Patients' Satisfaction With Pharmaceutical Care Services Provided During COVID Pandemic: Experience From Greece.

Introduction Private pharmacies can contribute to the health care system through primary care. Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine patients' expectations of pharmaceutical care services during covid pandemic in order to measure the level of patient satisfaction provided by the Greek healthcare system. Also, it is important to identify the associated factors that might affect patient satisfaction.

Nursing Workload in Patients With Myocardial Ischemia After Non-cardiac Surgery.

Introduction: Nursing workload (NWL) in the intensive care unit (ICU) is an essential parameter of patient safety. However, little attention has been dedicated to measuring NWL in ICU about patients surgically treated with myocardial ischemia (MI).  Methods: The objectives of this study are to describe and examine the NWL by applying the Nursing Activities Score in patients who underwent non-cardiac surgery and developed MI in the ICU.

Cellular senescence and cardiovascular diseases: moving to the "heart" of the problem.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) constitute the prime cause of global mortality, with an immense impact on patient quality of life and disability. Clinical evidence has revealed a strong connection between cellular senescence and worse cardiac outcomes in the majority of CVDs concerning both ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathies. Cellular senescence is characterized by cell cycle arrest accompanied by alterations in several metabolic pathways, resulting in morphological and functional changes.

The Predictive Role of Cardiac Troponin in Non-cardiac Surgery: A Study in the Greek Population.

Introduction The incidence of postoperative myocardial ischemia (POMI) remains uncertain and underdiagnosed despite significant morbidity and mortality rates. Methods This study included patients who underwent non-cardiac surgery. Troponin T (TnT) was measured on the first three postoperative days.

Molecular biomarkers in cardio-oncology: Where we stand and where we are heading.

Until recently, cardiotoxicity in the setting of a malignant disease was attributed solely to the detrimental effects of chemo- and/or radio-therapy to the heart. On this account, the focus was on the evaluation of well-established cardiac biomarkers for the early detection of myocardial damage. Currently, this view has been revised.

A risk score for pericarditis recurrence.

Background: Currently, we remain uncertain about which patients are at increased risk for recurrent pericarditis. We developed a risk score for pericarditis recurrence in patients with acute pericarditis.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively recruited 262 patients with a first episode of acute pericarditis.

Nanomedicine: Photo-activated nanostructured titanium dioxide, as a promising anticancer agent.

The multivariate condition of cancer disease has been approached in various ways, by the scientific community. Recent studies focus on individualized treatments, minimizing the undesirable consequences of the conventional methods, but the development of an alternative effective therapeutic scheme remains to be held. Nanomedicine could provide a solution, filling this gap, exploiting the unique properties of innovative nanostructured materials.

Implications of Oxidative Stress and Cellular Senescence in Age-Related Thymus Involution.

The human thymus is a primary lymphoepithelial organ which supports the production of self-tolerant T cells with competent and regulatory functions. Paradoxically, despite the crucial role that it exerts in T cell-mediated immunity and prevention of systemic autoimmunity, the thymus is the first organ of the body that exhibits age-associated degeneration/regression, termed "thymic involution." A hallmark of this early phenomenon is a progressive decline of thymic mass as well as a decreased output of naïve T cells, thus resulting in impaired immune response.

The Role of E3, E4 Ubiquitin Ligase (UBE4B) in Human Pathologies.

The genome is exposed daily to many deleterious factors. Ubiquitination is a mechanism that regulates several crucial cellular functions, allowing cells to react upon various stimuli in order to preserve their homeostasis. Ubiquitin ligases act as specific regulators and actively participate among others in the DNA damage response (DDR) network.

A Recalcitrant Electrical Storm and Implantable Defibrillator Exhaustion: Treatment Implications According to and Beyond Guidelines.

A 60-year-old patient presented with recalcitrant electrical storm (ES). Mild sedation and initial antiarrhythmic combination of esmolol and amiodarone did not affect the intensity of ES, which resulted in battery exhaustion. Oral propranolol in addition to intravenous amiodarone might be preferred in hemodynamically stable patients before interventional therapies.

Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Cellular Senescence.

Cellular senescence refers to a stress response aiming to preserve cellular and, therefore, organismal homeostasis. Importantly, deregulation of mitochondrial homeostatic mechanisms, manifested as impaired mitochondrial biogenesis, metabolism and dynamics, has emerged as a hallmark of cellular senescence. On the other hand, impaired mitostasis has been suggested to induce cellular senescence.

Correction to: A Novel Quantitative Method for the Detection of Lipofuscin, the Main By-Product of Cellular Senescence, in Fluids.

In Chapter 12, figure 1 was published with truncated texts within. This figure has now been replaced with a revised figure with the updated text.

A Novel Quantitative Method for the Detection of Lipofuscin, the Main By-Product of Cellular Senescence, in Fluids.

Lipofuscin accumulation is a hallmark of senescence. This nondegradable material aggregates in the cytoplasm of stressed or damaged cells due to metabolic imbalance associated with aging and age-related diseases. Indications of a soluble state of lipofuscin have also been provided, rendering the perspective of monitoring such processes via lipofuscin quantification in liquids intriguing.

Senescence and senotherapeutics: a new field in cancer therapy.

Cellular senescence is a stress response mechanism ensuring homeostasis. Its temporal activation during embryonic development or normal adult life is linked with beneficial properties. In contrast, persistent (chronic) senescence seems to exert detrimental effects fostering aging and age-related disorders, such as cancer.

Principal Aspects Regarding the Maintenance of Mammalian Mitochondrial Genome Integrity.

Mitochondria have emerged as key players regarding cellular homeostasis not only due to their contribution regarding energy production through oxidative phosphorylation, but also due to their involvement in signaling, ion regulation, and programmed cell death. Indeed, current knowledge supports the notion that mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Mitochondrial biogenesis and function require the coordinated action of two genomes: nuclear and mitochondrial.

Prognostic implications of epicardial fat volume quantification in acute pericarditis.

Background: The pathophysiology of acute pericarditis remains largely unknown, and biomarkers are needed to identify patients susceptible to complications. As adipose tissue has a pivotal role in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis, we hypothesized that quantification of epicardial fat volume (EFV) provides prognostic information in patients with acute pericarditis.

Materials And Methods: Fifty (n = 50) patients with first diagnosis of acute pericarditis were enrolled in this study.

Effect of Erythropoietin on Postresuscitation Renal Function in a Swine Model of Ventricular Fibrillation.

. To investigate the effect of EPO administration on postresuscitation renal function. .

Effects of Erythropoietin Administration on Adrenal Glands of Landrace/Large White Pigs after Ventricular Fibrillation.

Aim. To evaluate the effects of erythropoietin administration on the adrenal glands in a swine model of ventricular fibrillation and resuscitation. Methods.

Intravenous human immunoglobulins for refractory recurrent pericarditis: a systematic review of all published cases.

Aims: Refractory recurrent pericarditis is a major clinical challenge after colchicine failure, especially in corticosteroid-dependent patients. Human intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) have been proposed as possible therapeutic options for these cases. The goal of this systematic review is to assess the efficacy and safety of IVIGs in this context.

Anakinra: an emerging option for refractory idiopathic recurrent pericarditis: a systematic review of published evidence.

Aims: Accumulating evidence suggests idiopathic recurrent pericarditis as a disease of probable autoinflammatory origin, and thus anakinra could be of benefit. The goal of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy and safety of anakinra in this context.

Methods: Reports relevant to anakinra administration in patients with idiopathic recurrent pericarditis published up to October 2014 were searched in several databases.

Incidence and prognostic significance of new onset atrial fibrillation/flutter in acute pericarditis.

Objective: Data on the incidence of new onset atrial fibrillation and flutter (AF/f) in patients with acute pericarditis are limited. We sought to determine the incidence and prognostic significance of AF/f in this setting.

Methods: Between January 2006 and June 2014, consecutive new cases of acute pericarditis were included in two urban referral centres for pericardial diseases.

Erythropoietin administration facilitates return of spontaneous circulation and improves survival in a pig model of cardiac arrest.

Background: In addition to its role in the endogenous control of erythropoiesis, recombinant human erythropoietin (rh-EPO) has been shown to exert tissue protective properties in various experimental models. However, its role in the cardiac arrest (CA) setting has not yet been adequately investigated.

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of rh-EPO in a pig model of ventricular fibrillation (VF)-induced CA.