Cardiovascular risk factors in HIV infected individuals: Comparison with general adult control population in Greece.

Background: Although combined antiretroviral therapy has substantially improved the prognosis of people living with HIV (PLHIV), mortality remains higher compared to the general population, mainly due to higher prevalence of non-HIV-related comorbidities, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD). We assessed the prevalence of CVD risk and its contributing factors in adult PLHIV versus general population controls in Greece.

Settings: Cross-sectional comparison of PLHIV (Athens-Multicenter-AIDS-Cohort-Study; AMACS) versus general population controls (National health examination survey; EMENO).

PTTG-1 (Securin) immunoexpression in meningiomas correlates with tumor grade and proliferation rate: potential use as a diagnostic marker of malignancy.

This study essentially aims to contribute to the immunohistochemical investigation of the use of pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG) as a marker of cell proliferation or advanced tumor grade in meningiomas of various WHO grades. In all, 51 cases were recovered in total, 21 Grade-I, 23 Grade-II and 7 Grade-III meningiomas. Mitotic index (MI), Ki-67/MiB-1 positivity percentage and PTTG expression were analyzed in correlation to each other as well as to the tumor WHO grades.

Co-expression of survivin, c-erbB2, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2): prognostic value and survival of endometrial cancer patients.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the co-expression of survivin, c-erbB2, and COX-2 in endometrial cancer tissues and evaluate its prognostic significance in endometrial cancer

Methods: Tumor tissue biopsies from 110 patients with primary untreated endometrial carcinomas were studied by immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis evaluated correlation of antigen expression with tumor stage, grade, myometrial invasion, and histologic type. Association with disease outcome was also investigated

Results: The results showed that expression of the three antigens was independently associated with histological grade, disease stage, and myometrial invasion.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in elderly patients.

Background: Surgery for cholelithiasis is more common in ageing patients. The use of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in older patients may pose problems because of the comorbid conditions that are concomitant with advanced age and may increase the postoperative LC complications and the frequency of conversion to open surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome of LC in the treatment of gallstones in the elderly (> or = 75 years old).