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The authors determined the level of neuraminic acid in the serum of 50 patients with encephalomalacia and 25 patients with cerebral haemorrhages on the 1st, 3d and 7th days of the disease. Twenty healthy subjects served as controls. A statistically significant rise in the concentration of this substance was observed in both groups of patients throughout the whole period of observations.

Gasometric determinations of pCO2, pO2, HCO3 and SO2 were performed in arterial blood in 100 patients with brain stroke. The following conclusions have been drawn. 1. In 2/3 of cases of brain stroke decreased partial oxygen pressure and in 1/3 of cases acid-base equilibrium disturbances are observed. 2. Hypoxia occurs in brain stroke mainly in patients with consciousness disturbances, which suggests that impaired airways patency plays a role in the pathomechanism of this disturbance. 3. Acid-base equilibrium disturbances in cases of brain stroke have in most patients the character of respiratory alkalosis which seems to be due to hyperventilation determined by central nervous mechanisms as well as to hypoxia caused by insufficient patency of airways. 4. Gasometric investigations of arterial blood in brain stroke are important for establishing the degree of homeostasis disturbances and for choice of methods of therapeutic management.

The concentration of alpha-amino nitrogen in the serum of 18 healthy subjects, 17 patients with cerebral haemorrhage, and 23 patients with encephalomalacia due to thrombosis was determined by the colorimetric ninhydrin method of Moore and Stein modified by Slavik. The determinations were done on the 1st, 3rd and 10th days of the disease. The mean concentration of alpha-amino nitrogen in the serum of patients with cerebral haemorrhage was lower than in controls on the 1st and 3rd days of the disease but the difference was not significant statistically. The mean level of alpha-amino nitrogen in the serum of patients with encephalomalacia was lower on the 1st day than in controls while on the 3rd and 10th day it was slightly higher as compared with controls, however, statistically the differences were not significant. The mean values of alpha-amino nitrogen in the serum of patients with cerebral haemorrhage and those with encephalomalacia gradually approached the control values.

In a group of 22 patients with foci of brain softening certain blood clotting factor were determined at different stages of the disease. The control group consisted of 16 healthy subjects. Shortening of the prothrombin time was observed after 4 weeks in the group of patients as compared with the control group. The fibrinolytic activity was higher in the plasma on the 4th day of the disease and a fall of plasma fibrinolytic activity after 4 weeks to normal values was observed.

The authors determined peripheral-blood ammonia level in patients with cerebral strokes. The determinations were done by the method of Konitzer et al. on the 1st, 3rd and 7th days of the disease. The results of determinations were subjected to statistical analysis with the t test of Student. It was found that the mean serum ammonia level in patients with cerebral stroke on the 1st day of the disease was higher than in the control group. The difference was statistically significant. The level of ammonia in the blood of patients with cerebral haemorrhage was significantly higher on the 1st day of the disease than in patients with encephalomalacia. The difference was statistically significant with error probability of 0.05.