AUTOIMMUNE RESPONSE OF GLUTAMATE RECEPTORS AND NITRIC OXIDE IN EPILEPSY AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

In children with epilepsy and traumatic brain injury (TBI), the content of autoantibodies (aAb) to glutamate receptors (NMDA and AMPA subtypes) and the level of nitric oxide products - nitrothyrosine (NT) and nitrates/ nitrites (NOx) in the blood were studied. The obtained data make it possible to reveal the specificity of damage to AMPA and NMDA subtypes of glutamate receptors in convulsive states and posttraumatic brain injuries. The participation of NO and its products in the development of autoimmune response was revealed.

Transitional states in child neurology (neurocontinuum)

The article is devoted to the issue of transitional states in child psychoneurology, based on the general concept of a continuum of transitional states from normal variants to severe chronic diseases. The article discusses borderline psychoneurology disorders associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and various genetic defects. A significant passage is devoted to convulsive states and epilepsy. The autism spectrum analyzed both as a aggregate of nosologies and in combination with epilepsy. The author proposes the concept of quasicontinuum of cognitive development in the spectrum of child autism. There are presented the transitions of various forms of hysteria. Also the authors provide the data on the similar etiology of impaired coordination and cerebral palsy, which can be considered as a single continual process. As possible methods of dividing the continuum into separate forms there are works on the so-called signal features and a dynamics model for estimating time limits of transition states, also the operators to determine the value of factors characterizing transition states, are presented.

The possibility of pharmacological correction of disorders arising from cerebral ischemia and paroxysmal conditions. Derivatives of Dibenzofuran

The review examines the role of brain hypoxia in the development of stroke and convulsive States and the possibility of using antihypoxants and antioxidants in various hypoxic conditions, including strokes and convulsions; provides information about the original compound from the class of dibenzofuran with antihypoxic, neuroprotective and anticonvulsant action.

The role of hypoxia in stroke and convulsive states. Antihypoxants

The review deals with the main types of hypoxia and the reasons leading to its development, discusses the development of mechanisms of hypoxiа. Particular attention is paid to brain hypoxia and its role in the development of strokes and convulsive states. The features of the application of antihypoxants and antioxidants at different hypoxic conditions including stroke and seizures are discussed.

Electrical activity of the brain during asphyxia

The method of electroencephalography was used to study the convulsive state during strangulation asphyxia. Differences in the electroencephalographic manifestations of tonic and clonic asphytic seizures are shown. With a longer strangulation, a greater severity of convulsive electrical activity of the brain was established. The data obtained can be used for differential diagnosis of convulsive states and in determining the duration of asphyxia.

Valproate in Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia

Severe intractable seizures are frequent manifestations of nonketotic hyperglycinemia. Because levels of urinary and plasma glycine have been reported to be elevated by valproate in patients with seizures but no evidence of hereditary hyperglycinemia,1,2 it has been assumed that the agent is contraindicated for the therapy of convulsive states associated wtih nonketotic hyperglycinemia. This conclusion was recently stated, for example, at an international congress on human genetics.3 We regard this assumption as unwarranted. We have administered valproate to two nonketotic hyperglycinemic patients and monitored glycine levels in their cerebrospinal fluid. It is the elevated CSF glycine which has been postulated to result in the encephalopathy in nonketotic hyperglycinemia.4

Influence of manganese on susceptibility of rats to convulsions

The relationship of manganese to some aspects of brain function was studied in rats. Electroshock convulsions were produced in the following groups: 1) normal controls, 2) manganese-deficient, not ataxic, 3) manganese-deficient, congenitally ataxic, 4) not manganese-deficient, congenitally ataxic. The threshold for minimal seizures was significantly lower than normal in the two manganese-deficient groups. All manganese-deficient rats also showed alterations in the pattern of a maximal seizure. These data are interpreted to mean that brain excitability or convulsability was increased in manganese-deficient rats regardless of the presence or absence of ataxia, thus suggesting that congenital ataxia and increased convulsability are independent expressions of manganese deficiency. The convulsions and death induced by l-hydrazinophthalazine (hydralazine) in normal rats could be prevented by the prior administration of manganese salts. Cortical electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings indicated that ataxic manganese-deficient animals have a higher average EEG frequency under anesthesia than do controls. These studies suggest that the level of manganese in the body is important in determining the susceptibility of an animal to convulsive states.