Publications by authors named "Nikolaos Fountoulakis"

Aim: Among people with diabetes those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a reduced life expectancy with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) a major contributor to morbidity and mortality. CKD related to diabetes is growing worldwide and is one of the leading causes of kidney failure globally. Diabetes is associated with accelerated vascular ageing and the related mechanisms and mediators that drive the progression of CKD and CVD disease in people with diabetes may help provide insights into the pathophysiology of cardio-renal complications and guide treatment interventions in people with diabetes.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The kidney failure risk equation (KFRE) is used to estimate the risk of kidney failure and aids in early referral to kidney services for those at high risk, particularly people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
  • - A study involving 7,296 individuals showed that 10.2% developed end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) over a follow-up period of about 10 years, with the KFRE performing well in predicting these events but generally underestimating the risk.
  • - The KFRE demonstrated strong discrimination for ESKD risk, with C-index scores of 0.842 and 0.816 for the primary endpoint at 2 and 5 years, respectively, indicating that its calibration
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Objectives: We aim to evaluate estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) patterns of progression in a multiethnic cohort of people with type I diabetes mellitus and with baseline eGFR ≥45 mL/min/1.73 m.

Design: Observational cohort.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant mental health challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations, including non-binary gender individuals. The COMET international study aimed to investigate specific risk factors for clinical depression or distress during the pandemic, also in these special populations.

Methods: Chi-square tests were used for initial screening to select only those variables which would show an initial significance.

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Background: The prevalence of medical illnesses is high among patients with psychiatric disorders. The current study aimed to investigate multi-comorbidity in patients with psychiatric disorders in comparison to the general population. Secondary aims were to investigate factors associated with metabolic syndrome and treatment appropriateness of mental disorders.

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Introduction: Aortic pulse wave velocity (Ao-PWV) predicts cardiovascular and kidney disease in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Klotho is a circulating antiaging hormone (sKlotho) with putative cardiorenal protective effects. The relationship between sKlotho and Ao-PWV in diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is unknown.

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Objective: There is limited information on the effect of ethnicity on the development of referable sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR) in people with type 1 diabetes. This study describes the risk factors for STDR in a diverse cohort of people with type 1 diabetes attending a regional diabetes eye screening service.

Research Design And Methods: Clinical and digital retinal imaging data from 1,876 people with type 1 diabetes (50% women, 72.

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Background: Active vitamin-D deficiency is a potential modifiable risk factor for increased ventricular mass. We explored the effects of active vitamin-D (calcitriol) treatment on left ventricular mass in patients with type-2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: We performed a 48-week duration single center randomized double-blind parallel group trial examining the impact of calcitriol, 0.

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Background: Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) is implicated in endotheliitis, which adversely affects cardiovascular events. The impact of vaccination with COVID-19 on the clinical outcome of patients is documented.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of vaccination with COVID-19 on the severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection-related endothelial impairment.

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Objective: The aim of the study was to identify the demographic and clinical features in an urban cohort of people with type 1 diabetes who developed a ≥50% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Research Design And Methods: We evaluated 5,261 people with type 1 diabetes (51% female, 13.4% African Caribbean) with baseline eGFR >45 mL/min/1.

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Aims: Active vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased aortic-pulse wave velocity (Ao-PWV) in people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). There are no randomised controlled trials investigating the effect of active vitamin D treatment on Ao-PWV in people with T2DM and CKD.

Methods: A 48-week duration single-centre randomised double-blind parallel-group trial examined the impact of oral 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D (calcitriol 0.

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Type 1 diabetes is characterized by a loss of tolerance to pancreatic β-cell autoantigens and defects in regulatory T-cell (Treg) function. In preclinical models, immunotherapy with MHC-selective, autoantigenic peptides restores immune tolerance, prevents diabetes, and shows greater potency when multiple peptides are used. To translate this strategy into the clinical setting, we administered a mixture of six HLA-DRB1*0401-selective, β-cell peptides intradermally to patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes possessing this genotype in a randomized placebo-controlled study at monthly doses of 10, 100, and 500 μg for 24 weeks.

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Impairment of the arteries is a product of sustained exposure to various deleterious factors and progresses with time; a phenomenon inherent to vascular aging. Oxidative stress, inflammation, the accumulation of harmful agents in high cardiovascular risk conditions, changes to the extracellular matrix, and/or alterations of the epigenetic modification of molecules, are all vital pathophysiological processes proven to contribute to vascular aging, and also lead to changes in levels of associated circulating molecules. Many of these molecules are consequently recognized as markers of vascular impairment and accelerated vascular aging in clinical and research settings, however, for these molecules to be classified as biomarkers of vascular aging, further criteria must be met.

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Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate mental health and conspiracy theory beliefs concerning COVID-19 among health care professionals (HCPs).

Material And Methods: During lockdown, an online questionnaire gathered data from 507 HCPs (432 females aged 33.86 ± 8.

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Article Synopsis
  • A large international study involving 55,589 participants from 40 countries was conducted to assess the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, revealing that 17.80% of participants experienced probable depression and 16.71% reported distress.
  • The research indicated that individuals with a history of mental disorders showed significantly higher rates of depression, with the highest risk linked to conditions like Bipolar disorder and self-harm, and found that belief in conspiracy theories was prevalent among participants.
  • The study developed a model demonstrating the connection between anxiety, distress, and the progression to probable depression and suicidality, suggesting that addressing modifiable factors could be beneficial in improving mental health outcomes.
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Background: The aim of the current study was to explore the effect of gender, age at onset, and duration on the long-term course of schizophrenia.

Methods: Twenty-nine centers from 25 countries representing all continents participated in the study that included 2358 patients aged 37.21 ± 11.

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Summary: A 26-year-old Caucasian female with no past medical history or family history of auto-immune disease presented to the emergency department with new onset painless left foot drop. A panel of blood tests revealed blood glucose of 49.9 mmol/L and raised blood ketone levels.

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To our knowledge, there are no studies examining eGFR trajectories in an ethnically diverse cohort of T2DM patients with established DKD and long follow-up. We conducted a retrospective analysis of medical records of T2DM patients attending a specialist diabetes renal clinic in order to identify risk factors and specific eGFR trajectories associated with ESRD. There is limited information and long term follow-up on eGFR trajectories in ethnically diverse cohorts of T2DM patients with established diabetic kidney disease.

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