Publications by authors named "Nikolopoulos G"

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  • - The systematic review analyzed health-related quality of life (HRQoL) changes in breast cancer patients before and after surgical treatments: mastectomy (M), mastectomy with breast reconstruction (MBR), and breast-conserving surgery (BCS).
  • - Six studies were included, revealing that by 24 months post-surgery, HRQoL improved or returned to pre-surgery levels for all groups, though MBR and BCS initially showed declines in physical HRQoL.
  • - The findings highlight varying HRQoL challenges depending on surgery type and timing, suggesting the need for routine HRQoL assessments and psychological support during recovery.
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  • The study reviews the incidence and severity of community-acquired pneumonias (CAPs) in children at Archbishop Makarios Hospital from 2016 to 2023, focusing on changes during the pandemic years.
  • During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) led to a drop in CAP admissions from an average of 32 per year to just 11.
  • However, in the second year of the pandemic, admissions rose to 41, and the rate of complicated pneumonias nearly doubled, indicating a significant resurgence and worsening of pediatric CAPs post-restrictions.
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Background: Enteric fever is a major public health challenge in developing countries. We conducted a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Diseases 2021 Study to provide updated estimates of enteric fever's burden.

Methods: We presented estimates for incident cases and deaths, age-standardized incidence and mortality rates, years of life lost (YLLs), and case-fatality rates spanning the study period of 2017-2021, stratified by region, country, socio-demographic index (SDI), and age group.

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  • * After exposure to UV light, CS-B cells showed a delay in transcription progress and less dynamic chromatin compared to normal cells, revealing limitations in their response to DNA damage.
  • * The research highlights that despite these impairments, transcription initiation still occurs in CS-B fibroblasts shortly after UV exposure, indicating a complex role for CSB beyond its known function in DNA repair.
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  • - The study systematically reviewed and analyzed environmental factors linked to gallbladder cancer (GBC), the most common type of cancer in the biliary tract, to assess not just the known risks like cholelithiasis, but also other modifiable exposures.
  • - Researchers conducted a meta-analysis on data from 215 studies, revealing significant links between GBC risk and factors like body mass index, obesity, infections of bile ducts, and high parity, while higher education was associated with lower risk.
  • - The findings emphasize the mixed credibility of many associations, with certain lifestyle and exposure factors showing varying levels of evidence strength and importance for GBC prevention.
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Background: Previous research has found associations between various non-genetic factors and breast cancer (BrCa) risk. This study summarises and appraises the credibility of the available evidence on the association between non-genetic factors and BrCa risk.

Methods: We conducted an umbrella review of meta-analyses.

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Dysregulated hemostasis in cancer patients is associated with various clinical conditions, from thromboembolic complications to disseminated intravascular coagulation. Despite the well-established association between cancer and thromboembolic complications, the mechanisms involved are not completely elucidated. There are several predisposing factors in cancer for increased thrombus generation, such as immobilization and chemotherapy.

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National responses should be improved and accelerated to meet the target of ending the Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic by 2030. In the Republic of Cyprus, Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), accounting approximately for half of all annual HIV diagnoses. This study assesses the evolution of HIV incidence in MSM in Cyprus until 2030 using a model calibrated to Cypriot epidemiological data.

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  • New HIV-1 infections among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Athens increased significantly in 2011, with ongoing transmission remaining even after a decline post-2013.
  • The study estimated the time from infection to diagnosis for 844 PWID and found a median time of 0.42 years during the outbreak and 0.70 years from 2016-2019.
  • The analysis revealed that 93.5% of infections during 2016-2019 were clustered, indicating a persistent HIV outbreak among PWID and highlighting the need for focused interventions.
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There is a lack of reliable biomarkers for diagnosis of infection eradication prior to second-stage reimplantation in two-stage exchange arthroplasty for periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs). The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) for persistent infection in two-stage exchange arthroplasties. A pilot, retrospective analysis was performed including 70 patients who underwent a two-stage exchange arthroplasty for PJI.

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  • Plexins are important receptors associated with semaphorin signaling, involved in essential cellular interactions during both development and adulthood, with only some variants linked to genetic diseases so far.
  • A study examined eight individuals from six families with a rare recessive condition characterized by amelogenesis imperfecta (AI), sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), and varying levels of intellectual disability, using genetic sequencing and variant analysis.
  • The research identified pathogenic biallelic variants in the plexin B2 gene, linked to a new autosomal recessive syndrome that features AI and SNHL, along with potential additional symptoms like intellectual disability and developmental abnormalities.
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  • Research has increasingly focused on how race influences clinical outcomes in ulcerative colitis (UC), particularly in the effectiveness of infliximab (IFX) treatment.
  • In analyzing data from five placebo-controlled trials, no significant racial differences were found between Asian and Caucasian patients regarding the efficacy of IFX in inducing clinical response, remission, and mucosal healing.
  • The study highlights the need for more diverse clinical trials to better understand possible racial variations in the treatment effectiveness of advanced therapies like IFX in UC.
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Evaluating causal effects in the presence of interference is challenging in network-based studies of hard-to-reach populations. Like many such populations, people who inject drugs (PWID) are embedded in social networks and often exert influence on others in their network. In our setting, the study design is observational with a non-randomized network-based HIV prevention intervention.

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Locating undiagnosed HIV infections is important for limiting transmission. However, there is limited evidence about how best to do so. In South Africa, men have been particularly challenging to reach for HIV testing due, in part, to stigma.

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  • - The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of chronic Hepatitis C Virus (cHCV) infections in EU/EEA countries for the year 2019, using a method called multi-parameter evidence synthesis (MPES) to analyze data from various sources.
  • - In 29 out of 30 EU/EEA countries, the overall cHCV prevalence was found to be 0.50%, with notably higher rates in the eastern EU/EEA (0.88%), and over a third of cases were linked to people who inject drugs (PWID).
  • - The findings indicate that while cHCV prevalence is generally low, targeted efforts are needed, particularly in eastern regions and among PWID, to
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Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) comprises a group of rare, inherited disorders with abnormal enamel formation. Ameloblastin (AMBN), the second most abundant enamel matrix protein (EMP), plays a critical role in amelogenesis. Pathogenic biallelic loss-of-function variants are known to cause recessive hypoplastic AI.

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is one of the leading causes of nosocomial infections. It has been estimated that nosocomial infection by comprises 3-8% of all nosocomial infections. bloodstream infections (BSIs) occur worldwide with varying mortality.

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Background: Collagen XVII is most typically associated with human disease when biallelic variants (>230) cause junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB), a rare, genetically heterogeneous, mucocutaneous blistering disease with amelogenesis imperfecta (AI), a developmental enamel defect. Despite recognition that heterozygous carriers in JEB families can have AI, and that heterozygous variants also cause dominant corneal epithelial recurrent erosion dystrophy (ERED), the importance of heterozygous variants causing dominant non-syndromic AI is not widely recognised.

Methods: Probands from an AI cohort were screened by single molecule molecular inversion probes or targeted hybridisation capture (both a custom panel and whole exome sequencing) for variants.

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Background: Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) are associated with altered hemostatic dynamics; therefore, coagulation laboratory methods such as rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) may be valuable in their diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic role of ROTEM in PJI.

Methods: A diagnostic study was conducted including 65 patients who underwent revision total hip arthroplasty or total knee arthroplasty due to PJI (30 patients) or aseptic loosening (35 patients).

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Sensitization to food and airborne allergens is common in the majority of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Although there is not a direct cause-effect relationship of IgE-mediated allergy with the pathogenesis of EoE, there is a growing evidence that oral desensitization to food and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) may induce the development of EoE as an adverse effect. As part of the 'EoE and Allergen Immunotherapy (AIT)' Task Force funded by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), a systematic approach will be followed to review the evidence from the published scientific literature on the development of EoE in children and adults under any type of AIT.

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Background: Reduced birthweight is associated with adverse perinatal and long-term outcomes. A few studies examined the association between climatic factors and birthweight with inconsistent results probably due to differences in exposure assessment, statistical models, climatic parameters, and study populations.

Methods: We obtained data from the Republic of Cyprus birth registry from 2007 to 2020, and matched climatic exposures (i.

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The aim of this research is to propose a novel methodology that exploits Earth Observation (EO) data to accurately produce high-resolution bioclimatic maps at large spatiotemporal scales. This method directly links EO products (i.e.

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Surgical resection of malignant bone tumors is associated with a high risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) parameters and VTE following oncologic resections, and to evaluate their prognostic capacity for this complication. A prospective observational study was conducted including 113 patients who underwent surgical resection of malignant bone tumors.

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) interventions among people who use drugs (PWUD) often have spillover, also known as interference or dissemination, which occurs when one participant's exposure affects another participant's outcome. PWUD are often members of networks defined by social, sexual, and drug-use partnerships and their receipt of interventions can affect other members in their network. For example, HIV interventions with possible spillover include educational training about HIV risk reduction, pre-exposure prophylaxis, or treatment as prevention.

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Significant cross talk occurs between inflammation and coagulation. Thus, coagulopathy is common in sepsis, potentially aggravating the prognosis. Initially, septic patients tend to exhibit a prothrombotic state through extrinsic pathway activation, cytokine-induced coagulation amplification, anticoagulant pathways suppression, and fibrinolysis impairment.

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