[Results of evaluation of the effectiveness of the drug Cellex in patients with small vessel disease]

OBJECTIVE

To study the effect of the drug Cellex on the severity of cognitive impairment in patients with small vessel disease (SVD).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A non-interventional observational controlled prospective observational study in parallel groups was conducted. 118 patients with CHEM who received unified therapy were under observation. Group 1 consisted of 40 patients who, in addition to basic therapy, received 10 injections of Cellex subcutaneously (0.2 ml 1 time/day), group 2 - 39 patients who received 2 courses of injections of Cellex subcutaneously (0.1 ml 1 time/day) with an interval of one month, patients 3-both groups (n=39) received only basic therapy. The examination included an assessment of the clinical status and neuropsychological testing (the MOS questionnaire and the clock drawing test - TRCH), analysis of the results of MRI of the brain. The blood levels of homocysteine (HC), C-reactive protein (CRP), asymmetric dimethylarginin (ADMA), and von Willebrand factor (FW) were determined in dynamics.

RESULTS

A statistically significant improvement in the performance of the MoCA and TRP questionnaire tests in groups 1 and 2 was demonstrated, with a more pronounced and persistent effect in patients who received repeated courses of treatment. Clinical improvement was accompanied by normalization of the concentration of studied markers of inflammation (CRP) and endothelial dysfunction (HC, ADMA, FW) in the blood, while the dynamics was most pronounced in patients of group 2. The treatment was characterized by good tolerability, low frequency and insignificant severity of adverse events.

CONCLUSION

The drug Cellex has demonstrated significant effectiveness in the treatment of patients with SVD with cognitive impairment, against the background of treatment, there was a decrease in markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, therapy was characterized by good tolerability.

[Nitric oxide availability in cerebral microangiopathy]

OBJECTIVE

To develop a test of individual nitric oxide (NO) availability based on changes in erythrocyte rheological properties after incubation with a NO donor and to evaluate the role of these disorders in brain damage and development of cognitive impairment (CI) in cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In 73 cSVD patients (48 (65.8%) women, mean age 60.1±6.5), the rheological properties of erythrocytes before and after incubation with 10 μmol/L L-arginine-NO donor were evaluated using a laser-optical rotating cell analyzer, and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability by MRI-T1 dynamic contrast.

RESULTS

Among the studied parameters of erythrocyte rheological properties, the best characteristic by ROC analysis was the rate of erythrocyte disaggregation (y-dis) after incubation with L-arginine (area under the curve 0.733 (0.609-0.856), sensitivity 67%, specificity 79%). Patients with a y-dis threshold >113 sec-1 had more severe CI, arterial hypertension, white matter lesions, and increased BBB permeability in gray matter and normal-appearing white matter.

CONCLUSION

The prolonged rate of erythrocyte disaggregation in cSVD patients after incubation with L-arginine indicates the risk for disease progression due to decreased NO bioavailability/disruption of the functional L-arginine-eNOS-NO system. This test can be used to assess individual NO bioavailability and potentially identify indications for modifying therapy with NO donors such as L-arginine. Clinical trials are needed to standardize and evaluate the efficacy of NO donor therapy in patients with cSVD and CI.

[Current state of cerebral microangiopathy in hypertension]

Hypertension is the main cause and the most important risk factor for both acute cerebrovascular accident and chronic progressive cerebrovascular insufficiency that is accompanied by severe neurological and mental disorders even to the extent of developing dementia. They are based on hypertension-induced pathology of the intracerebral arteries and cerebral microvasculature - cerebral microangiopathy that leads to small deep (lacunar) infarcts (SDIs) and diffuse cerebral white matter diseases. This review highlights the morphology, pathogenesis, clinical and neuroimaging diagnosis of hypertensive SDIs, and their differential diagnosis with atherosclerotic SDIs in the historical aspect. It is emphasized that the lacunar state of the brain in hypertension is a predictor of massive cerebral hemorrhages. Special attention is paid to current studies of the morphology and pathogenesis of diffuse changes in white matter and to the role of blood-brain barrier impermeability in the development of progressive leukoencephalopathy.

[Lacunar stroke]

Lacunar stroke occupies a special place among the various subtypes of ischemic stroke, accounting for about 25% in its structure and pathogenetically most often associated with cerebral microangiopathy caused by arterial hypertension (AH) and stenotic tandem atherosclerosis (AS) of cerebral arteries. Small deep (lacunar) infarction (SDI) of the brain is its structural basis. In recent years, understanding of its heterogeneous pathogenesis, clinical and practical significance was significantly expanded in connection with the widespread introduction into practice of highly informative neuroimaging methods (first of all, the newest MRI methods), which make it possible to identify SDI of the brain at various stages of their development, including in the acute period of lacunar stroke. This review covers in the historical aspect the issues of morphology, pathogenesis, clinical and neuroimaging dynamics of hypertensive and atherosclerotic SDI, including the criteria for their differential diagnosis. Particular attention is paid to the problems of asymptomatic ('silent') SDI, which, according to recent research, along with the diffuse pathology of the cerebral white matter, make a large contribution to the development of cognitive impairment up to the development of vascular dementia, and also are predictors of severe hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke in patients with AH and AS.