiological study of liver diseases in children living in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic. The clinical and paraclinical characteristics of viral hepatitis are analyzed. The findings suggest that the coverage of screening for markers of viral hepatitis in children at its risk is inadequate.

Objective. To comparatively assess potential conditions for infection with Puumala virus-induced hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) among the population offorest-steppe and steppe areas in terms of the number and infection of small mammals. Materials and methods. By using the Orenburg Region as an example, the authors analyzed the materials of an epidemiological survey of 100 epidemic HFRS foci in the forest-steppe area and 100 ones in the steppe area in 1992- 2013. The numbers and infection of small mammals were studied. Results. There were no fundamental differences between the areas in the structure of potential conditions for infection among the population in the agricultural, lawn-and-garden, and household foci. The risk factors associated with fishing and recreation in the high-water bed of large rivers were significantly more frequently encountered in the steppe area. Bank voles (Clethrionomys) and wood mice (Apodemus), which are maximally infected, are predominant species of small mammals in the above areas. Conclusion. The risk factor for possible infection with Puumala virus-induced HFRS in the steppe area is temporary stays of people for recreational purposes in the high-water bed of large rivers where the predominant species of small mammals are bank voles and wood mice, which have high infection rates.

Objective. To refine the phylogenetic position of and to determine the antimicrobial spectrum and nature of antibiotic activity of the bacterial probiotic Bacillus subtilis-534. Materials and methods. PCR was used to investigate the 16S rRNA gene of strain 534. DNA sequencing was performed using an automatic 3500 Genetic Analyzer and compared with other sequences in the GenBank and Ribosomal Database Project. Antimicrobial activity against 17 test strains was determined in the submerged culture of strain 534 by the agar-diffusion method. The antibiotic was isolated from culture liquid by sorption on an Amberlite XAD-2 resin, by desorption of a mixture of n-butanol-acetone-water, followed by evaporation and dissolution in 60% aqueous ethanol, by injection of the solution into a Kieselgel 60 silica gel column and by stepwise elution with chloroform-methanol solvents. The active fractions were examined by a thin-layer chromatography bioautography method. The UV-absorption spectrum was determined on a UV-1601 PC spectrophotometer. Results. Analysis of DNA sequence of the 16S rRNA gene deposited in the international GenBank under number KU051696 has confirmed that strain 534 belongs to the species Bacillus subtilis. Cultured in vitro, strain 534 suppresses the growth of a number of the strains of Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA), S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, S. hominis, Bacillus pumilis, Micrococcus luteus, Klebsiella рneumoniae, Candida sp., Aspergillus niger, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. B. subtilis-534 was ascertained to form at least three antibiotics. Conclusion. The bacterial probiotic Bacillus subtilis-534 is the basis of Sporobacterin, shows antibacterial and antifungal activity during submerged cultivation. A chemical assay has indicated the formation of at least three antibiotics, one of which belongs to polyenes, namely: trienes.

Novel generics appear on the pharmaceutical market every year. They are necessary for available medical care. There are different standards for determining their therapeutic equivalence (interchangeability) in world practice. Some drugs must be thoroughly examined for their bioequivalence. Excipients as components of these medications play a key role in their efficacy and safety. Many designers of generic drugs cannot reproduce brand-name medications even if they have the same composition. By taking into account the fact that new laws on bioequivalence have come into force in Russia, it is useful for a practitioner to understand the basic principles of the manufacture of brand-name and generic medications.