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Recently, personalised approaches in the treatment of several chronic diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, autoimmune and joint diseases are being translated from the research to the clinical practice. The goal of the personalised medicine is individualisation of therapy to achieve its optimal efficiency and safety. Laboratory medicine professionals play a key role in this process, since they provide the information needed to optimize the therapy. Researchers at the Chair of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine have been developing several fields of personalised (or precision) medicine, such as pharmacogenomics, nutrigenomics and cell ther-persoapy, in the context of various diseases, such as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, osteoporosis, degenerative joint disease and autoimmune diseases. Further translation of these approaches into clinical practice depends on the level of education of health professionals in this field. Thus, the incorporation of these topics into study programs is of the utmost importance. Personalizirani pristopi v obravnavi številnih kroničnih bolezni, kot so rak, osteoporoza, avtoimunske in sklepne bolezni, v zadnjem desetletju nezadržno prodirajo iz raziskovalne sfere v klinično prakso. Cilj teh pristopov je, da na osnovi genetskih in drugih dejavnikov individualiziramo zdravljenje v smislu doseganja optimalnih učinkovitosti in varnosti. Ključno vlogo v tem procesu imajo poleg zdravnikov in farmacevtov tudi strokovnjaki laboratorijske medicine, saj zagotavljajo informacije, na osnovi katerih oblikujemo optimalno zdravljenje za določenega bolnika. Na Katedri za klinično biokemijo in laboratorijsko medicino razvijamo različna področja personalizirane (oz. precizne) medicine, kot so farmakogenomika, nutrigenomika, in celično zdravljenje, in sicer v kontekstu različnih bolezni, kot so akutna limfoblastna levkemija, kronična limfatična levkemija, osteoporoza in degenerativne bolezni sklepov ter avtoimunske bolezni. Nadaljnja translacija omenjenih pristopov v klinično prakso je odvisna od stopnje izobraženosti zdravstvenih delavcev na tem področju. Zato je pomemben cilj Katedre in Fakultete za farmacijo uvajanje teh vsebin tudi v študijske programe.

Although chronic urticaria, which is often accom- panied by angioedema, is not a life-threatening condition, it can importantly deteriorate patients' quality of life. In order to explore the importance of different factors impacting the quality of life, questionnaires were prepared and distributed to CU pa tients at the Dermatovenerological Clinic, University Medical Centre Ljubljana and at the Golnik Clinic. We received completely filled in anonymous questionnaires from 38 participants (88%) out of 43 handed out to CU patients. As expected, the majority of them, i.e. 33 (87%), were females. The re sults of our study show a profound impact of the disease on the impairment of patients' quality of life. Angioedema was more common in those suffering from CU for more than 5 years. In this group of patients, the disease had also significantly more negative impacts on their self-perception and selfconfidence. Those affected by more severe forms of CU reported problems with sleeping and the social life. We also found a distinctive influence of stress on the onset, duration and seriousness of CU. Čeprav kronična urtikarija, ki jo pogosto spremlja angioedem, večinoma ne ogroža bolnikovega življenja, pa lahko izrazito poslabša njegovo kakovost. Da bi proučili vplive različnih dejavnikov na kakovost življenja bolnikov, smo pripravili anketne vprašalnike in jih razdelili preiskovancem s KU na Dermatovenerološki kliniki UKC Ljubljana in na Kliniki Golnik. Popolnoma izpolnjene anonimne ankete nam je vrnilo 38 bolnikov (88 %) od 43 povabljenih. Med njimi je bilo pričakovano več žensk, in sicer 33 ali 87 %. Izsledki naše raziskave kažejo, da bolezen izrazito poslabša kakovost življenja bolnikov. Angioedem je bil pogosteje prisoten pri tistih, ki so imeli KU že več kot 5 let. Oboleli iz te skupine so imeli tudi statistično značilno več težav z videzom in samozavestjo. Bolniki s hujšo obliko bolezni so pogosteje poročali o motnjah spanca in težavah v družabnih stikih. Naša raziskava je izpostavila tudi močan vpliv stresa na pojav, trajanje in izrazitost KU.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) present a rare and heterogeneous population of multipotent progeni- tors ubiquitously present in different tissues including those of adults. Due to their immunosuppressive capabilities and potential to regenerate various con- nective tissues such as bone, cartilage and skeletal muscles, they possess a massive potential for the treatment of various diseases and injuries of musculoskeletal tissues. Within the musculoskeletal system, most well recognized are those from bone tissue, skeletal muscles and joint membrane. Despite the vast progress in their identification and clinical use, changes within MSCs and/or their microenvironment that could potentially initiate musculoskele- tal diseases, such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and sarcopenia, are still poorly understood. Due to this fact, the potential of MSCs in diagnosing these conditions is still largely unexploited. The major barriers preventing the progress in this field are loose d efinition of MSCs, their tissue heterogeneity and lack of specific markers. here we provide an overview of current knowledge on the role of MSCs in musculoskeletal system, their use in regenerative medicine and their potential in diagnosing disorders of this important body system. Mezenhimske matične celice (MSC) so redka in heterogena populacija multipotentnih predhodnikov, prisotnih v številnih tkivih tudi pri odraslem človeku. Pomembne so zaradi svojih imunosupresivnih lastnosti in sposobnosti regeneracije tkiv, kot so kost, hrustanec in skeletne mišice. Zato predstavljajo velik potencial za zdravljenje bolezni in poškodb mišično skeletnega tkiva. Na tem področju so najbolj raziskane MSC iz kostnega tkiva, skeletnih mišic in sklepne ovojnice. Kljub napredku pri njihovem odkrivanju in klinični uporabi pa še vedno slabo poznamo spremembe v MSC in/ali njihovem mikrookolju, ki bi lahko bile vzrok mišično-skeletnim boleznim, kot so osteoporoza, osteoartroza in sarkopenija. Posledično je potencial MSC v diagnostiki teh patoloških stanj še neizkoriščen. Največje ovire pri napredku na tem področju so preohlapna definicija MSC, njihova tkivna heterogenost ter pomanjkanje specifičnih označevalcev. V prispevku podajamo pregled trenutnega poznavanja vloge MSC v mišično skeletnem sistemu, njihove uporabe v regenerativni medicini ter njihovega potenciala za diagnostiko bolezni tega pomembnega telesnega sistema.

Tissue engineering is a new and rapidly developing interdisciplinary field of biotechnology, dealing with tissues and organs by applying viable cell-, tissue- and organotypic cultures prepared in vitro. Somatic cell therapy is a part of tissue engineering and it encompasses preparation of viable human cells, cultured ex vivo in a way to achieve sufficient number of cells suitable for the re-implantation into recipient. Beside wanted effect, the application of human cells and tissues may cause transferable diseases and other unwanted effects in the patient. Risk estimation for the recipient is therefore the main criteria for their application. Transmission of infectious diseases thus represents the major threat., along with possible contamination ot cell cultures and the loss of specific cell characteristics occurring during their in vitro manipulation. Due to the complexity of tissue engineeredmedical products and the lack of clinical experience following theirapplication it is necessary to thoroughly regulate this field in order toassure quality, safety and effectiveness.