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Background: The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) may be affected unilaterally or bilaterally in the course of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Permanent complications involve joint damage or stiffness and disorders in the development of the mandible, such as micrognathia, posterior rotation of the mandible, crowding and protrusion of the front teeth and malocclusion., Objectives: The aim of the study was the clinical and radiological assessment of TMJ dysfunctions and disorders in the development of the mandible in patients suffering from JIA, depending on the duration of the disease., Material and Methods: The research involved 46 patients with JIA, recognized according to the criteria established by the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR). Among the patients, 20 suffered from polyarticular JIA and 26 from pauciarticular JIA. The clinical assessment included determination of the facial profile according to Ricketts, intraoral assessment according to Angle's classification and canine class. There were 15 patients (9 with polyarticular and 6 with pauciarticular JIA) qualified for radiological examination. The location of the mandible was determined with the use of a lateral cephalometric image on the basis of a compilation of various analyses., Results: Out of the 46 patients, 15 individuals (32.6%) displayed clinical features of TMJ dysfunction (pain, clicking, crepitus). Of these, 6 patients (40.0%) reported disorders in mandibular development typical of JIA in the form of retrognathia and posterior rotation of the mandible. According to the grading system developed by Rohlin and Petersson, articular surface damage was considerably higher in the patients with a longer history of the disease (p < 0.01) and positively correlated with the deficit in mandible growth (r = 0.66, p < 0.008)., Conclusions: Early detection of temporomandibular joint damage, even in the case of juvenile idiopathic arthritis with a low level of inflammation, may prevent permanent and significant facial deformities when combined with orthodontic treatment of disorders in the development of the mandible.

Background: Changes in the structure and functioning of the body occur with age. Also nutrition is continually modified. Eating habits may affect favorably or unfavorably on the process of aging and the functioning of various tissues, organs and the whole body., Objectives: The purpose of the study was to evaluate dietary habits and food preferences of patients in different age groups. In the studied groups also body mass index (BMI) and body fat content were analyzed., Material and Method: 237 people (133 women and 104 men, age 18-79 years) were examined. The participants completed questionnaires of the frequency of food consumption and food preferences. The height, weight, body mass index (BMI), the percentage of body fat (BIA) were also measured. For statistical analysis the assessment of correlation Spearman's rank order and nonparametric ANOVA rank Kruskal-Wallis were used., Results: With age, the frequency of milk (p < 0,05) and cheese (p < 0,05) consumption decreased whereas consumption of cottage cheese increased (p < 0,05). Increased consumption of offal (p < 0,05), salt (p < 0,05) and coffee (p< 0, 05) was also noted. With age, the respondents preferred animal fats (p < 0.05) and vegetable fats (p < 0.05). The frequency of butter consumption decreased (p < 0.05) and consumption of vegetable fats increased (p < 0,05). The consumption of brown rice (p < 0,05), whole wheat pasta (p < 0,05) and cereals (p < 0,05) was reduced whereas the consumption of groats (p < 0,05) potatos (p < 0,05) and fruits (p < 0,05) increased. The decreased desire (p < 0,05) and frequency of nuts / almonds consumption (p < 0,05) were noted. With age, the BMI and percentage of body fat were increasing (p < 0,05, R = 0,39, p < 0,05, R = 0,31, respectively)., Conclusions: Taste preferences and dietary habits vary depending on age and may be one of the elements affecting the increase in BMI, body fat content, bone mass loss and increased risk of metabolic disorders. The observed changes in dietary habits can contribute to the development of dyslipidemia, glucose dysmetabolism and arterial hypertension, especially in the presence of overweight and obesity.

Apoptosis is a process associated with development and progression of breast cancer. The association between connexins and programmed cell death has only been demonstrated in a few studies. The aim of the present study was the evaluation of Cx26 and Cx43 expression in breast cancer in correlation with Bcl-2 and Bak proteins as well as with selected clinicopathological features. Tissue samples from 71 women were examined by immunohistochemistry, using the streptavidin-biotin-peroxidase complex technique for Cx26, Cx43, Bak and Bcl-2. Cytoplasmic expression of Cx26 and Cx43 was detected in 34 (47.9%) and 61 (85.9%) of breast cancers, respectively. Bcl-2 and Bak expression was found in 59 (83%) and 50 (70%) of studied cases, respectively. We found a positive correlation between Cx26 and Bak expression (r=0.541, p<0.0001) as well as between Cx43 and Bak (r=0.589, p<0.0001), but not between the studied connexins and Bcl-2. The expression of Cx26 was not associated with age, tumor size, lymph node status or histological grade. However, we observed an association between Cx43 expression and histological grade G3 (p<0.04). Cytoplasmic localization of evaluated connexins supports the concept of alterations in connexins expression in breast cancer cells. The associations of evaluated connexins with Bak protein could suggest that connexins localized in the cytoplasm may participate in signaling apoptotic pathways.

Disturbance in expression of estrogen receptors together with changing influence of growth factor receptors and apoptosis associated proteins plays a role in breast cancer development and progression. However, immunohistochemical detection and relationships among these proteins were not often considered in relation to breast cancer and a few evaluations of expression provided mismatching results and conclusions. Consequently, we examined by immunohistochemistry the expression of the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR), estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and apoptosis-associated proteins, Bcl-2 and Bax, in human primary breast cancer, as well as analyzing the relationships among these proteins. The positive immunostaining for IGF-IR, ERalpha, Bcl-2 and Bax was noted in 56, 63.8, 82.8 and 50% of tumors, respectively. We observed that IGF-IR negatively correlated with ERalpha in the group of all tumors and in axillary node negative cancer (p<0.03, p<0.05, respectively), but not in the subgroup of node positive cancer. Expression of ERalpha correlated positively with Bcl-2 and negatively with Bax proteins (p<0.0001, p<0.05, respectively). We did not note significant relationships between IGF-IR and Bcl-2, or IGF-IR and Bax proteins. We found that increased Bax expression was associated with positive lymph node status, pT2 stage and G3 grade of tumors. Knowledge about alterations in the IGF-IR expression and relations of the receptor to other biological factors could help in our understanding of breast cancer biology and the importance of the IGF-IR in cancer progression as well as in effective management of breast cancer.

Angiogenesis or the formation of new vessels out of pre-existing capillaries is a sequence of events that is fundamental to physiology of the female reproductive tract and also pathologic processes such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Many factors include vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietins and others involved in the regulation of angiogenesis have been identified. There are some endocrine control mechanisms, which stimulate or inhibit the angiogenesis. The studies indicate that the normal processes of folliculogenesis, ovulation and corpus luteum function in the ovary and the control of menstruation and implantation in the endometrium are profoundly dependent on the angiogenesis. The rapid, controlled and cyclical nature of angiogenesis in the female reproductive tract suggests that interference with this process should provide a novel approach to manipulation of reproductive function.

Breast cancer is often relatively slow growing, but at diagnosis about 40% of patients have regional spread to at least one axillary node. It has been shown that unrelated clones are in primary breast carcinomas. There is possibility that only a small subpopulation of the cells of the primary tumour (PT) metastasis. It has been shown that Ki-67 protein is a useful marker in histopathology, which is present during all active phases of the cell cycle and making possibility to assess growth fraction of tumour cells. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the expression of Ki-67 and comparison between the PTs and MRLNs as well as to estimate the relationships between Ki-67 and the chosen anatomoclinical features of the breast cancer. Immunohistochemical analyses for Ki-67 were performed on the PTs (69 cases without primary chemotherapy) and MRLNs (33 cases) of breast cancer. Increased expression of Ki-67 in PTs significantly correlated with pT2 stage of tumours (p < 0.05) and grade G3 (p < 0.04), but there was not relationship with lymph node status. Expression of Ki-67 positively correlated between PTs and MRLNs (p < 0.001). Comparison between PTs and matching MRLNs revealed that 23 (69.7%) cases showed a convergence between PTs and matching MRLNs with regard to negative or positive staining. We would like to emphasize the importance of studies concerning the proteins involved in proliferation in MRLNs, because knowledge about heterogeneity between PTs and MRLNs could shed light on tumour biology and may lead to development of more effective anti-cancer therapies.