Pharmacokinetic prediction of the efficacy of using sisomicin in wound infections

The pharmacokinetics of sisomicin in the blood, infection foci and urine of patients with wound infections was studied comparatively. Higher blood levels of the antibiotic after intravenous injection as compared to those after intramuscular injection provided its more intensive penetration into the tissues of the wound edges and bottom. After intravenous injection the sisomicin concentration in the tissues was sufficient for inhibition of the strains of Staphylococcus, E. coli and Ps. aeruginosa detected in the patients, while after intramuscular injection the antibiotic levels were sufficient only for inhibition of the first two causative agents. Comparison of the data on the sisomicin pharmacokinetics in the blood and tissues of the wounds provided the characteristics of the level of the drug penetration into the focus of the infection ("therapeutic availability"). Since the levels of sisomicin in the blood and infection foci were highly variable in different individuals. It is recommended that the antibiotic be used under the control of its concentrations in patients. It was shown that the data on the sisomicin renal excretion might be used for the purposes of the pharmacokinetic control.     

Comparative study of the relationship between the blood concentration of gentamicin and streptomycin and their muscle-relaxing activity]

A mathematical model of relation between the miorelaxant effect value of aminocyclitol antibiotics and their blood levels is proposed. The kinetics of the reduction of the neuromuscle transmission damaged under the action of the drugs was studied in detail in acute experiments with cats treated with gentamycin or streptomycin administered intravenously. The changes in the effect value in time were satisfactorily described by the logistic function. Parallel determination of the blood levels of the antibiotics in the animals provided construction of an adequate model of their pharmacokinetics. Tabulation of the corresponding biexponential equations and logistic functions for the same time intervals during reduction of the neuromuscle transmission provided necessary information for plotting the "effect: concentration" curves. Comparison of the drug levels at which the effect of inhibition of the neuromuscle transmission was equal to 50% of the maximum one, revealed a statistically reliable difference in the miorelaxant activity of gentamycin and streptomycin. A high miorelaxant activity of gentamycin in comparison to streptomycin was also shown on comparison of the average "effect: concentration" curves plotted on the basis of tabulation of the general equations presenting a combination of the logistic and biexponential equations.     

Carboxyl groups in the active center of glucoamylase from Aspergillus awamori

The values for the ionization constants of the catalytic groups of the active site of glucoamylase from Asp. awamori for the free enzyme and for the enzyme--substrate complex were calculated. The temperature dependence of the alkaline branch of the pH-dependence curve and the pH dependence in the presence of methanol were determined. The ionization enthalpy delta H = 1.5 +/- 0.3 kcal/mole, the ionization entropy delta S = 20.5 +/- 1.2 e. u. It was assumed that two carboxyl groups are involved in the catalytic act.     

Physiological analysis of the relation between the conditioned reflex and image memory in monkeys and preschool children

Interaction of short-term and long-term memory processes is subjected to phylo- and ontogenetic changes. Progressive development includes differentiation and independent manifestation of these memory forms together with formation of a more complex pattern of interaction between the latter.     

Chronic liver and renal diseases differently affect structure of human serum albumin

Human serum albumin (HSA) binding with endogenous metabolites and drugs is substantially decreased in chronic renal and liver diseases. To test the hypothesis that the decreased binding ability is caused by conformational changes of the protein, we analyzed infrared and Raman spectra of HSA isolated from healthy donors and patients with chronic uremia and liver cirrhosis. Uremia did not affect the secondary structure of HSA but modified the environment of its Asp/Glu residues. Liver cirrhosis increased the amount of extended and beta-structures, modified the environment of Asp/Glu and Tyr side chains, and changed the configuration of disulfide bridges in albumin molecules. The conformational changes of "cirrhotic" albumin were not caused by reversibly bound ligands and resembled a partial unfolding of the protein induced by adsorption on the charcoal surface. The dramatic structural alterations of HSA in liver cirrhosis may be caused by its oxidative modification and might underlie the decreased binding ability and changed body distribution of albumin.