Biological model of hypoxia can be used for the diagnosis o f functional changes in human erythrocytes under the effect of the hypoxic factor. The use of this model together with mod ern methods of scanning probe microscopy for evaluation o f the severity of pulmonological disease in senile patients will help to predict treatment efficiency and outcome.
Key W ords: scanning probe microscopy (SPM); Young' s modulus; pneumoniaPhysiological changes in human tissues during aging manifest in impaired adaptation capacity to metabolic stress and general deterioration of the health status. The older the individual, the higher is the risk o f disease development, o f which pulmonological diseases, in cluding acute community-acquired pneumonia (called pneumonia in the text below) are most hazardous [1]. Respiratory diseases often cause a potent unfavorable effect, oxygen deficit in tissues, and therefore, studies of tissue hypoxia is the main problem o f pulmonol ogy and physiology [2]. Studies o f the mechanisms of cell response in hypoxia, evaluation of regularities of disease development, and the search for prognostic and diagnostic criteria are expected to improve evalu ation of the severity and progress o f various diseases, including pneumonia [8]. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is an informative method for studies o f the physiological status in health and disease, specifically, for studies o f blood cell parameters. Extrapolation o f experimental data on animal blood obtained on a biological model to the data ob tained in studies of hypoxia in patients is expected to show the trend of changes in blood cell structure and functions, indicating the effect of the hypoxic stress factor on the organism.The strong impact of infection is essential in pneu monia, which can modulate the cell parameters, specif ically the erythrocyte values [1]. Use o f the biological model will help differentiate the hypoxic effects on changes in human blood erythrocyte characteristics from the bacteriological factor. If the trend of changes in the rat red blood cells is similar to changes in pa tients with pneumonia, presumably, it is the hypoxic, but not the bacterial factor, that is mainly responsible for changes in human erythrocytes.We used the biological model for SPM studies of the blood cell structure and functions in senile patients with pneumonia.