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This article briefly Summarizes current knowledge about cyclosporine A, its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamíc properties, its effects on organs, tissues, cells as well as its transmembrane transmissions. It also deals with the influence of cyclosporine A on other substances or drugs. Owing to its properties, we can suppose that there will be an increased use of this drug in civilian as well as military medicine than there is at the present time.

Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of the disease tularemia. Inhalation of infected dust leads to the respiratory form of the disease, while transmission by arthropods or direct contact with an infected animal causes the ulceroglandular form of the disease. Lethality in mouse model is much more dependent on the route of infection than on the genetic background of mice. LD₅₀ after i.d. infection with F tularensis LVS at both — either susceptible (BALB/c) or resistant (C57Bl/ 10) mouse strain is higher than 1x107 microbes per mouse [1]. On the Other hand, LD₅₀ after aerogenic infection is 3x10¹ microbe/mouse of strain BALB/c and 1x10² microbe/mouse of strain C57Bl/10 [3].

Introduction to bacteriological (biological) and toxic weapons. The international treaty and national act concerning the prohibition of bacteriological (biological) and toxic weapons. A short description of the national act. Differences between American and European approaches to the prohibition of bacteriological (biological) and toxic weapons. US governmental measures in the fight against biological terrorism. Prohibition of bacteriological (biological) and toxic weapons in the Czech Republic.

Genomic and proteomic analysis bring to biomedical labs qualitatively new technologies, which enable the complex look to genes and gene-related products — proteins. In contrary to genes, which number is definitive for given living system, the number of protein species varied substantially according the immediate living conditions of the system studied. Moreover, most of the proteins have the function associated with the tertiary structure of their molecule, e.g. with the space orientation so called folding and intracellular compartment where are they located. In in vitro systems the process of folding is inefficient and only minority of synthesized molecules have correct shape. In vivo most molecules mustrapidly fold to proper tertiary conformation, otherwise unfolded and misfolded proteins would be degraded. The promotion of protein folding is most probably the chaperones and chaperonins role. These molecules create a family of conserved proteins found in all compartments of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Moreover, in in vivo systems synthesized and folded proteins must occupy the proper intracellular niche to express their function.

Francisella tularensis is the Gram - negative, facultative intracellular bacterium which is able to cause tularemia. It can survive in macrophages or hepathocytes. Francisella tularensis is devided into four subspecies F. tularensis subsp. tularensis, F tularensis subsp. palearctica, F. tularensis subsp. mediaasiatica, F tularensis subsp. palearctica japonica. Live attenuated Vaccine Strain (LVS) Selected from a mixture of attenuated strains is used as an experimental model for human infection in mıce....

The 1st Conference of the Society Of Military Physicians was held on the occasion of the 75^th anniversary of the establishment of the Czechoslovak military medical educational System and the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Purkyně Military Medical Academy in Hradec Králové. The aim of this conference was to present to the military medical public and other people interested the principles of carrying out medical care in field conditions according to NATO standards. The main specialists of the Czech Army Medical Service presented their contributions from the fields of military medical service organization and management, surgery, orthopaedics and traumatology, opthalmology, stomatology, anaesthesiology, internal medicine and haematology, otorhinolaryngology, neurology, dermatovenereology, communicable diseases, psychiatry, toxicology, radiobiology, military hygiene, epidemiology, medical evacuation, radiodiagnostics, clinical biochemistry, the transfusion service, physiatry, balneology and physiotherapy, military pharmacy and aeromedicine. Contributions concerning the BATLS/BARTS courses and compressive dressing were also presented. A number of the Slovak Army Medical Service specialists also participated in this conference.

In the study of effect of New Chemical Entity (NCE) entering in organism it is advantageous to know the concentration of its loading the single organs and tissues. The greater stress is, the higher probability of undesirable effect and higher influence of pathologically changed organ function on effect kinetics and dosing can originate. The indicator of the stress degree can be the extraction potency (EP) of organ and tissues calculated using AUCS of plasma levels after administration of NCE in part of blood circuit before and after supplying the studied organ or area (2). Subtracting relation between these AUCS from one it is possible obtain the EP of studied organ (3)....

Enzymes capable of degrading highly toxic organophosphate (OP) esters are emerging as safe and efficient means for destruction of nerve agent stockpiles, remediation of contaminated areas, decontamination of materials. Stoichiometric and catalytic biological scavengers are also promising alternative medical countermeasures against poisoning by nerve agents. Different OP-degrading enzymes are potential candidates for pretreatment, decontamination of skin, mucosa and open wounds or for treatment as supplement to current therapy. Here we will focus on human butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE, EC.3.1.1.8). Our goal is to engineer cholinesterase-based enzymes, having high OP-hydrolyzing activity, stable on storage and, stable in the bloodstream and immunologically compatible tobe injected in humans...

The Czech Army 6^th Field Hospital was in operation abroad in I999 for a period of less than 29 weeks. It was deployed there as a medical echelon during the NATO peacekeeping operation in Albania. As a Role 2+ hospital it provided medical and logistical aid to refugees from Kosovo. At the same time, it provided care to NATO soldiers participating in this operation. When the work in Albania was over, the hospital moved to Turkey to help the victims of the earthquake. The authors present their knowledge gained during the practical operation of the hospital in real field conditions. They state the organizational structure of the hospital and its manpower and resources. By describing the work methods in these conditions they want to stress that the set tasks were met. All the important parts of the field hospital, their way of deployment and the system of work are described in the article. Based on the stated results of the work the full operability of this type of Czech Army field medical facility is pointed out. The experience gained abroad shows the neccessity to continue improving the equipment and expertness of the hospital. This is the only way to have available in the Czech Army a medical echelon which is capable to react quickly to the needs of war, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations.

The response of an organism to xenobiotic, often toxic, compounds is determined by various factors. One of the most important ones is the presence of enzymes metabolizing the xenobiotics; among them, the most prominent enzymes are cytochromes P450 (abbrev. CYP). The CYP enzymes metabolizing xenobiotics are present in the liver as well as in other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, in the lung, kidney, heart, nasal epithelium, leukocytes and other tissues. Their localization is expected to be connected with their yet unknown physiological function(s).

Methods to analyze toxic scheduled chemicals (TSC) and their decomposition products in environmental samples have been developed and are widely used. However, methods for such analyses in biological samples have only recently been developed. Retrospective detection of exposure to TSC can be useful for various reasons. First of all, such analytical methods can be used to establish firmly whether casualties have indeed been exposed to these chemicals, whereas dosimetry of the exposure will be a starting point for medical treatment of the intoxication. Second, these methods will be useful for verification of alleged non-adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Moreover, these methods can be used for health surveillance of workers in destruction facilities of chemical warfare agents and in forensic analyses in case of suspected terrorist activities. In this presentation an overview is given of the methods currently available for detection of exposure to sulfur mustard, nerve agents, lewisite and phosgene. In this report an overview is presented of the methods currently available for detection of exposure to sulfur mustard, nerve agents, lewisite and phosgene.

The article summarizes the syntheses of organophosphate inhabited cholinesterase reactivators published from 1980 to I992. Synthetic procedures used and the evaluation of antidotic effectiveness are mentioned for individual types of reactivators. It follows from the specification of prepared coumpounds that the main attention was paid to reactivators derived from pyridine carbaldoxime and imidazole carbaldoxime.

Micellar systems made of amphiphilic quaternary pyridinium and quinolinium ketoximes readily hydrolyze 4-nitrophenyl diphenyl phosphate. and/or 1-(1-naphtylazo)napht-2-yl diphenyl phosphate, simulants of toxic organophosphates. Reactivity of these functional surfactants towards phosphates depends strongly on the position of their nucleophilic oxime function relative to micellar surface.

Modern medicine seeks new paradigms in a number of areas. In many areas in this connection gradual atomization occures and in some areas there is even the danger of a loss of needed continuity among the medical branches. Often discussed health problems of a human being in connection with his or her extensive exposure to xenobiotics in the environment and a bad life-style together with the recently passed Law number 258/2000 of the Digest (which is a basic medical law solving in an acceptable way the questions of primary prevention in a rebuilt system of health services and health care) were stimuli for writing this contribution.
Primary prevention is very important in the work of each health service worker and especially each physician. However, everyday experience has not been very encouraging and elementary institutionalization of this area, at least including a legislative part, is a must. Transparent limitation of associated esponsibilities, competencies, sanctional authorities and professional links to the appropriate institutions of higher administration areas or central institutions concerning methodical guidance or arbitration is necessary.
The author expresses his convinction that this is a unique chance to use the transformation of the hygiene service (which is in progress) to build (without uncritical copying Of foreign models) an institutionalized system of primary prevention based on our experience, complying with our needs and adequate to our possibilities and that this opportunity should not be lost. The outlined problems of the future require, when respecting the specific features of hygiene and epidemiology, their barrier-free cooperation. As it is possible to document from experience in other fields, the most rapid progress and most interesting problems can be expected in the area of their mutual overlap, including for example methodical applications of molecular toxicology. in the environmental epidemiology. It is also possible to expect a fundamental extension of the applications of epidemiology approaches in clinical studies. Primary prevention of diseases with mass incidence and by this an effort to positively influence the quality of human life remains in the centre of interest of both branches.

The aim of the study was to evaluate models for studying possible preventive effects of selective antioxidants on biochemical changes induced by chronic intrauterine hypoxia and neonatal anoxia in Wistar//DV rats. Anoxia of newborn rats and chronic intrauterine hypoxia induced by phenytoin caused oxidative stress followed by organ ischaemia/reperfusion and reactive oxygen species generation. In biochemical quantification of oxidative stress we used the activity of the lysosomal enzyme N-acetyl-B-D-glucosaminidase (NAGA) and the level of glutathione (GSH) in foetal liver and brain, and in the placenta and brain, lungs and liver of newborn rats as markers of tissue damage. Neonatal anoxia (25 min) in 2-day-old pups induced significant increase in NAGA activity in lungs and liver and GSH increase in brain and liver. The activity of NAGA in brain....

This study was carried out to evaluate whether the pyridoindole stobadine (STO), which is an effective cardioprotective drug and a potent antioxidant, had any specific role in changes Of lysosomal enzyme (LE) activity in the rat heart during oxidative stress induced by a high dose of a synthetic catecholamine, isoproterenol (IPN). Oxidative stress induced by catecholamines is a well recognized toxic event. This effect has been extensively observed in the heart, where high levels of catecholamines cause lipid peroxidation, energy depletion and myocardial necrosis accompanied with leakage of lysosomal content and subsequent LE activity changes in most mammals. The activities of the LE acid phosphatase and N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase were studied in the rat heart as markers of cell damage. IPN-induced toxic damage in male Wistar rats (9 h after IPN hydrochloride administration, 50 mg/kg s.c. ) was manifested by marked alterations in the activities of the LE in the sedimentable fraction of the rat myocardium. STO administered in various dosage regimens reduced or diminished the IPN-induced biochemical changes in the rat myocardium. The results suggest that STO is able to protect rats against IPN-induced oxidative stress.

Francisella tularensis is an aetiological agent of tularemia. It was isolated by E. Francis in Tulare, California in 1911. The type A predominates in North America, the strains are more virulent than in the continental Europe (hares, ticks). The type B occurs in rodents, birds and ticks. It is more resistant to external conditions, with a long-term survival in cadavers, it occurs in Europe. The disease can be characterized in several clinical forms according to the mode of infection (a direct inoculation, inhalation of an infectious aerosol, and attached tick)....

9. - 11. October 1997, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

Effects of sarin, soman and VX were described and discussed. The trigger mechanism of their action is inhibition of cholinesterases followed by non-specific changes. However, changes in cholinesterase molecular forms are of interest and they play an important role in mechanism of action of nerve agents, too.

Cholinergic nervous system plays an important role in many physiological and behavioral functions in all animals. The activity of central and peripheral nervous system depends on the production and fate of acetylcholine and all compounds influenced its biosynthesis, storage, release, hydrolysis, and interactions with different subtypes of acetylcholine both muscarinic and nicotinic receptors. Many natural neurotoxins also interact with different parts of cholinergic nervous system and these compounds are the aim of this review.

26 - 30. May 1997, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

Central anticholinergic syndrome evoked by some incapacitating chemical agents from the family of anticholinergics is possible to treat with some reversible centrally active inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase. In this paper the view of anticholinergic incapacitating agents and their biological effects is summarize as well as a survey of inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase which may be used as antidotes against intoxication by incapacitating chemical agents. The position of 7-methoxytacrine as very effective and little toxic antidote is discussed.