Introduction. The number of people over 65 is increasing in the world, and falls are rather common among them. The objective of this research was to examine the impact of depression, dementia, the number of chronic diseases and the number of used medications in the risk of falls in the elderly. Material and Methods. We carried out a prospective study during the period from March 20 to May 20, 2016. The patients were interviewed, and data were also obtained from medical records. The data collection included a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Tinetti Gait and Balance Instrument, Beck Depression Inventory and the Folstein Mini-Mental State test to assess cognitive functions. Results. The study included 208 patients older than 65 years, 81 men, 127 women. The Tinetti Gait and Balance tool revealed that onethird (63) of patients were at a high risk of falls, 35 patients at a moderate risk, and 110 patients presented with a low risk of falls. The results of our study showed a statistically significant association between dementia (p = 0.000) and depression (p = 0.000) as the risks of falling. Patients with some chronic diseases and patients continuously taking various drugs were also at higher risk of falls. Conclusion. Timely detection and treatment of depression and dementia may contribute to reducing the risk of falls in the elderly. Patients' medication lists should be reviewed to decrease the number of medications or modify the dose. Family physicians play a major role in preventing falls in the elderly.

Introduction: Changes in lifestyle can significantly affect the management of good glycemic control and target values of blood pressure and lipids. Objective: To determine the achievement of target values of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure and lipids, in participants with type 2 diabetes, who used a proper diet and controlled physical activity. Method: The study was a prospective study, conducted on participants with type 2 diabetes, from 01 October 2012 until 31 October 2013, at the Primary Health Center Banja Luka, by 60 family medicine teams. At the beginning of the study, all participants had individual counseling on lifestyle changes, eating habits, and regulation of body weight. Results: The study included 591 participants with the type 2 diabetes. At the beginning of the study, 49.92% of participants adhered to the proper diet, and at the end 76.65% of them (p<0.001). Targeted value of HbA1c ≤ 6.5% was registered in 61.70% participants at the beginning of the study and at the end of the study in 86.62% participants (p <0.001); the target value of blood pressure (≤130/80 mmHg) was registered in 56.21% at the beginning, and at the end in 79.91% (p<0.002). Targeted value of total cholesterol was registered in 59.61% at the beginning of the study, and at the end of the study in 81.91% subjects (p <0.003). Conclusion: In patients with type 2 diabetes individual counseling about lifestyle changes helps to attain optimal values of HbA1c, blood pressure, and serum lipid levels.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is common worldwide and almost every case has comorbidities. One of the most common comorbidities of AD is Diabetes mellitus (DM), with or without metabolic syndrome. Both diseases effect nerve tissue and successful treatment would improve the status of the patient. In patients with Alzheimer disease treatment of DM, the treatment could be harmful to the AD, because of that high insulin intake. This may lead to progression of AD. Insulin is considered the best treatment for DM, but insulin therapy could increase comorbidity with AD. No specific therapy for AD is known up to date, so because of that DM is one of the most important risk for AD, concomitant therapy for DM should be planned very carefully. All options of DM therapy should be considered, and different mechanisms of anti-diabetic drugs are preferable. Treatment of AD is more complex metabolic syndrome is present. Any inflammation causes local tissue damage, including brain tissue during AD. Release of interleukins, primarily TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β in the presence of adipokine leptin, maintains chronic inflammatory status in local brain tissue. Thus, low doses of immunosuppressant therapy should be considered for treatment of AD in future. To delay apoptosis of nerve tissue cells, brain and nerve tissue defend against free oxygen radicals and improve metabolic status.

Due to inconsistent results of APOE variants in the survival of pregnancy we investigated the potential relationship of APOE rs7412 and rs429358 with pregnancy loss (PL) in Bosnian women. We enrolled 154 women with PL. The minimum week of miscarriage was 6, while the maximum was 28. As a control group, an equal number of mothers with at least one live-born child was included. All women were recruited from the Institution of Health Protection of Women and Motherhood in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Genotyping was performed by real- time PCR at the Department of General Pharmacology and Pharmacoeconomics, Pomeranian Medical University. The prevalence of genotypes E2/E3, E2/E4, E3/E3, E3/E4, E4/E4 in the group with and without PL were: 14.3 %, 1.3 %, 70.8 %, 12.3 %, 1.3 %, and 13.6 %, 1.3 %, 70.1 %, 14.3 %, 0.7 %, respectively. The frequency of the E4/E4 genotype in women with 1-2 and 3-4 PL compared to women without PL did not differ significantly between those three groups (P value = 0.0712). The frequencies of alleles ԑ2, ԑ3, ԑ4 in the group with and without PL were: 6.8 %, 85.1 %, 8.1 % and 7.5 %, 84.1 %, 8.4 %, respectively, and did not differ significantly. We conclude that our study does not confirm rs7412 and rs429358 as a potential risk factor for PL in the studied group. To elucidate the relationship between PL and variants of the APOE gene, studies with a larger sample size and placental histomorphology and genetic diagnosis are required.

Introduction: The aim of this paper is to present the marketing strategy and the application of management (marketing management) and advertising in order to increase the efficiency of innovative approach in clinical trials that include and involve the use of new technologies and transfer of technologies. Material and Methods: This paper has a descriptive character and represents a narrative review of the literature and new model implementation. Results: Marketing models are primarily used to improve the inclusion of a larger (and appropriate) number of patients, but they can be credited for the stay and monitoring of patients in the trial. Regulatory mechanisms play an important role in the application of various marketing strategies within clinical trials. The value for the patient as the most important stakeholder is defined in the field of clinical trials according to Kotler’s value model for the consumer. Conclusion: In order to achieve the best results it is important to adequately examine all the elements of clinical trials and apply this knowledge in creation of a marketing plan that will be made in accordance with the legal regulations defined globally and locally. In this paper, two challenges have been highlighted for the adequate application of marketing tools in the field of clinical trials, namely: defining business elements in order to provide an adequate marketing approach for clinical trials and technology transfer and ensuring uniformity and regulatory affirmation of marketing attitudes in clinical trials in all regions in which they are carried out in accordance with ICH-GCP and valid regulations.

Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) are defined as episodes of increased respiratory symptoms, particularly dyspnea, sputum volume and purulence, requiring additional therapy. Acute exacerbations are mostly induced by viral, less often bacterial or mixed infections. Patients with two or more exacerbations treated in the outpatient department (or at least one hospitalisation for acute exacerbation) are considered as frequent exacerbators – the phenotype associated with poorer quality of life and accelerated loss of lung function. More than 80% of acute exacerbations can be treated in the outpatient setting with bronchodilators, short-course of oral corticosteroids and/or antibiotics. Jelena Ostojić1 Ana-Marija Šola1 Miloš Lalovac2 Vanja Dolenec1 1 Specijalna bolnica za plućne bolesti, Rockefellerova 3, Zagreb 2 Klinička bolnica Merkur, Zajčeva 19, Zagreb Ključne riječi: KOPB egzacerbacije procjena težine