The Russian FIS and FSS represent reliable and valid tools for efficient quantification and monitoring of fatigue severity and its clinical impact in MS. EDSS and anxiety are important contributors to fatigue severity in MS.

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Abstract. The relevance of the problem is caused by the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases among the population, including coronary heart disease which requires surgical treatment, on the one hand, and low rates of treatment adherence among patients with chronic diseases, which reduce the effectiveness of the treatment and survival rates of patients, on the other hand. Patients after CABG were divided into groups according to the degree of their adherence to treatment and were examined by using the Big Five Questionnaire. Differences between the groups on the scales "conscientiousness" (p < 0.001), "openness" (p < 0.001), "agreeableness" (p < 0.05), and "neuroticism" (p < 0.05) were revealed. The study showed that the psychological factors are relevant in the definition of adherence to treatment and patients' personality traits are potentially significant for the prediction of its degree among patients after CABG.

The general trend of humanization in medicine in recent decades, along with the biopsychosocial approach to health and illness, has put on the agenda the problem of patients’ quality of life, which resulted in numerous researches. The relevancy of this issue and the need of its investigation is substantiated in the present article on the ground of the analysis of modern literature and the work experience in the oncoorthopedic clinic; the results of the first stage of quality of life study and number of factors determining it in patients with bone and soft tissues tumors in lower extremities who underwent amputation are presented. Such a study should be comprehensive and should include an analysis of the objective functional capabilities and clinical indicators of patients, the subjective assessment of the main aspects of quality of life after amputation, as well as the psychological, social, demographic characteristics of patients. This implies the development of a theoretical model including the components of analysis in their integrated unity and interaction, as well as mathematical and empirical verification of the model. The development of quality of life psychosocial model can help to create scientifically based programs of individualized psychological assistance and social rehabilitation of cancer patients undergoing amputation of lower limb. The authors –doctors and clinical psychologists of the N.N. Blokhin Cancer Research Center and the St. Petersburg State University– put forward a research program in order to develop such a model, as well as present the first results of its implementation.

Background. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has been one of the most performed surgical procedures for more than 30 years. Recent research has shown severe cognitive disorders accompanying cardiac surgery. However, mild cognitive dysfunction, which is more amenable to prevention and correction, has been less studied because of difficulties in diagnosing it.objective. For this reason, we set out to analyze the dynamics of cognitive functioning in CHD patients undergoing CABG. Our study focuses on the main indicators of cognitive functioning and on comparing cognitive functioning with normative data, as well as on the emotional state which accompanies cardiac surgery.Methods. The present study enrolled 70 patients (of average age 59.71 ± 7.32 years) who underwent CABG with the standard cardiopulmonary bypass technique. Our examination used a pathopsychological test battery (including the WAIS, TMT, Stroop test, TAS, Benton test, etc.), and was performed in three stages: two days before, and both 12-14 days and three months after the surgery.Results. The results obtained suggest that the majority of cognitive complaints are connected with memory decline after CABG. Patients with CHD experience significant postoperative cognitive decline mostly in verbal memory and attention. A significant cognitive improvement three months after the operation occurred in the following cognitive domains: visual memory, logical memory, and spatial thinking. An analysis of the patients' trait anxiety leads to the conclusion that the highest intensity of anxiety was observed in relation to the following indicators: "emotional discomfort, " "asthenic component, " and "anxious assessment of the future. " Our research demonstrates negative changes in both short-and longterm memory. Possible reasons for postoperative cognitive decline include the conditions and consequences of the surgery, normal aging, brain injury at the time of coronary surgery, and the emotional state of the patients. A positive trend was discovered in the visual and logical memory, active attention, and thinking activity.