[Lung Ultrasound: new Opportunities for a Cardiologist].

This review focused on ultrasound examination of lungs, a useful complement to transthoracic echocardiography (EchoCG), which is superior to chest X-ray in the diagnostic value. The lung acoustic window always remains open and allows obtaining high-quality images in most cases. For a cardiologist, the major points of the method application are determination of pleural effusion and lung congestion. This method has a number of advantages: it is time-saving; cost-effective; portable and accessible; can be used in a real-time mode; not associated with radiation; reproducible; and highly informative. The ultrasound finding of wet lungs would indicate threatening, acute cardiac decompensation long before appearance of clinical, auscultative, and radiological signs of lung congestion. Modern EchoCG should include examination of the heart and lungs as a part of a single, integrative ultrasound examination.

[Studying of the factors influencing biological age of long-livers of Almaty].

The article presents the results of a study of centenarians (25 patients older than 90 years) residents of Almaty, suffering from coronary artery disease (CAD) of different severity, for the purpose of definition of biological age of CAD and identify factors influencing aging process. Significant positive correlation between the thickness of an intragastric partition and indexes of chronological age, due biological age was defined. We assume that the hypertrophy of walls of a left ventricle (LV) is the main morphological indicator of an aging of cardiovascular system.

[The fundamental principles behind the evaluation of the bioclimatic potential of the Alma-Ata health resort (Kazakhstan) for the medical purposes]. / Osnovnye printsipy otsenki bioklimaticheskogo potentsiala kurorta Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) dlya meditsinskikh tselei.

This article reports the results of the analysis of long-term observations carried out at the Almaty health resort (Kazakhstan) with the purpose of evaluating of balneotherapeutic potential of this facility with special reference to the elucidation of its seasonal dynamics and characteristic of the comfort conditions for the inclusion into the program of spa and health resort-based treatment and climatic therapy programs.

[MEDICAL SOCIAL MODELING TECHNOLOGIES FOR ACTIVE AGING IN KAZAKHSTAN].

The article discusses a new model for active ageing in Republic of Kazakhstan with participation the state, population and medical social services. Achieving active longevity will lead to positive trends in the development of human capital of the state, because it enables to use experience and knowledge of senior generation in enhancing the effectiveness of socio-economic transformation in health care. The study was carried out on the base of the Central clinical hospital of the President's affairs administration in Republic of Kazakhstan, with the participation of 147 admitted patients of elderly and senile age.

Oxidative stress mediated mitochondrial and vascular lesions as markers in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease.

Mitochondrial dysfunction plausibly underlies the aging-associated brain degeneration. Mitochondria play a pivotal role in cellular bioenergetics and cell-survival. Oxidative stress consequent to chronic hypoperfusion induces mitochondrial damage, which is implicated as the primary cause of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) mediated Alzheimer's disease (AD). The mitochondrial function deteriorates with aging, and the mitochondrial damage correlates with increased intracellular production of oxidants and pro-oxidants. The prolonged oxidative stress and the resultant hypoperfusion in the brain tissues stimulate the expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes, which further drives the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). The ROS and RNS collectively contributes to the dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and damage to the brain parenchymal cells. Delineating the molecular mechanisms of these processes may provide clues for the novel therapeutic targets for CVA and AD patients.

Biological activity of amino acids in organotypic tissue cultures.

We studied the effect of 20 standard L-amino acids on proliferation of the nervous, cardiovascular, urogenital, digestive, and immune system tissues from young and old animals in organotypic cultures. The effect of amino acids on tissue culture proliferation depended on their origin and animal age.

Tetrapeptide H-Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg-OH stimulates expression of cytoskeletal and nuclear matrix proteins.

Tetrapeptide H-Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg-OH enhances the expression of cytoskeletal (actin, tubulin, vimentin) and nuclear matrix proteins (lamin A, lamin C) in cultured mouse embryonic fibroblasts by 2-5 and 2-3 times, respectively. Thus, the previously reported cardioprotective activity of this tetrapeptide is determined by its capacity to activate synthesis of cytoskeletal and nuclear matrix proteins, which stimulates cell proliferation and reduces apoptosis.

[Expression of key regulatory apoptotic proteins and their role in thymic involution in human aging].

Immunohistochemical verification of the expression of pro-apoptotic protein p53 and anti-apoptotic protein mcl-1 in non-lymphoid structures of human thymus of different age groups has been carried out. It has been shown, that thymic involution starts very early in postnatal ontogenesis, which is testified by the decrease of mcl-1 expression during first months of child life, and at the same time the expression of pro-apoptotic protein p53 noticeably increases during the first year. It was established that deceleration of thymic involution is connected with the decrease of p53 expression, but not with the increase of mcl-1 expression during aging.