[Geriatrics--an important field of clinical medicine]. / Geriatriia--vazhnyi razdel klinicheskoi meditsiny.

The topical aspects of geriatrics, which is believed to be an important part of clinical medicine, are overviewed. The age-specific features of therapeutic actions in elderly and senile patients are delineated. A special emphasis is given to the rehabilitation measures which are to be taken on a person's retirement, as well as to the significance of the motor activity and rational nutrition in the prevention of early aging.

The state of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in various clinical forms of hypertension in aging.

The authors' data give evidence for an early involvement of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in the hypertension pathogenesis with aging. The elderly patients with the systolic hypertension variant showed marked hyporeninemia and hyperaldosteronemia, while those with the systolic-diastolic variant displayed an increased or normal plasma renin activity against moderately increased aldosterone concentration. There was a marked increase of plasma renin activity in the patients with the cardiac form and a high circulating aldosterone concentration with the cerebral form of hypertension. The results suggest a certain interrelationship between the clinical picture of the disease and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The latter must be taken into consideration when making decisions regarding therapy and prophylaxis of hypertension.

The role of the scientific council on gerontology and geriatrics of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences in the development of gerontological research in the USSR.

The author, chief of the Institute of Gerontology of USSR, gives an overview on the role of the scientific council on gerontology and geriatrics of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences in the development of gerontological research in the USSR.