Stepanenko I. Clinical, neurological, immunological and metabolic alterations in encephalopathy following radiation exposure.

The all-round clinical, neurophysiological, neurovisual, biochemical and immunological examinations of various groups of the Chernobyl accident sufferers have provided grounds and enabled us to: identify the basic mechanisms involved in the brain lesions due to radiation; determine a phase-like nature of the occurrence and development of neurological disorders, and types of progressing encephalopathy; present their comprehensive characteristics; evaluate the level and nature of the brain lesions; reveal the specific features of changes in the methods of neurovisual examination and their diagnostic informational content; study the peculiarities of changes in metabolic and immune status and the importance of dysmetabolic and immunopathological alterations in encephalopathy formation; identify doses and character of radiation, and factors affecting the severity of encephalopathy and the results obtained using all investigation methods; determine the basic secondary prophylactic measures to prevent the development of severe forms of encephalopathy; elaborate treatment methods and define their principles.