[Alzheimer's disease therapy: challenges and perspectives.]

Here we review both clinically applied and newly emerging approaches for Alzheimer's disease management. Alzheimer's disease or Alzheimer's type dementia is the most common type of primary dementia affecting late and senile age. Hallmarks of the disorder include progressive memory loss and highest nervous activity disruption; these cause dramatic consequences to the psychological activity. The disease course is characterized by continuous (lasting years and decades) decline, increasing degree of disability, and eventual death. Despite long-lasting attempts, researchers and medical professionals were not able to elaborate effective treatment so far. The problem is tightly connected to elucidating of Alzheimer's disease molecular mechanisms as well as development of novel therapeutics and early diagnostics approaches.

[Destabilization of the DNA Duplex of Actively Replicating Promoters of T7-Like Bacteriophages].

The relation between the processes of replication and transcription has been actively studied over several decades, but detailed mechanisms for their interaction have not been established reliably. Among the initiating transcription promoters of bacteria and bacteriophages, there are both promoters having an additional function of the secondary origin of replication (OR) and promoters not participating in this process. In this paper, we describe the stability of DNA by Stress-Induced Duplex Destabilization (SIDD) profiles for a complete set of promoters and the primary OR of the bacteriophage T7 genome. It has been shown that, among the native T7 promoters, only those that have an additional function of secondary OR are characterized by high destabilization. These include the phiOL and phiOR promoters adjoining the 5' and 3' terminal repeats of bacteriophage T7, and of six other T7 group phages. In each case, these two promoters are located in the regions of DNA with high destabilization of the duplex. Additionally, the genomes of seven representatives of the T7 group without annotated phiOL and phiOR have been considered. For three of them, high peaks of SIDD profiles have been found near the ends of the genomic DNA that may be due to the presence of similar phiOL and phiOR promoters. Probably, such promoters can be found in the genomes of other bacteriophages. Thus, for the promoters of bacteriophages, we have a confirmation of the relationship of SIDD as a DNA duplex parameter and the DNA replication initiation on promoters, serving as secondary OR.

Beta-Amyloid and Tau-Protein: Structure, Interaction, and Prion-Like Properties.

During the last twenty years, molecular genetic investigations of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have significantly broadened our knowledge of basic mechanisms of this disorder. However, still no unambiguous concept on the molecular bases of AD pathogenesis has been elaborated, which significantly impedes the development of AD therapy. In this review, we analyze issues concerning processes of generation of two proteins (ß-amyloid peptide and Tau-protein) in the cell, which are believed to play the key role in AD genesis. Until recently, these agents were considered independently of each other, but in light of the latest studies, it becomes clear that it is necessary to study their interaction and combined effects. Studies of mechanisms of toxic action of these endogenous compounds, beginning from their interaction with known receptors of main neurotransmitters to specific peculiarities of functioning of signal intracellular pathways upon development of this pathology, open the way to development of new pharmaceutical substances directed concurrently on key mechanisms of interaction of toxic proteins inside the cell and on the pathways of their propagation in the extracellular space.

[Rehabilitation of patients with chronic bronchitis and spine diseases]. / Vosstanovitel'naia terapiia bol'nykh khronicheskim bronkhitom s zabolevaniiami pozvonochnika.

Correction of disturbed respiratory function and inhibition of progression of pulmonary inflammatory and obstructive processes is the aim of respiration rehabilitation in patients with chronic bronchitis (CB). It is known that rehabilitation in CB patients with spinal diseases meets with difficulties as dystrophic lesions of the spine entail its functional-anatomic disorders at the corresponding level. By supporting progression of dystrophic spinal and osteovertebral junction disorders, chronic bronchopulmonary inflammation participates in formation of interrelated respiratory affections. New approaches to rehabilitation of CB patients with spinal lesions lie in use of pharmacopuncture, acupuncture, deep reflex-muscular massage and therapeutic exercise in consensual sequence.

[Several aspects of clinical signs and pathogenesis of pneumopathies in acute poisoning caused by sulfur-containing natural gas]. / Nekotorye aspekty kliniki i patogeneza pnevmopatii pri ostrykh otravleniiakh serovodorodsoderzhashchim prirodnym gazom.

The article summarizes and analyzes data on 32 cases of acute intoxication varying in severity and caused by inhalation of sulfur-containing natural gas of Astrakhan gas deposit (SCNGAGD). The data were obtained in experimental poisoning of 120 Wistar rats with the gas. Pneumopathies (toxic pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, asthmatic bronchitis, alveolitis) appeared to play the central role among other syndromes of the intoxication by SCNGAGD. Mechanisms of the pneumopathies were traced to morphologic disorders of blood-lung barrier, compromised functions of lung surfactant, disturbances in lipid peroxidation and anaerobic glycolysis.