[Modern determinants of intergenerational relationships.]

The article deals with intergenerational relationships and mutual assessments, gives an idea of the values of young people and the elderly, obtained on the basis of interviews. The authors come to the conclusion about the natural variability of intergenerational relationships, which due to adaptive capabilities, do not lead to real conflict between the studied age groups.

[International cooperation on aging: areas and players].

This review article is devoted to the issues of international cooperation on ageing. It aims at describing the basic areas of cooperation and introducing its major players. Within the limited length of a journal article it is hardly possible to offer an exhaustive presentation of all available information; thus the article strives to provide a general orientation within the selected themes. The authors are hopeful that the presented materials will be of interest to the policy oriented researchers, policy makers and professionals working in the field of ageing and related areas such as social security, health and social services etc., as well as to the activists of non-governmental organizations.

[Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology: achievements and prospects (towards the 20th anniversary)].

The article presents the results of the 20-years' long activity of the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology founded to fulfill the basic and applied tasks in the sphere of gerontology and to integrate with medical practice new methods for preventing premature aging and age-related pathology by means of pharmaceuticals based on peptide bioregulators. Among the Institute main achievements are the scientific developments in the field of peptide regulation of aging, creation of a new medical domain--bioregulation therapy, and foundation of the Russian school of biogerontology. As a result of investigations, a key role of peptides in the regulation of aging process has been established, and a method of bioregulators complex application has been developed to increase organism resistance to various unfavorable factors and enhancement of human vital resource. At present 6 drugs and over 60 peptide bioregulators are widely used for prevention and treatment of many diseases. 9 new peptide preparations revealing geroprotective properties are submitted to the Russian Health Ministry to be registered as drugs.

[Implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging in the CIS countries: the first 10 years].

In this article the information on policy action on aging in the CIS countries and Georgia (CIS+) are presented and discussed. The process of implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging (MIPAA) from 2002 through 2012 is chosen as a framework for analyzing the government policy on ageing. The article begins with a concise overview of the demographic situation in the CIS+ countries, which belong to various stages of demographic transition. In its concluding part, the article presents the policy goals for implementing MIPAA during its third implementation cycle (2013-2017).

[The 15th anniversary of the Gerontological Society of The Russian Academy of Sciences].

The article highlights main activities and results as well as major trends of developments and undertakings of the Gerontological Society of the Russian Academy of Sciences founded in March 1994.

[Life expectancy at older ages and alternative approach to aging measurement (the case of St. Petersburg)].

St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, NWB of RAMS, 3 pr. Dinamo, St. Petersburg 197110; For St. Petersburg, aging issues are of great importance as values of many aging indicators for St. Petersburg are higher than for Russia as a whole. Taper aims at analyzing the dynamics of life expectancy at older ages and comparing traditional (proportion of the elderly, average age, median age) and new (proportion of population with a remaining life expectancy 15 years or less, population average remaining years of life) aging indicators for St. Petersburg in 1990-2006.

[10th anniversary of the Year of Old Person: towards the society for all ages].

The paper highlights the milestones in the development of the UN idea of the Society for All Ages, originally announced as a motto of the International Year of Old Persons and later accepted as a central concept of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging (MIPA). In accord with MIPA building of the Society for All Ages will be a major issue in policies and programmes on aging in the XXI century. According to the UN experts opinion demographic tendencies may produce considerable impact on economy, social sphere and safety of Russia. The issues of aging are far from being completely and rapidly included into national development strategies on priority basis.

Implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging: the role of research.

This article discusses the role of gerontological science in the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging. It contains the review of the Madrid Plan of Action (MPA), its aims, the process of its development and adoption, as well as basic problems arising in the process of its implementation. Also this article describes the contribution of Russian gerontological science to the implementation of the MPA.

[The realization of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing: role of scientific research].

The article focuses on the role gerontological science is supposed to play in the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. Its purpose, structure, the process of development and concordance, as well as problems arising in the course of its realization are discussed by the authors. The contribution of the Russian gerontological science in the realization of the Madrid Plan of Action is debated.

Estrogen-metabolizing gene polymorphisms in the assessment of female hormone-dependent cancer risk.

Allelic variants of cytochrome P450: CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP19 (Aromatase) and II-phase enzyme Sulfotransferase (SULT1A1) genes are associated with a high risk of hormone-dependent cancers. We estimated a frequency of these allelic variants in the female Caucasian population of the Novosibirsk region of Russia and their association with the elevated risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer. A DNA bank of gynecologic oncology patients, patients with benign gynecologic diseases and healthy women was created, and the following single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were examined: CYP1A1 M1 polymorphism, that is, T264 --> C transition in the 3'-noncoding region; CYP1A2*1F polymorphism, that is, C734 --> A transversion in CYP1A2 gene; C --> T transition (Arg264Cys) in exon 7 of CYP19; SULT1A1*2 polymorphism, that is, G638 --> A transition (Arg213His) in SULT1A1 gene. A positive correlation of C allele of CYP1A2*1F and G allele of SULT1A1*2 with hormone-dependent cancers in women was found. Thus, these genes are appropriate candidates for studying the contribution of genetic factors to endocrine disorder and environmentally determined diseases susceptibility. In contrast, no association of CYP19 and CYP1A1 polymorphisms with increased cancer risk was revealed.

Gene expression of drug metabolizing enzymes in adult and aged mouse liver: a modulation by immobilization stress.

The role of stress in the regulation of enzymatic systems involved in the biotransformation of xenobiotics, as well as endogenous substrates in the liver was investigated using single immobilization stress as a model. Adult (3 months of age) and aged (26 months) C3H/a male mice were used. Cytochrome P450 1A1 and 1A2 (CYP1A1 and CYP1A2), glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) mRNA levels in the mouse liver were measured by a semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Excluding CYP1A1, experiments revealed significant differences in the expression of these genes between adult- and aged-control animals. The influence of stress on the expression of genes studied was shown to be higher in adult mice than in aged ones. Our results clearly demonstrate the lack of response or even the attenuation of gene expression in aged animals that may play an important role in age-related pathologies and diseases.

[mRNA level and cytochrome P450 1A activity in the liver of C57BL mice induced by various xenobiotics]. / Uroven' mRNK i aktivnost' tsitokhromov P450 1A v pecheni myshei linii C57BL pri induktsii razlichnymi ksenobiotikami.

The rate of hepatic cytochrome P450 Cypla1 and Cyp1a2 induction was investigated in C57BL male mice during induction with o-aminoazotoluene (OAT), benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone (AQ). The Cypla1 mPNA level determined by quantitative RT-competitive PCR increased more than three orders of magnitude during induction with OAT and BP compared with untreated animals and remained unchanged during induction with AQ. The Cypla2 mRNA level was only 8.5, 18.7 and 1.9 times higher during induction with OAT, BP and AQ respectively than in untreated mice. At the same time 7-Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and 7-Methoxyresorufin-O-demethylase (MROD) activities of Cypla were also investigated in liver. The increase of Cypla1 mRNA level correlated with the increase of EROD activity. This suggests involvement of the transcriptional mechanism of the inducibility of this enzyme. In the case of Cypla2 there was insignificant increase of its mRNA level but high catalytic activity registered in liver in response to injection of the inductor of MR metabolism. This can imply the posttranscriptional mechanism of Cypla2 regulation. During induction with AQ the Cypla1 mRNA level remained unchanged, but the EROD activity increased almost 20-fold. The latter suggests insufficient specificity of this substrate for Cypla1. Thus, on the basis of the data obtained, the mRNA level can be considered as more accurate estimation of Cypla1 and Cypla2 inducibility, than the determination of the enzyme activity.

[Basic directions and prospects for international collaboration in gerontology. Role of the International Association of Gerontology]. / Osnovnye napravleniia i perspektivy mezhdunarodnogo sotrudnichestva v gerontologii. Rol' Mezhdunarodnoi Assotsiatsii Gerontologii.

The overview presents data on the international collaboration in gerontology in the following spheres: 1) organizational basis of collaboration; 2) coordination of research; 3) coordination in the training of specialists; 4) collaboration in the organization of geriatric services; 5) collaboration in social care for the elderly. Role of the International Association of Gerontology and other international organizations in the promotion of gerontology and geriatrics in each of these spheres is shown by the example of Russia.