Cryoablation versus hybrid radiofrequency with high- and very-high-power short-duration catheter ablation for the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Background: High-power short-duration (HPSD) and very-high-power short-duration (vHPSD-90 W/4 s) radiofrequency (RF) technology has reduced the procedure time of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using RF without compromising the efficacy of the technique. The current study compares the novel technology of HPSD/vHPSD with cryoablation (CRYO) in terms of efficacy, safety, and procedure time in a cohort of symptomatic patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF).

Methods: This is a prospective, non-randomized trial.

Electrocardiographic changes after balloon pulmonary angioplasty in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: Data from the Hellenic Registry.

Background: Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) has provided an effective invasive treatment for inoperable patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The hemodynamic improvement achieved by BPA has significantly increased the long-term prognosis of these patients, mostly by reversing the negative remodeling of the right ventricle (RV).

Materials And Methods: In a cohort of 17 patients with symptomatic CTEPH hemodynamic data were collected before and after the completion of BPA sessions.

Two hypofractionated schedules for early stage breast cancer: Comparative retrospective analysis for acute and late radiation induced dermatitis.

Purpose: To compare two hypofractionated radiation schedules in early breast cancer concerning skin toxicity.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 80 patients (group A) versus 54 (group B) who underwent hypofractionated radiotherapy after breast conserving surgery. Group Α received 42.

The cost-effectiveness of dulaglutide versus liraglutide for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Spain in patients with BMI ≥30 kg/m.

Objective: Dulaglutide 1.5 mg once weekly is a novel glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, for the treatment of type two diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The objective was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of dulaglutide once weekly vs liraglutide 1.

Estimating the impact of better management of glycaemic control in adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes on the number of clinical complications and the associated financial benefit.

Aim: To estimate potential cost avoidance through modest and achievable improvements in glycaemic control in adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus in the UK healthcare system.

Methods: The IMS Core Diabetes Model was used to examine the impact of improved glycaemic control (indicated by reduction in HbA level), in a representative cohort of adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. The cumulative incidence of microvascular and macrovascular complications was modelled across 5-year periods to a 25-year time horizon.

The contribution of a mobile mental health unit to the promotion of primary mental health in rural areas in Greece: a 2-year follow-up.

During the 2 years of the mobile mental-health unit's operation in Northwestern Greece, the referrals increased rapidly with 29.4% of patients never having received mental-health care before, while hospitalizations and relapses reduced significantly, indicating that community-oriented programs can contribute greatly to successfully addressing the needs of patients in remote rural areas.

The role of liquid-based cytology in the investigation of colorectal lesions: a cytohistopathological correlation and evaluation of diagnostic accuracy.

Background And Aims: The role of cytologic techniques is not widely accepted even if it is well documented that the cytologic investigation of colorectal tract could complement the biopsy and increase the correct diagnosis of carcinomas. This study aims to evaluate the role of Thin-Prep(R) liquid-based cytology in the investigation of colorectal lesions.

Materials And Methods: We compared the diagnostic accuracy of Thin-Prep(R) with that of biopsy in 158 patients with signs and symptoms of the lower gastrointestinal tract.

Clinical significance of serum levels of E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in gastric cancer patients.

Objectives: This study evaluated serum concentrations of soluble cell adhesion molecules in patients with gastric cancer and in healthy control subjects. Our objectives were to correlate these levels with clinicopathological features, established tumor markers, and patient survival, and to assess changes in serum levels of cell adhesion molecules after tumor surgery.

Methods: The serum concentrations of the adhesion molecules E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were investigated by ELISA in 57 gastric cancer patients, both before and 7 days after surgery, and in 47 healthy control subjects.

Clinical significance of soluble c-erbB-2 levels in the serum and urine of patients with gastric cancer.

Background: Both tissue c-erbB-2 expression and serum levels the shed protein have been shown to correlate with tumour stage in a range of adenocarcinomas. This study measured serum and urinary c-erbB-2 levels in patients with gastric cancer, assessing their role in cancer-specific survival and the effects of resectional surgery.

Patients And Methods: Serum and urinary c-erbB-2 concentrations were measured with commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 41 healthy controls and in 54 gastric cancer patients.

Clinical significance of serum and urinary c-erbB-2 levels in colorectal cancer.

In this study we measured serum and urinary c-erbB-2 levels in 63 patients with colorectal cancer and 29 healthy controls, assessing their role in cancer-specific survival and the effects of resectional surgery. Serum and urinary c-erbB-2 levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, preoperatively and 7 days following tumor resection. Preoperative serum c-erbB-2 concentrations were significantly higher in the cancer patients and correlated with disease stage and the presence of liver metastases.

Low dose sodium valproate in the treatment of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.

Fourteen patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) were treated with a single low dose of a sustained-release preparation of sodium valproate (VPA, 500 mg daily). The mean age of the onset of the low dose treatment was 19.2 years (range 14-26).

Serum levels of E-selectin, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in colorectal cancer patients: correlations with clinicopathological features, patient survival and tumour surgery.

The serum concentrations of the cell adhesion molecules E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were investigated in 63 patients with colorectal cancer and in 51 controls by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Their relationship to clinicopathological variables and patient survival and changes in their levels after surgery were examined. Colorectal cancer patients showed significantly higher serum levels of E-selectin, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 compared with healthy controls.

Circulating anti-CEA antibodies in the sera of patients with breast cancer.

Aim: The aim of this study was to detect circulating anti-carcinoembryonic antigen antibodies (anti-CEA) in breast cancer patients and to evaluate their clinical and prognostic significance.

Methods: Fifty-two breast cancer patients and 28 controls were included in this study. Detection of anti-CEA antibodies was performed using a modified enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA).

General surgery in haemophiliac patients.

With improvements in medical technology, more and larger surgical procedures are performed in haemophiliac patients, but rarely reported in the surgical literature. A retrospective study from a 10 year period from one referral centre identified a total of 68 operations performed in haemophiliac patients. The levels of the defective factors were carefully monitored preoperatively and postoperatively, and replaced according to a standard formula.

Microdysgenesis with abnormal cortical myelinated fibres in temporal lobe epilepsy: a histopathological study with calbindin D-28-K immunohistochemistry.

Microdysgenesis is a microscopic cortical malformation reported to occur with varying incidence in surgical lobectomies from patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). It may act as a substrate for the seizures. Four patients are reported with TLE, hippocampal sclerosis and cortical microdysgenesis which was also characterized by the presence of abnormal myelinated fibres running tangentially in the superficial cortical laminae and closely associated with abnormal clusters of neurones.

Carcinoid of the ampulla of Vater: presentation of a new case.

The appendix is the most common location for carcinoid tumors within the gastrointestinal tract. Carcinoid tumors of the ampulla of Vater is an extremely rare entity; only 71 cases of carcinoid of the ampulla of Vater have been reported in the literature to date. The clinical picture is non-specific, and endoscopy is the main diagnostic procedure; but large and deep biopsies are often needed to verify the histological nature of the tumor.

Malignant melanoma of the anorectal area. Report of two cases.

Background/aims: Primary anorectal melanoma is a very rare malignant tumor with no more than 300 cases reported in the literature.

Methods: Two cases of anorectal melanoma are reported herein.

Results: Both patients, aged 44 and 74 years, presented at the outpatient department with anal bleeding, one after being treated for 3 months with antihemorrhoidal drugs.

Prognostic significance of circulating antibodies against carcinoembryonic antigen (anti-CEA) in patients with colon cancer.

Objective: The discovery of antibodies against carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in patients with digestive cancers, in the late 1970s, initiated a number of studies on the role of these antibodies in patients with cancers of the GI tract. Our aim was to determine the prevalence and prognostic significance of the IgG and IgM anti-CEA antibodies in the serum of patients with colon cancer.

Methods: Using an enzyme-linked immunoassay, the sera of 58 colon cancer patients were examined for the presence of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and for circulating antibodies against the CEA (anti-CEA).

Revascularization of the limbs using vein grafts after vascular injuries.

We report on 32 patients with vascular injury of a limb undergoing a total of 41 revascularization procedures with interposition vein grafts. A combined arterial and venous injury was present in nine cases, an isolated venous injury in four, and an isolated arterial injury in 19 cases. Eighteen per cent of patients with arterial injuries had normal distal pulses on initial examination.

Expression patterns of the novel catenin p120cas in gastrointestinal cancers.

p120cas is involved in signal transduction upon src or growth factor stimulation as well as in E-cadherin mediated cell adhesion and may play an important role in carcinogenesis. In this study, we evaluated immunohistochemically the expression and cellular localization of p120cas in 40 gastric, 43 colorectal and 20 pancreatic carcinomas, and examined the relationship between p120cas expression and pathological features. Altered p120cas expression was observed in 70%, 65% and 60% of gastric, colorectal and pancreatic cancers, respectively.

Effect of curative versus palliative surgical treatment for stage III pancreatic cancer patients.

Unlabelled: During the last decade, significant progress has been made in pancreaticoduodenectomy for patients with pancreatic carcinoma. Pancreatic resection performed by surgeons in tertiary referral centres is therefore justified, while the indications for pancreatic resection could be extended in patients with advance stages of disease. The aim of our study is to compare the effect of curative (pancreaticoduodenectomy) versus palliative surgery in patients with stage III pancreatic cancer, during a 20-years period.

Long term effect of splenectomy on patients operated on for cancer of the left colon: a retrospective study.

Objective: To find out if accidental splenectomy during colonic resection influences the survival of patients with colon cancer.

Design: Retrospective clinical study.

Setting: University hospital, Greece.

PTFE-vein composite grafts for critical limb ischaemia: a valuable alternative to all-autogenous infrageniculate reconstructions.

Objectives: to analyse the long-term results of primary composite bypass grafts comparing them to PTFE and vein grafts.

Design: a retrospective observational study.

Materials And Methods: between 1980 and 1996, 568 primary infrageniculate bypass procedures were performed; a saphenous-vein graft was used in 428 procedures, a PTFE graft in 44 and a composite PTFE-saphenous-vein graft in 96.

Aberrant E-cadherin expression associated with loss of differentiation and advanced stage in human pancreatic cancer.

E-cadherin is a cell-cell adhesion molecule involved in tumour invasion and metastasis. We evaluated E-cadherin expression immunohistochemically in 43 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of pancreatic cancer and investigated its relationship to histopathological features. In non-cancerous pancreatic cells E-cadherin immunoreactivity was localized at the cell membrane, particularly at the intercellular junctions.