Division Pathophysiology at Medical University Pleven was founded in the autumn of 1975. The first Head of the Department was Prof. Dr. Mladen Argirov with Assistant Professors: Dr. P. Topalski, Dr. D. Strashimirov and Dr. Ch. Popov. From 1982 to 1999, Head of the Department was Prof. Dr. Aneliya Uzunova, DSc.and from 1999 to March 2007 Head of the division was Assoc. Prof. Denko Strashimirov.
In 2009, Department “Physiology” and Division “Pathophysiology” were united in one department – “Physiology and Pathophysiology”. In 2011, Assoc. Prof. Aneliya Dimitrova from the „Pathophysiology" division was selected as Head of the “Physiology and Pathophysiology” Department. In 2015, she was re-elected.
Dr. Emilia Lakova, PhD, joined the Department “Pathologic Physiology” in 1983 as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Aneliya Dimitrova joined in 1984 also as an Assistant Professor. In the period 1985-1991, Assistant Professors in the department were: Dr. Todor Balabanov, Dr. Maria Dobreva, and Dr. Lilia Shipchanova. In 2011, two new Assistant Professors – Dr. Armine Grigoryan and Dr. Krassimir Kostov – joined the department. The main directions of scientific research are:
- Pathogenesis of thrombosis
- The role of the thymus as an endocrine organ in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, thrombus formation, and disorders in the homeostasis
- Morphological and biochemical changes in the aging of the vascular wall
- Importance of the oxidative stress and the trace elements for the development and the prevention of the arterial hypertension in experimental and clinical conditions
- Participation of the local renin-angiotensin system in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension and its complications
- Expression of the testicular angiotensin-converting enzyme in pathological conditions under study
- Metalloproteinases and vascular wall
- Vasoactive peptides
Since 2002, members of Pathophysiology division have participated on an annual basis in the development of research projects funded by MU-Pleven and MES-Sofia.
The following dissertations have been defended by members of the division:
1987 – “Participation of the Thymus in the Pathogenesis of Experimental Atherosclerosis” – for the acquisition of PhD by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Denko Strashimirov
1988 – “Pathogenesis of Arterial Thrombus Formation” for the acquisition of DSc by Prof. Dr. A. D. Uzunova.
2007 – “Vascular Protective Effects of Zinc Supplementation – Experimental Studies” for the acquisition of PhD by Dr. Aneliya Dimitrova.
2016 – “Pathophysiological Role of Endothelin-1 (ET-1), Matrix Metalloproteinases- 2, -9 (MMP-2, MMP-9) and Magnesium (Mg2 +) in the Development and Dynamics of Vascular Changes in Varying Degrees of Arterial Hypertension” by Dr. Krassimir Kostov.
