The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of Aronia melanocarpa fruit juice (AMJ) supplementation on age-related coronary arteries remodeled in aged rat hearts. Male Wistar rats (n = 24) were divided into three groups: (1) young controls (CY), aged 2 months, without AMJ supplementation; (2) old controls (CO), aged 27 months, without AMJ supplementation; and (3) the AMJ group (A), which used 27-month old animals, supplemented orally with AMJ for 105 days. AMJ supplementation did not influence the wall-to-diameter parameter (Kernohan index) of the coronary arteries of test animals. Aged rats supplemented with AMJ showed a significant decrease in the amount of collagen fibers in their coronary tunica media, as compared with the old controls. The intensity of the immunoreaction for alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA) in the coronary tunica media was significantly lower in the supplemented group than in the old controls. The intensity of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) immunoreaction in the coronary tunica media of the supplemented group was significantly higher than the one observed in the old controls. These results indicate the positive effects of AMJ supplementation on the age-dependent remodeling of coronary arteries and support for the preventive potential of antioxidant-rich functional food supplementation in age-related diseases.

Ameloblastoma is a benign, locally aggressive tumour, with an unicystic variant that is very difficult to be differentiated from odontogenic cysts, because of their similarity in the clinical manifestation and X-ray examination. The morphological similarities between these processes make for a more difficult histological diagnosis. We present a case of a 32-year old male, admitted in the Maxillofacial surgery clinic in a University hospital for surgical treatment, because of a swelling in the left mandibular vestibule. A cystic formation, histologically diagnosed as an epithelial one, is removed. Eight months later, the patient is admitted once again, with the same symptoms. The biopsy result from the second operation is a plexiform unicystic ameloblastoma. What is being discussed is the connection between the two pathological processes and the difficulties with giving the correct morphological diagnosis.

Ageing should be considered not only as an increase in the number of elderly and old people in their absolute and relative numbers, but also as a unity of the transformations of the lifecycle, with an emphasis on: later retirement, prolonged period of good-quality life, an active approach towards the process of retirement and differentiation of the category of "fourth age". The general preparation for old age has earned a new appeal in the contemporary societies. Motivation of the old people for activity -both physical and intellectual -is of great importance for the better survival of the old age and long life in good health, supported by realized well-being and feeling of joy from life. In this aspect the study of both risk and protective factors for human health (in a salutogenetic perspective) becomes increasingly fundamental. The issue of population at an advanced age has definitely been considered as an independent subject since the beginning of the 21 st century. Moreover, the society perceives it as an essential basis for further progress and flourishing of the mankind. In this sense the demographic strategies treating the problem need to address it in a new positive way, with different and positive attitude, accepting the population-related failures and anxiety and turning them into challenges and advantages. th century concedes to the physicians the main responsibility for solving the problems of ageing and old age. He had not presumed that this burden would be assumed by the entire society. In the past century the average expectation of life almost doubled and the number of old people sharply increased. The first signals of ageing of the population date back from the 1960s. The global society is already older than ever before in human history. Europe is the region in the world with the oldest population. At the same time it is assumed that research in the field of ageing on this continent has considerably fallen behind in comparison with the USA. Ageing of the population on the Old Continent can be attributed mainly to two major demographic tendencies -decrease in birth-rate and increase life expectancy. This process creates a fundamental problem of complex nature -social, economic, psychological, medical, etc.Experts from the World Health Organization have established the that the stages typical of the second half of the human life are: medium age (maturity) -45-59 years of age; advanced age -60-74; old age -75-89; long-living persons (macrobiots) -90 and over. In many countries at least 10 % of the population belongs to the group of people over the age of 65 (Bassuk et al, 1999). In the following decades the developed countries will likely witness a sharp increase in the actual and relative numbers of old people, while doubling the number of those over 65, and probably tripling (possibly even quadrupling) the number of people over the age of 85. World Trade Organisation and the World Bank include ageing of the population among the future problems of highest priorities for the developing co...

A brief historical-analytical review of the origin, essence, and development of empathy has been made. The theoretical measurements in the study of the empathic ability are subject to special attention. On the basis of topical definitions of the concept, the application of the approach in different spheres of life, and more specifically in medical practice, has been discussed. The types of communicative behavior in primary medical practice have been differentiated. A theoretical, applied method of communication intervention within the framework of operationalization and scaling of the empathic interaction is proposed. On the basis of the assumption of a genetically determined property of co-experience, the preconditions for the establishment of optimal interpersonal context upon exchange of information between the physician and the patient and making medical decisions have been outlined. Led by the so systematized and analyzed models and considering the specification of the transformed and activated empathic resources in cases of terminal conditions, an attempt has been made for the presentation of an extensive type of empathic interaction, applied in palliative medicine. The outlining of key messages in cases of terminal conditions in the specified model is complex and at the same time an open, dynamic process, requiring adaptation and enrichment with parameters of religious, ethnical and social nature, and other factors of psychological, spiritual and bio-ethical type in the complex interactive space of palliative medicine.

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