The gluten-free diet challenge in adults with coeliac disease: the Hellenic survey.

Objective: The only available treatment for coeliac disease (CD) is a lifelong strict gluten-free diet (GFD), which can be extremely challenging. Τhe aim of the present study was to gain an insight into patients' perceptions regarding the GFD, in relation to difficulties experienced, disease-specific symptoms, adherence level, and information sources used.

Methods: Two hundred ninety CD patients (247 women and 43 men) aged 18-74 years, completed a self-administered questionnaire.

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is linked to reduced psychopathology in female celiac disease patients.

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic enteropathy, affecting approximately 1% of the population worldwide with a higher in . Recent studies demonstrate that CD is associated with an increased prevalence of psychopathology. The present study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between adherence to the and psychopathological symptoms among CD patients, since the MD is a physical and mental health protective dietary regimen, which can easily be rendered gluten-free.

The Importance of Use of the On-line Databases as a Source for Systematic Review of Toxoplasmosis Screening During Pregnancy.

Background: Infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a common infection in animals and humans worldwide. This infection can occur after ingestion of water or food contaminated with cat oocytes, ingestion of tissue cysts in mammalian and avian meat and congenitally. The prenatal infection can lead to Congenital Toxoplasmosis with miscarriage or stillbirth.

Site-specific use of molecular markers could be a promising prognostic tool in colorectal cancer.

Proximal and distal colorectal carcinomas (CRCs) are generally considered as genetically and clinicopathologically distinct disease entities. Tumor location has been proposed as an additional prognostic indicator and -more recently- as a factor with significant influence on the prognostic value of particular molecular markers and/or combination of markers (KRAS, MSI, APC/MSI), allowing the discrimination of specific disease subsets with considerably disparate outcome and the identification of high risk cases. This article examines the clinical importance of particular recent proposals on this specific issue.

Proximal shift of colorectal cancer. A persistent phenomenon with multiple causes, patterns and clinical implications.

A considerable change in the anatomical distribution of colorectal cancer (CRC) towards more proximal sites has been observed in Western countries within the last 6-7 decades. As a result, tumors located proximally to the splenic flexure are now accounting for 30-40% (or even more) of overall CRC cases. This proximal migration is not always representing a true increase of proximal cancer, arising from various combinations of changes in the rates of proximal and distal cancer (e.

A detailed immunohistochemical analysis of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in lung cancer: correlation with PIK3CA, AKT1, K-RAS or PTEN mutational status and clinicopathological features.

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is upregulated in a number of human cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Its potential role in NSCLC progression provides an attractive target for anticancer therapy. The expression of phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR), phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT), p85α and p110γ subunits of PI3K, phosphorylated p70S6K (p-p70S6K), phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and phosphorylated 4E-BP1 (p‑4E‑BP1) was examined by immunohistochemistry in 102 NSCLC specimens.

Primary endobronchial non-Hodgkin lymphoma in an 80-year-old patient with prostate cancer.

The identification of a primary endobronchial non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is rare. We hereby present the case of a primary solitary endobronchial NHL lesion in an 80-year-old patient with prostate cancer who did not present any systemic involvement at the time of diagnosis.

[The importance of the tumor marker CYFRA 21-1 in patients with lung cancer after surgery or chemotherapy].

Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide with 900,000 new cases each year in men and 330,000 in women, being also the major cause of death from cancer. In Greece about 4,000 persons die every year due to lung carcinoma. One of the major problems in the follow up of these patients is the difficulty of early detection of recurrent disease.

Pituitary-adrenal responses to human corticotropin-releasing hormone in critically ill patients.

Objective: To investigate the pattern of pituitary-adrenal responses to human corticotropin-releasing hormone (hCRH) in critically ill patients and to examine the relation between responses and clinical outcome.

Design And Setting: Prospective study in consecutive critically ill patients in a general intensive care unit in a teaching hospital.

Patients: The study included 37 critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients with diverse underlying diagnoses (28 men, 9 women; median age 56 years).

Both ramipril and telmisartan reverse indices of early diabetic cardiomyopathy: a comparative study.

Aims: We tested the hypothesis that renin-angiotensin system inhibition could reverse left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods And Results: Forty asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited in this double-blind cross-over trial. Left ventricular diastolic function was assessed at baseline with Doppler echocardiography; ratios of early to late peak flow velocity through the mitral orifice (E/A) and velocity time integral of early to late transmitral diastolic flow (VTIE/VTIA) were evaluated.

Bilateral inferior petrosal sinuses sampling in the routine investigation of Cushing's syndrome: a comparison with MRI.

Objective: Identifying the cause of Cushing's syndrome (CS) is a perplexing issue. Bilateral inferior petrosal sinuses sampling (BIPSS) is an invasive and elaborate but established procedure in distinguishing Cushing's disease (CD) from ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome. We compare the diagnostic performance of BIPSS and MRI in detecting an ACTH-secreting source, and we suggest the diagnostic protocol that we found beneficial for the management of patients with CS.

Untreated hypopituitarism due to absence of the pituitary stalk with normal adult height: report of two cases.

Patients with congenital multiple pituitary hormones deficiency (MPHD) occasionally present with pituitary stalk interruption and ectopic posterior lobe on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Very rarely normal adult height despite growth hormone deficiency (GHD) has been described in these patients. We report two patients with evidence of congenital MPHD, who remained untreated until adulthood.

Glucose and lipid fluxes in the adipose tissue after meal ingestion in hyperthyroidism.

Background: Although insulin resistance is well established in hyperthyroidism, information on the effects of insulin on adipose tissue (AD) is limited.

Methods: To investigate this, a meal was given to 12 hyperthyroid (HR) and 10 euthyroid (EU) subjects. Blood was withdrawn for 360 min from veins draining the anterior abdominal sc AD and from the radial artery.

Endocrine alterations in critically ill patients with stroke during the early recovery period.

Introduction: Endocrine abnormalities in critically ill patients with stroke during the early recovery period have not been well characterized.

Methods: To investigate this issue, 33 consecutive mechanically ventilated patients (27 men) with hemorrhagic (n = 21) or ischemic (n = 12) stroke having a mean age of 57 +/- 12 years were studied. Glasgow Coma Scale score on admission in the hospital was 8 +/- 3.

Prognostic significance of microalbuminuria in non-diabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine whether the presence of microalbuminuria (20-200 microg/min) can predict in-hospital morbidity and mortality in non-diabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: Two hundred twenty-three (172 men and 51 women) non-diabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction were studied prospectively. The main outcome measures of the study were based on a comparison of in-hospital mortality and major non-fatal in-hospital events (pulmonary edema, post-infarction angina, infarct extension, mechanical complications, conduction disturbances and ventricular arrhythmias) between microalbuminuric and normoalbuminuric patients.

Comparison of the effects of ramipril versus telmisartan in reducing serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The effect of ramipril (an angiotensin [AT]-converting enzyme inhibitor), telmisartan (an AT-II type 1 receptor blocker), or their combination on inflammation and lipid peroxidation was assessed in 37 patients with type 2 diabetes who were free of coronary artery disease. All regimens were associated with a significant reduction of C-reactive protein and oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol serum levels (p <0.001).

Microalbuminuria: a strong predictor of 3-year adverse prognosis in nondiabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the significance of microalbuminuria (MA) as a 3-year prognostic index in nondiabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods: One hundred seventy-five patients with AMI were followed prospectively for 3 years. The study end point was cardiac death or rehospitalization for an acute coronary event.

High incidence of neuroendocrine dysfunction in long-term survivors of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background And Purpose: To investigate the incidence, pattern, and magnitude of neuroendocrine changes in long-term survivors of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Methods: Thirty patients (16 women) with a mean age of 50+/-13 years underwent endocrine assessment between 12 and 24 months after aneurysmal SAH. SAH severity was graded clinically by the Hunt & Hess scale (median, II) and radiologically by the Fisher classification (median, II).

Comparison of the extent and severity of coronary artery disease in patients with acute myocardial infarction with and without microalbuminuria.

The extent and severity of coronary atherosclerosis were compared between 43 microalbuminuric and 87 normoalbuminuric nondiabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction. Patients with microalbuminuria had significantly greater scores of the severity (Gensini score) and extent (Hamsten score) of coronary artery disease (p <0.001).

The low-dose corticotropin stimulation test in acute traumatic and non-traumatic brain injury: incidence of hypo-responsiveness and relationship to outcome.

Objective: To investigate adrenal responses to the low-dose corticotropin (ACTH) stimulation test in acute traumatic or non-traumatic brain injury (BI) and to assess its value in predicting outcome.

Design: Prospective study. SETTING.

Endocrine abnormalities in critical care patients with moderate-to-severe head trauma: incidence, pattern and predisposing factors.

Objective: To investigate the incidence and type of endocrine abnormalities in critical care patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to examine their relationships to possible predisposing factors.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: General intensive care unit in a university hospital.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction in critically ill patients with traumatic brain injury: incidence, pathophysiology, and relationship to vasopressor dependence and peripheral interleukin-6 levels.

Objective: To investigate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in patients requiring mechanical ventilation for traumatic brain injury and to assess the relation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis abnormalities with vasopressor dependence and peripheral cytokine levels.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: General intensive care unit in a university teaching hospital.

Relationship of thyroid function to post-traumatic S-100b serum levels in survivors of severe head injury: preliminary results.

Objective: To assess thyroid function abnormalities in survivors of severe head trauma and to examine their relationship with indices of brain injury severity.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: General intensive care unit (ICU) in a university hospital.

High prevalence of decreased cortisol reserve in brain-dead potential organ donors.

Objective: To investigate the adrenocortical function in brain-dead patients, potential organ donors.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Intensive care units in two teaching hospitals.