Pancreatic cancer is the seventh most common cause of death in the group of oncological diseases. Due to the asymptomatic course, early diagnosis is difficult. Currently, early detection methods are only used in high-risk groups. A literature review based on the available results of observational studies on patients with pancreatic cancer and people from high-risk groups was used to summarize the knowledge on risk factors. The GLOBOCAN 2020 data were used to assess the epidemiological situation in Europe. A summary of screening recommendations was prepared based on the available documents from medical organizations and associations. Pancreatic cancer risk factors are divided into two main groups: non-modifiable factors, e.g., hereditary factors and age, which increase the risk of developing this disease, and modifiable factors—BMI, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Hereditary factors account for 10% of pancreatic cancer cases. The highly specialized methods of early detection, (MRI, CT, or EUS) are used for screening high-risk populations. Of all the imaging methods, EUS is considered the most sensitive for pancreatic cancer and allows an accurate assessment of the size of even small lesions (<30 mm) and the extent of tumour infiltration into blood vessels. The available studies vary on the level of sensitivity and specificity of these methods for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. EUS, MRI, and CT are also expensive procedures and in some patients can be invasive, which is one of the arguments against the introduction of population screening programs based on imaging methods. Therefore, it is important to look for viable solutions that would improve early detection. This is important from the point of view of healthcare systems in Europe, where almost 29% of all global pancreatic cancer cases are reported.

Schizophrenia manifests itself primarily with positive symptoms, negative symptoms and cognitive disorders. Animal models of mental diseases seem to be an important tool in understanding key theories related with pathophysiology of the disorder and are used to assess efficacy of new drugs. References describe four basic groups of animal models of schizophrenia, such as: models created by pharmacological intervention, genetic models, lesion models and models of developmental disorders of primary brain structures. Of the models referred to above, the group of developmental disorder models is particularly noteworthy, as they are primarily easy to use, and the methods are highly sensitive. High scientific value of these models is associated with the neurodevelopmental theory which stipulates that at an early stage of body development, a number of interactions between genetic and environmental factors may affect the development of neurons which may cause disorders of brain cytoarchitecture development. We review six developmental models of schizophrenia in rats (MAM – methylooxymethanol acetate, prenatal stress, maternal deprivation, isolation rearing, prenatal immune challenge and maternal malnutrition) that are all validated by disruption in PPI.

The aim of the study was to find whether spatial memory impairment and disruption in locomotor activity were found in prenatally stressed rats (PSG) or prenatally methylazoxymethanol acetate-treated rats (MAMG). In addition to this, we examined basal plasma corticosterone level as well as brain-derived neurothropic factor (BDNF) in the PSG and MAMG rats. The effect of prenatal stress (stress paradigm between 14 and 21 day of gestation) and methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) administration (17 day of gestation) to the female Wistar rats were studied on the male offspring in the Morris Water Maze (spatial memory) and locomotor activity test. Through Morris Water Maze rats were injected with saline 4 times (on 1, 7, 14 and 21 day of testing) while in locomotor activity test saline was injected only once. Corticosterone level was measured using ELISA Kit while BDNF levels were assessed using ELISA Chemikine TM BDNF kit. Results indicate that both PSG and MAMG rats deteriorate spatial memory as well as increase locomotor activity compared to the control group. Biochemical studies indicate that basal plasma corticosterone level increased in both PSG and MAMG rats compared to the control group. Analyses of the BDNF level, on the other hand, have shown decrease of the neurothropin level in both hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) in both PSG and MAMG groups of rats. As shown by the obtained results, both the prenatal stress model and prenatal MAM administration model generate a number of behavioural (e.g. spatial memory disorders, increased locomotor activity) and biochemical (e.g. increased corticosterone and decreased BDNF levels) changes in the examined offspring, Thus, these models can be successfully used in the efficacy analysis of the pharmacotherapy applied.