Medical education in Romania: Tradition and innovation.

Romania is a country in south-east Europe, which has experienced major changes in political, educational, and healthcare systems. At the time of writing this paper, there are thirteen accredited Faculties of Medicine, which offer students from all over the world the possibility of becoming doctors. Students in Romania follow a six-year program of activity and there are courses taught in Romanian, English, French, and Hungarian. In this paper, we outline the organization of Romanian medical education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and we indicate the opportunities for curriculum development.

The role of IL-6 572 C/G, 190 C/T, and 174 G/C gene polymorphisms in children's obesity.

UNLABELLED: The aim of this study was to establish the correlations between the polymorphisms of the genes interleukin (IL)-6 572, 190, and 174 in obese children. We assessed 222 hospitalized children divided into two groups: group I (control) included 110 patients with normal nutritional status, and group II consisted of 102 obesity patients. The two groups underwent IL-6 572 C/G, 190 C/T, and 174 G/C polymorphism testing, measurement of anthropometric parameters (mid-upper arm circumference and tricipital skinfold thickness), and paraclinical evaluation (protein, albumin, leptin, adiponectin, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)). We observed that phenotype CC was more frequent in obese children for IL-6 572 (p = 0.0001), whereas CG heterozygotes were more frequent in the obese group for the IL-6 190 gene (62.7 %; p = 0.0001). Leptin was dependent on IL-6 572 and IL-6 174 gene polymorphisms and albumin, whereas adiponectin was dependent on the IL-6 174 gene polymorphism. Body mass index (BMI), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and tricipital skinfold thickness (TST) serum albumin levels correlated with C allele carriers of the IL-6 572 and IL-6 190 genes in children with obesity, whereas the CC genotype of IL-6 174 was a protective factor for obesity. CONCLUSION: Obesity is most frequently associated in children with IL-6 174 C allele carriers and with IL-6 190 C allele carriers.