Correlations Between the Manifestations of Autonomic Regulation Related to the Orthostatic Test and Physical Loading

In 30- to 45-year-old healthy men (workers of the coal mines), we studied using correlation analysis the interrelations between the manifestations of autonomic regulation of the heart rhythm related to the active orthostatic test (AOT) and the state of systemic circulation in the physical loading test (PhLT). It has been concluded that the pattern of correlations is determined by the direction of autonomic regulatory drives within a transitional period of the AOT. In the group of tested persons with clear domination of ergotropic reactions, the variation range and power of a slow wave component of the heart rhythm in the standing posture strictly correlated with the cardial stroke, peripheral resistance, vascular tone, myocardial tension, and aerobic productivity. In persons with relatively balanced ergotropic and trophotropic effects, the AOT transitional period was characterized by correlations of nearly all indices of autonomic regulation of the heart rhythm with the indices of central hemodynamics of the PhLT.     

The use of information processes indices for prediction of sympathectomy efficiency in complex regional pain syndrome

Key significance of information processes for ensuring optimal sanogenesis was shown by wavelet-analysis of skin microvascular blood flow oscillations at 64 patients with complex regional pain syndrome after sympathectomy Early reorganization of information in trophotropic direction at the level of microvascular tissue systems, its predomination and conservation all along the microvascular networks facilitate optimal realization of adaptive reactions and, as a result, are conductive to maximum treatment efficiency. In these cases complete elimination of disease and achievement of excellent treatment results were possible. Maximum treatment efficiency could not be reached without the above-mentioned information changing. On the contrary predomination and conservation of ergotropic information at the early periods after surgery were unfavourable to prediction of clinical results of sympathectomy Tissue desympathisation is not required to formation of information trophotropic purposefulness in microvascular networks; it is enough to achieve certain threshold of sympathetic activity decrease. The results of this work may be useful for investigation of physiological mechanisms of information treatment technologies (homeopathy etc.).     

The use of information process indices for the prediction of sympathectomy efficiency in complex regional pain syndrome

The key role of information processes for ensuring the optimal sanogenesis in humans was shown by the wavelet-analysis of skin microvascular blood flow oscillations in 64 patients with complex regional pain syndrome after sympathectomy. The early reorganization of information in the trophotropic direction at the level of microvascular tissue systems, and its predominance and preservation along the microvascular networks facilitate optimal adaptive reactions and, as a result, are conducive to maximum treatment efficiency. In these cases, the complete elimination of disease and the achievement of excellent treatment results are possible. The maximum treatment efficiency could not be reached without the above-mentioned informational changes. On the contrary, the predominance and preservation of ergotropic information in the early periods after surgery were unfavorable for the prediction of the clinical outcome of sympathectomy. Tissue sympathectomy is not required for the formation of the trophotropic type of information exchange in microvascular networks; it is enough to achieve a certain threshold of a sympathetic activity decrease. The results obtained may be useful for investigating the physiological mechanisms of informational treatment technologies (homeopathy etc.).     

Dependence of the circadian organization of heart rate regulation by prolonged musical sensory influence

It's shown that prolonged acoustic sensory influence in the form of classic music may change neurovegetative control of heart rate, enhancing the parasympathetic influences on heart rate variability, especially in night. These alterations increase expression of diurnal rhythm of ergotropic and trophotropic systems activity and lead to normalization of circadian profile of heart rate.     

Heart Rate Variability in Subjects with Increased Motor Activity and Athletes

Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed with a NeiroSoft hardware and software complex in 303 subjects, including subjects with increased motor activity and athletes. Factor analysis was used to reveal the most informative HRV indices, which accounted for two-thirds of the generalized variance of the indices under study, evidencing a balanced and orderly state of the body in subjects with increased motor activity and athletes and the improvement of neurohumoral and autonomic control of motor functions.     

Low to high frequency ratio of heart rate variability spectra fails to describe sympatho-vagal balance in cardiac patients

Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects an influence of autonomic nervous system on heart work. In healthy subjects, ratio between low and high frequency components (LF/HF ratio) of HRV spectra represents a measure of sympatho-vagal balance. The ratio was defined by the authorities as an useful clinical tool, but it seems that it fails to summarise sympatho-vagal balance in a clinical setting. Value of the method was re-evaluated in several categories of cardiac patients. HRV was analysed from 24-hour Holter ECGs in 132 healthy subjects, and 2159 cardiac patients dichotomised by gender, median of age, diagnosis of myocardial infarction or coronary artery surgery, left ventricular systolic function and divided by overall HRV into several categories. In healthy subjects, LF/HF ratio correlated with overall HRV negatively, as expected. The paradoxical finding was obtained in cardiac patients; the lower the overall HRV and the time-domain indices of vagal modulation activity were the lower the LF/HF ratio was. If used as a measure of sympatho-vagal balance, long-term recordings of LF/HF ratio contradict to clinical finding and time-domain HRV indices in cardiac patients. The ratio cannot therefore be used as a reliable marker of autonomic activity in a clinical setting.     

Music Attenuated a Decrease in Parasympathetic Nervous System Activity after Exercise

Music and exercise can both affect autonomic nervous system activity. However, the effects of the combination of music and exercise on autonomic activity are poorly understood. Additionally, it remains unknown whether music affects post-exercise orthostatic tolerance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of music on autonomic nervous system activity in orthostatic tolerance after exercise. Twenty-six healthy graduate students participated in four sessions in a random order on four separate days: a sedentary session, a music session, a bicycling session, and a bicycling with music session. Participants were asked to listen to their favorite music and to exercise on a cycle ergometer. We evaluated autonomic nervous system activity before and after each session using frequency analysis of heart rate variability. High frequency power, an index of parasympathetic nervous system activity, was significantly increased in the music session. Heart rate was increased, and high frequency power was decreased, in the bicycling session. There was no significant difference in high frequency power before and after the bicycling with music session, although heart rate was significantly increased. Additionally, both music and exercise did not significantly affect heart rate, systolic blood pressure or also heart rate variability indices in the orthostatic test. These data suggest that music increased parasympathetic activity and attenuated the exercise-induced decrease in parasympathetic activity without altering the orthostatic tolerance after exercise. Therefore, music may be an effective approach for improving post-exercise parasympathetic reactivation, resulting in a faster recovery and a reduction in cardiac stress after exercise.     

Mechanism of the Fast Neurogenic Component of the Ventilatory Response to the Initiation of Locomotor Activity

Experimental and clinical material allowed a quantitative assessment of the contribution of the central (cortical) and reflex (proprioceptive) components to the origin of the initial phase of exercise-associated hyperpnea and modulation of this ventilatory response depending on the excitability of central and peripheral chemoreceptors. It was established that, in healthy subjects, the pattern of involuntary stepping movements induced by vibration ("stepping in the air") significantly changes its characteristics during hypercapnic stimulation of the respiratory center. In spinal patients, voluntarily increased ventilation of the lungs induces rhythmic EMG activity in the musculus rectus femoris according to the respiratory rhythm. This phenomenon was explained by the stretch reflexes from the expiratory abdominal muscles, impulses from which might affect the lumbar motoneurons, bypassing the site of lesion. These data clearly demonstrate the real mechanisms of interactions between the regulations of the locomotor and autonomic functions of the body and provide a theoretical basis for the principal possibility of controlling locomotor activity by regulating respiratory movements, which can be used in clinical practice for the rehabilitation of spinal patients.     

Improvement of methods for determining genetic correlations for selection indices]

The possibility of using partial correlation as a measure of genetic correlation in estimating selection indices was studied. The methods of estimation were analyzed, and the use of one of them was substantiated. The applicability of partial correlations in estimating genetic correlations was demonstrated theoretically and with an example from actual practice. The proposed algorithm was illustrated by an example.     

Complex estimation of adaptation abilities of the organism in children using the indices of responsiveness of the cardiovascular system and characteristics of EEG

Based on the complex analysis of the data of cardiointervalographic (CIG) and rheoencephalographic (REG) examination of 37 healthy children and 63 children suffering from bronchial asthma (BA), we identified the most informative indices characterizing reactions of the cardiovascular system under conditions of an active orthostatic test (coefficient of autonomic responsiveness and index of responsiveness of the vessels). We conclude that the relation between the values of these indices allows one to identify the level of strain of the regulatory mechanisms and the state of the adaptation systems of the organism, which determine the adequacy of control of the autonomic sphere. The following gradations can be classified: an optimum level, compensated adaptation disorders (strain and overstrain of the regulatory mechanisms), and decompensated adaptation disorders (exhaustion of the regulatory mechanisms and failure of adaptation). Among clinically healthy children, we found a risk group (about 30%) with manifestations of lowering of the organism’s adaptive abilities. It is shown that groups of healthy children and children suffering from BA differ from each other in the shares of different patterns of EEG and variants of EEG responses to a hyperventilation test. Qualitative and quantitative characteristics of EEG in children, despite high interindividual variability, clearly correlate with the state of adaptation processes. The expedience of a complex approach in estimating the adaptation ability of the child based on the data of CIG, REG and EEG examinations is discussed. Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 72–84, January–February, 2006.     

Psychophysiological and Some Functional Markers of Mental Workload in Young Men

The emotional state of a person affects both the central level and the peripheral indices of the autonomic nervous system, particularly those of the regulation of the heart rate. Our study showed that boys with a higher level of anxiety had higher values of the latent period of the P300 evoked potential and lower indices of short-term auditory memory. Changes in the temporal and spectral components of heart rate variability under the conditions of mental workload indicate that the neurohumoral regulation of the heart rate is shifted toward the suprasegmental influences, including pituitary–hypothalamic and cortical influences.     

Multi-Dimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire in China: Reliability,Validity and Clinical Value in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective

To evaluate the psychometric properties and clinical utility of Chinese Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ-C) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in China.

Methods

162 RA patients were recruited in the evaluation process. The reliability of the questionnaire was tested by internal consistency and item analysis. Convergent validity was assessed by correlations of MDHAQ-C with Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Hospital anxiety and depression scales (HAD). Discriminant validity was tested in groups of patients with varied disease activities and functional classes. To evaluate the clinical values, correlations were calculated between MDHAQ-C and indices of clinical relevance and disease activity. Agreement with the Disease Activity Score (DAS28) and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) was estimated.

Results

The Cronbach''s alpha was 0.944 in the Function scale (FN) and 0.768 in the scale of psychological status (PS). The item analysis indicated all the items of FN and PS are correlated at an acceptable level. MDHAQ-C correlated with the questionnaires significantly in most scales and scores of scales differed significantly in groups of different disease activity and functional status. MDHAQ-C has moderate to high correlation with most clinical indices and high correlation with a spearman coefficient of 0.701 for DAS 28 and 0.843 for CDAI. The overall agreement of categories was satisfying.

Conclusion

MDHAQ-C is a reliable, valid instrument for functional measurement and a feasible, informative quantitative index for busy clinical settings in Chinese RA patients.     

Increased Low-Frequency Oscillation Amplitude of Sensorimotor Cortex Associated with the Severity of Structural Impairment in Cervical Myelopathy

Decreases in metabolites and increased motor-related, but decreased sensory-related activation of the sensorimotor cortex (SMC) have been observed in patients with cervical myelopathy (CM) using advanced MRI techniques. However, the nature of intrinsic neuronal activity in the SMC, and the relationship between cerebral function and structural damage of the spinal cord in patients with CM are not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to assess intrinsic neuronal activity by calculating the regional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF) using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), and correlations with clinical and imaging indices. Nineteen patients and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects underwent rs-fMRI scans. ALFF measurements were performed in the SMC, a key brain network likely to impaired or reorganized patients with CM. Compared with healthy subjects, increased amplitude of cortical low-frequency oscillations (LFO) was observed in the right precentral gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, and left supplementary motor area. Furthermore, increased z-ALFF values in the right precentral gyrus and right postcentral gyrus correlated with decreased fractional anisotropy values at the C2 level, which indicated increased intrinsic neuronal activity in the SMC corresponding to the structural impairment in the spinal cord of patients with CM. These findings suggest a complex and diverging relationship of cortical functional reorganization and distal spinal anatomical compression in patients with CM and, thus, add important information in understanding how spinal cord integrity may be a factor in the intrinsic covariance of spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations of BOLD signals involved in cortical plasticity.     

Cardiac Autonomic Activity During Human Sleep: Analysis of Sleep Stages and Sleep Cycles

In this study characteristics of cardiac functioning were investigated in nine subjects during their nocturnal sleep. The pre-ejection period and the high frequency component of heart rate variability were used as indices of cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system respectively. Heart rate and the autonomic indices were assessed across physiological determined sleep stages and consecutive temporal sleep cycles. Repeated measures ANOVA analyses indicated a significant pattern of heart rate as a function of sleep stages, which was mirrored by parasympathetic activity. Further, a significant decrease of heart rate as a function of sleep cycles was mirrored by an increase of sympathetic activity. Moreover, non-REM/REM differences revealed a dominant role of parasympathetic activity during sleep stages as well as sleep cycles. These findings demonstrate that sympathetic activity is influenced by time asleep, whereas parasympathetic activity is influenced by the depth of sleep.     

Cardiac Autonomic Activity During Human Sleep: Analysis of Sleep Stages and Sleep Cycles

In this study characteristics of cardiac functioning were investigated in nine subjects during their nocturnal sleep. The pre-ejection period and the high frequency component of heart rate variability were used as indices of cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system respectively. Heart rate and the autonomic indices were assessed across physiological determined sleep stages and consecutive temporal sleep cycles. Repeated measures ANOVA analyses indicated a significant pattern of heart rate as a function of sleep stages, which was mirrored by parasympathetic activity. Further, a significant decrease of heart rate as a function of sleep cycles was mirrored by an increase of sympathetic activity. Moreover, non-REM/REM differences revealed a dominant role of parasympathetic activity during sleep stages as well as sleep cycles. These findings demonstrate that sympathetic activity is influenced by time asleep, whereas parasympathetic activity is influenced by the depth of sleep.     

Acute Moderate Exercise Does Not Further Alter the Autonomic Nervous System Activity in Patients with Sickle Cell Anemia

A decreased global autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and increased sympathetic activation in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) seem to worsen the clinical severity and could play a role in the pathophysiology of the disease, notably by triggering vaso-occlusive crises. Because exercise challenges the ANS activity in the general population, we sought to determine whether a short (<15 min) and progressive moderate exercise session conducted until the first ventilatory threshold had an effect on the ANS activity of a group of SCA patients and a group of healthy individuals (CONT group). Temporal and spectral analyses of the nocturnal heart rate variability were performed before and on the 3 nights following the exercise session. Standard deviation of all normal RR intervals (SDNN), total power, low frequencies (LF) and high frequencies powers (HF) were lower but LF/HF was higher in SCA patients than in the CONT group. Moderate exercise did not modify ANS activity in both groups. In addition, no adverse clinical events occurred during the entire protocol. These results imply that this kind of short and moderate exercise is not detrimental for SCA patients.     

Attenuated autonomic function in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome across three age groups.

Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is the failure of several organs after a trigger event. The mortality is high, at up to 70%. We hypothesize that autonomic dysfunction may substantially contribute to the development of MODS and speculate that there is an age dependence of autonomic dysfunction in MODS. A total of 90 consecutively admitted MODS patients were assigned to this study. Three variables of autonomic function were analyzed: heart rate variability (HRV), baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and chemoreflex sensitivity (CRS). The patient cohort was divided into three age groups. The main finding was that BRS, CRS and almost all indices of HRV were attenuated in comparison to normal range data and there was no age dependence for HRV indices or CRS, but there was for BRS. In conclusion, autonomic function in MODS is attenuated. The influence of MODS on autonomic function overwhelms the age dependence of autonomic function observed in healthy subjects.     

Cytochemical study of the natural resistance of the body in Trichophyton rubrum-induced mycosis (tinea)

Clinical-cytochemical examination of 27 patients with tinea has permitted estimating nonspecific immune status of an organism. The NBT-test is shown to be highly informative and active. Differences in metabolic activity of phagocytizing subpopulations of peripheral blood are revealed. The results obtained underlie the development of the pathogenetically substantiated therapy method using diucyphon and chlorophyllipt, immunomodulators of different pharmacological groups.     

Altered Spontaneous Activity in Patients with Persistent Somatoform Pain Disorder Revealed by Regional Homogeneity

Persistent somatoform pain disorder (PSPD) is a mental disorder un-associated with any somatic injury and can cause severe somatosensory and emotional impairments in patients. However, so far, the neuro-pathophysiological mechanism of the functional impairments in PSPD is still unclear. The present study assesses the difference in regional spontaneous activity between PSPD and healthy controls (HC) during a resting state, in order to elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying PSPD. Resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data were obtained from 13 PSPD patients and 23 age- and gender-matched HC subjects in this study. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to measure regional homogeneity (ReHo), and a two-sample t-test was subsequently performed to investigate the ReHo difference between PSPD and HC. Additionally, the correlations between the mean ReHo of each survived area and the clinical assessments were further analyzed. Compared with the HC group, patients with PSPD exhibited decreased ReHo in the bilateral primary somatosensory cortex, posterior cerebellum, and occipital lobe, while increased ReHo in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and default mode network (including the medial PFC, right inferior parietal lobe (IPL), and left supramarginal gyrus). In addition, significant positive correlations were found between the mean ReHo of both right IPL and left supramarginal gyrus and participants’ Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) scores, and between the mean ReHo of the left middle frontal gyrus and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores. Our results suggest that abnormal spontaneous brain activity in specific brain regions during a resting state may be associated with the dysfunctions in pain, memory and emotional processing commonly observed in patients with PSPD. These findings help us to understand the neural mechanisms underlying PSPD and suggest that the ReHo metric could be used as a clinical marker for PSPD.     

Nuclei and nucleolar organizing regions in chromosomes of lymphocytes on different stages of periodic disease

By scanning cytomorphometry a cytological study was first performed on the behavior of nuclei and nucleolar organizing regions (NOR) in chromosomes of peripheral blood lymphocytes of healthy men and of patients with periodic disease (familial Mediterranean fever, FMF) on different stages of development, including its complication with amyloidosis. The volume and total surface of nuclei, the sum total volume and sum total surface of NOR, the mean number of NOR for one nucleus and distribution of nuclei according to NOR number were measured. It is shown that the parameters of nuclei and NOR for patients with FMF on all stages clearly and trustworthy differ from those for healthy men. They are sufficiently informative, can be successfully used in clinical practice and even serve as an early diagnostic test for amyloidosis complication.