Objective.  To analyse the association between long-term changes in relative telomere length (RTL) and selected markers of cardiovascular ageing such as history of myocardial infarction (MI), pulse pressure or usage of antihypertensive (AHT) drugs during 15 years of follow-up.

Subjects  and  methods.  332 middle-aged subjects were recruited from a population-based, case-control study of patients with MI. RTL in blood at baseline and after 15 years of follow-up was investigated through quantitative PCR. Z-statistics was used to compare the log-distribution of RTL at baseline and at follow-up, respectively. The difference (Δz-score) was calculated for each individual as a marker of relative change in telomere length over 15 years. Multiple regression analysis was used with Δz-score as dependent variable, and age, sex, RTL at baseline, and clinical markers of cardiovascular ageing as independent variables.

Results.  We found that Δz-score of RTL was independently associated with both total (prevalent/incident) MI (p < 0.039) and usage of AHT drugs (p < 0.015) at baseline. Subjects with MI or on AHT drugs showed a greater reduction in the z-score for RTL during follow-up, implying a higher degree of telomere shortening.

Conclusion.  Changes in blood relative telomere attrition (RTL) is a potential marker of cardiovascular ageing, as illustrated by significant and independent associations between Δ z-score and prevalent/incident MI, as well as with base-line usage of antihypertensive drugs — a marker of longstanding hypertension in need of treatment.

The study of ovarian reserve indices in patients with functional ovarian cysts (FOC) included 137 patients with infertility and surgical treatment of functional ovarian cysts in history. A retrospective analysis of medical histories was carried out, the indicators of functional ovarian reserve were prospectively determined: serum values of Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), inhibin B, estradiol; volume of ovaries, ovarian antral follicle count (AFC) at sonography on the 2^nd–3^rd day of the menstrual cycle. The main group (n = 53) consisted of patients who met the Bologna criteria for poor response adopted by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE, 2011); the comparison group consisted of women with a good response to the controlled induction of ovulation (n = 84). Control — conditionally healthy women (n = 15).

The most pronounced decrease in ovarian reserve was revealed in complicated clinical course of FOC (rupture, hemorrhage). Reduction of ovarian reserve indices was observed in patients with repeated invasive interventions on the ovaries, adhesive process of the 3^rd and 4^th degree, as well as with concomitant inflammatory processes of the pelvic organs in the form of chronic salpingitis.

Evaluation of proliferative and antiproliferative properties of endometrial cells during its hyperplasia associated with chronic endometritis (CE) was carried out. The study included 60 patients, during histological examination of endometrial bioptates it became known that 20 of them had endometrial hyperplasia without atypia associated with CE (group I), 20 — CE (group II) and 20 — with normal endometrium (group III — control group). It was found that hyperplasia of the endometrium associated with CE was associated with increased expression of Ki-67 (the area of immunopositive structures was 22.73 ± 2.03 % compared to 7.43 ± 1.05 % in the group of chronic endometritis and to 2.0 % in the control group) and p16^INK4a  (the area of immunopositive structures reached 30.0 % compared to 5.8 % in group II and 2.6 % in group III). The level of expression of p16^INK4a  is directly proportional to the expression level of Ki-67; Spearman rank correlation coefficient was 0.869, p = 0.0001, Pearson correlation coefficient — 0.909, p = 0.0001.

Co-expression of Ki-67 and p16^INK4a may be a signal of cell cycle disorders and requires the search for factors determining the simultaneous expression of these markers in this pathology.

The article analyzes the tendency in the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Russia during 2001–2016 and the effectiveness of existing methods of specific prevention. During the analyzed period there was an expansion of the TBE area both throughout Russia — up to 48 endemic areas, and in the Siberian Federal District, including in the Novosibirsk Region — up to 23. The incidence in the Russian Federation has a progressive tendency to decrease from 4.4 per 100 thousand citizens in 2001 to 1.4 per 100 thousand citizens in 2016, however, in some regions the all-Russian level was exceeded by 3–10 times in 2016 with the highest rates in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (13.2) and the Republic of Altai (9.4). The Siberian Federal District is a stable leader in terms of morbidity: in 2016 56 % of TBE cases and 62 % of all fatal cases were registered there. From 2002 to 2016, the number of people who are vaccinated in the Russian Federation increased by 1.8 times, there was found a negative correlation between the number vaccinated and the incidence of TBE. The material presented in the article confirms the possibility of effective control of the epidemic process of tick-borne encephalitis using modern methods of immunoprophylaxis.

The study was conducted at the clinic of the Tomsk Research Institute of Balneology and Physiotherapy in 2009–2014. 182 patients who were divided into 3 groups: main group I — 77 patients with bronchial asthma (BA) and comorbid hypertension (HT); comparison group II — 53 patients with BA only; comparison group III — 52 patients with HT only. In patients with comorbid diseases, more significant adaptation disorders were noted than in patients with each of these diseases separately. In particular, their reactivation and stress were 4 times more often diagnosed; the level of reactivity was 2.6 times lower than in patients with hypertension. The frequency of adverse adaptation reactions increased as the intensity of asphyxiation and lipid metabolism increased. In patients of the main group, there were more significant disturbances of cellular immunity in the form of a decreased T-helper level in the blood than in patients with BA.

The study of adaptive responses and indicators of quality of life was carried out in 457 men (aged 30–65 years) in the acute period of stroke. The patients were divided into 2 groups: the main group included 381 patients exposed to harmful production factors (general vibration, local vibration, industrial noise, combined exposure to noise and vibration, toxic dust factor, electromagnetic radiation); comparison group included 76 patients who did not work under the influence of harmful occupational factors. Adaptive responses were assessed by the ratio of formed elements in the leukocyte formula of the blood with the assignment of the tension rank (TR). Each tension rank was related to a certain adaptation state. To assess the quality of life of the patients, the SF-36 questionnaire was used; the survey was conducted in 2 stages — on the 3^rd  and 21^st  days of the disease.

It was established that at the time of stroke development, the number of patients in the comparison group with a TR related to a balanced pathology was 2 times greater than in the main group. The number of patients in both groups withacute stress related TR did not differ significantly among themselves. The largest number of patients in the main group with TR related to a balanced pathology was among those affected by local vibration. Indicators of quality of life (physical and psychological components of health) of the main group without a significant difference did not exceed the same indicators of the comparison group both on the 3^rd  and 21^st  days of stroke.

To study the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), bone morphogenetic protein – 15 (BMP-15) and connexin 37 (Cx-37) in the rat’s ovaries with the model of functional ovarian cysts and with their correction, an experiment was conducted on mature white rats of Wistar line. Group I (main, n = 25) — modelling of functional ovarian cysts (introduction of follicle-stimulating hormone) followed by treatment with bevacizumab. Group II (comparison, n = 35) — modelling of functional ovarian cysts without further treatment. The control group (n = 20) is intact animals. Rats were removed from the experiment on the 7^th, 15^th, 30^th day. An immunohistochemical study of the expression of VEGF, BMP-15, Cx-37 has been conducted.

Modelling of functional ovarian cysts in white rats was accompanied by an increase in the specific volume of blood vessels in the ovaries, increased expression of VEGF in the cyst wall, excessive stimulation of folliculogenesis, accompanied by increased expression of BMP-15 and Cx-37 at the early stages of the experiment. Introduction of an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor caused a decrease in the number and specific volume of cysts, a decrease in VEGF expression and the approximation of specific vascular volume and VEGF expression to the values of the control group on the 15^th  day. By day 30, expression of BMP-5 and Cx-37 did not differ from that of the intact control group.Thus, the introduction of bevacizumab accelerates the regression of functional ovarian cysts by reducing vascularization in the cyst wall, accompanied by a decrease in the expression of VEGF. The revealed decrease in the number of growing follicles, the enhancement of atresia processes in the follicles and the change in the expression of factors of oocyte-somatic interaction (BMP-15, Cx-37) are of short duration.

Western Siberia is one of the main regions with a large number of HIV-infected people. District therapists are the key link that makes the first contact with HIV-infected people. However, it is not yet clear how ready General practitioners are to work with HIV-infected persons. In turn, the effective interaction of the doctor with the patient can be decisive in the formation of a positive attitude of the patient to treatment and significantly affect the effectiveness of future therapeutic measures.

The study, the results of which are presented in the article, was conducted in 2017 using an anonymous survey. The study involved 334 students of the 4th year of medical and pediatric faculties of the Novosibirsk State Medical University. An adapted questionnaire based on the UNAIDS (Joint United Programme on HIV/AIDS) model questionnaire was used for the survey. It was found that medical students do not condemn HIV-infected people. They do not believe that peoplewith HIV-positive status necessarily behave immorally and therefore deserve the disease. They are ready to help these patients, although they themselves have a fear of infection during medical manipulations. Ignorance of a number of legal issues concerning HIV-infected patients is established.

30 people took part in the study on the characteristics of gender identity, protective mechanisms and family climate in patients with schizophrenia (15 people — diagnosed with schizophrenia, average age 37 ± 9.8 years (main group), 15 — relatively healthy, average age 43 ± 8.9 years (the comparison group)). It is revealed that women with schizophrenia have less pronounced feminine qualities than women of the comparison group. Men with schizophrenia have androgynous and undifferentiated traits that are not present in men in the comparison group. Also in patients with schizophrenia, a distortion of gender identity was found in some cases. In patients with schizophrenia, the tension index of the mechanisms of psychological protection is higher than that of the respondents in the comparison group. In the family environment of patients with schizophrenia, an open expression of anger, aggression, and conflicting interaction is less characteristic compared with families of relatively healthy respondents.

The data on the study of the quantitative characteristics of fatty acids in the phospholipid fractions (phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine) of erythrocyte membranes under the action of physical stress (vertical fixation of rats for the dorsal cervical fold) are presented. The appearance of new molecular types of phospholipids due to an increase in saturated fatty acids and a decrease in polyunsaturated fatty acids is shown. With the introduction of a lipid complex from the extract of marine green alga Ulva lactuca and the commercial drug “Essentiale” during the period of stress there was a recovery of the fatty acid spectrum of red blood cell phospholipids. The action of the lipid complex of Ulva lactuca was more effective than Essentiale.

In order to study the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter regions of MMP2, MMP3 and MMP9 genes with cardiovascular risk factors and carotid artery lesions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) 212 patients with RA (181 women, 31 men; mean age — 58.0 years) with moderate and high disease activity were examined (average DAS28 score — 4.96). The study established traditional and associated with the course of inflammatory arthropathy cardiovascular risk factors; genotyping was carried out with the definition of single-nucleotide polymorphisms ММР3 5A-1171 6A (rs3025058), ММР9 С-1562Т (rs3918242), ММР2 С-1306Т (rs2438650). Atherosclerotic plaques were detected by ultrasound dopplerography of brachiocephalic arteries.

In patients with the MMP9 -1562TT genotype atherosclerotic plaques were more common than in carriers of wild-type allele C (71.4 % vs. 26.3 %, p = 0.022), and this association remained even after adjustment by age and sex. The MMP2 -1306TT genotype was found in 18.6 % of patients with AB compared to 7.9 % in patients without plaque (p = 0.025), but after correction by age and sex these differences were leveled (p = 0.14).

Thus, the differences in the occurrence of different MMP2 and MMP9 genotypes depending on the presence of AB in RA patients were revealed, which indicates the possible impact of these polymorphisms on the carotid arteries damage and the formation of a predisposition to the development of cardiovascular diseases.

The dynamics of the main echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular myocardium (LVM), reflecting the mechanisms of myocardial remodeling of left ventricle in patients with metabolic syndrome and sleep obstructive apnea syndrome (SOAS) was studied.

The research involved 98 men who are overweight (BMI > 30 kg/m²) with established earlier a diagnosis of hypertension and blood pressure stabilization achieved against a background of adequate medical therapy. Study participants underwent cardiorespiratory monitoring night’s sleep for diagnosis of sleep obstructive apnea syndrome with assessment of apnea/hypopnea index and average nocturnal saturation, and EchoCG was performed to assess the structural parametersof LVM, such as left ventricle (LV) diameters, the thickness of the interventricular septum and posterior wall of LV with further calculation of LVM mass index.

The data revealed reliable correlation of left atrium length and thickness of the left atrial posterior wall with an index of apnea/hypopnea (р < 0.05). No significant association study of structural parameters of LVM with the level of nocturnal hypoxemia have been identified. The study conclusions were drawn about the likely impact of the periodic independent upper airway obstruction in the remodeling of the left ventricle in the absence of a direct influence on the process of remodeling nocturnal hypoxemia.