and : Investigating the Prevalence of Zoonotic Parasites in Dogs and Humans in a Hyperenzootic Area.

The mosquito-borne zoonotic nematode parasites and primarily affect dogs. In recent years, their distribution has expanded due to various factors influencing vector-borne pathogens. This study aimed to investigate the comparative prevalence of infection in dogs and humans within a hyperenzootic region of Europe, and to estimate the proportional relationship between infection prevalence in dogs and humans, within the concept of "One Health".

The prevalence of long COVID-19 syndrome in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Introduction: Long COVID affects millions of individuals worldwide with a wide range of persistent symptoms. Pathogenesis, prevalence and clinical approach of this syndrome remain not well characterized.The aim of the study is the estimation of prevalence of long-COVID and identification of possible risk factors.

Control of neuronal excitation-inhibition balance by BMP-SMAD1 signalling.

Throughout life, neuronal networks in the mammalian neocortex maintain a balance of excitation and inhibition, which is essential for neuronal computation. Deviations from a balanced state have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, and severe disruptions result in epilepsy. To maintain balance, neuronal microcircuits composed of excitatory and inhibitory neurons sense alterations in neural activity and adjust neuronal connectivity and function.

Recurrent Cryptococcal Meningitis in a Late Presenter of HIV: A Rare Case Report and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND The highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) and the primary prophylaxis in newly diagnosed people living with HIV (PLHIV) have reduced the incidence of opportunistic infections such as cryptococcal meningitis (CM). Relapse of CM is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present case presentation is to report the clinical progress relapse of CM in a man who was a late presenter PLHIV, 1 year after ART initiation with increased CD4 cell count, undetectable viral load, and excellent compliance after disruption of secondary antifungal prophylaxis.

Association between vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and fibrosis susceptibility in Greek patients with HCV infection.

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a prime cause of chronic hepatitis worldwide, that often silently progresses to fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Notably, the majority of individuals infected with HCV develop symptoms at late stages, often associated with liver damage that cannot revert after virus clearance. Thus, current antiviral therapy alone is rather insufficient to eliminate the global burden of HCV in the near future.

Ιnterleukin-17A-Enriched Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Promote Immunofibrotic Aspects of Childhood Asthma Exacerbation.

Childhood asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disorder that can drive tissue remodeling. Neutrophils are amongst the most prominent inflammatory cells contributing to disease manifestations and may exert a potent role in the progression of inflammation to fibrosis. However, their role in asthma exacerbation is still understudied.

Coronary Artery Ectasia as an Autoimmune Disease Paradigm in a Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study.

Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is defined as local or generalized aneurysmal dilatation of the coronary arteries. CAE likely represents an exaggerated form of excessive vascular wall remodeling in different clinical settings such as atherosclerosis, vasculitides, connective tissue disorders, hereditary collagen defects, bacterial infections, and congenital malformations. In the present case-control study, we investigated whether the incidental finding of CAE in patients who undergo coronary angiography is associated with presence of autoimmune reactivity.

Decreased Levels of Soluble Developmental Endothelial Locus-1 Are Associated with Thrombotic Microangiopathy in Pregnancy.

HELLP (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelets) syndrome is a life-threatening complication of pregnancy, which is often secondary to preeclampsia. To date, there is no biomarker in clinical use for the early stratification of women with preeclampsia who are under increased risk of HELLP syndrome. Herein, we show that the levels of circulating developmental endothelial locus-1 (DEL-1), which is an extracellular immunomodulatory protein, are decreased in patients with HELLP syndrome compared to preeclampsia.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Antimicrobial Resistance and Management of Bloodstream Infections.

Introduction: The pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare systems led to limited roles of infectious diseases services, increased rates of irrational use of antimicrobials, and incidence of infections by multidrug-resistant microorganisms. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the incidence of antimicrobial resistance and the management of bloodstream infections before and during the COVID-19 pandemic at the University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis (Greece).

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted from January 2018 to December 2022.

Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Infection in Hemodialysis Patients: A Multicenter Epidemiological Cohort Study in North-Eastern Greece.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), a common cause of viral hepatitis in developing countries, is mainly transmitted via the fecal-oral route, but also may be a prevalent hospital-transmitted agent among patients on regular hemodialysis due to parenteral transmission. Previous epidemiological studies among hemodialysis patients in Greece, using different diagnostic techniques, gave conflicting results. Τhe present study aimed to measure the exposure rate of hemodialysis patients of north-eastern Greece to HEV by estimating the overall seroprevalence, and to identify potential risk factors.

Genetic and phenotypic assessment of the antimicrobial activity of three potential probiotic lactobacilli against human enteropathogenic bacteria.

Introduction: Lactobacilli are avid producers of antimicrobial compounds responsible for their adaptation and survival in microbe-rich matrices. The bactericidal or bacteriostatic ability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can be exploited for the identification of novel antimicrobial compounds to be incorporated in functional foodstuffs or pharmaceutical supplements. In this study, the antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties of L33, L125 and SP5, previously isolated form fermented products, were examined, against clinical isolates of , subsp.

A gene expression map of host immune response in human brucellosis.

Brucellosis is a common zoonotic disease caused by intracellular pathogens of the genus . infects macrophages and evades clearance mechanisms, thus resulting in chronic parasitism. Herein, we studied the molecular changes that take place in human brucellosis both and RNA sequencing was performed in primary human macrophages (Mφ) and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) infected with a clinical strain of spp.

A taxonomically representative strain collection to explore xenobiotic and secondary metabolism in bacteria.

Bacteria employ secondary metabolism to combat competitors, and xenobiotic metabolism to survive their chemical environment. This project has aimed to introduce a bacterial collection enabling comprehensive comparative investigations of those functions. The collection comprises 120 strains (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes), and was compiled on the basis of the broad taxonomic range of isolates and their postulated biosynthetic and/or xenobiotic detoxification capabilities.

The Usefulness of Rare Blood Group Systems in the Risk Determination for Severe COVID-19.

The newly identified human coronavirus was named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), based on a detailed analysis of clinical manifestation. It was reported that blood type O individuals were less likely to become infected by SARS-CoV, while blood type A individuals have an increased risk of severe illness. The Forssman antigen, or Forssman glycolipid synthase (FS), was first described in 1911 by John Frederick Forssman.

Ca-permeable AMPA receptors set the threshold for retrieval of drug memories.

Frequent relapse prevents the successful treatment of substance use disorders and is triggered in part by retrieval of drug-associated memories. Drug-conditioned behaviours in rodents are reinstated upon drug memory retrieval following re-exposure to cues previously associated with the drug, or the drug itself. Therapies based on mechanistic insights from rodent studies have focused on amnesic procedures of cue-drug associations but with so far limited success.

Prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in a group of patients, a control group, and healthcare workers of Thrace area in Greece, by the use of two distinct methods.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical performance of different automated immunoassays available in Europe to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies; an ELISA assay and a CLIA. The second goal was to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among healthcare workers in Evros area during the first pandemic wave of COVID-19.

Methods: The study included serum samples from 101 patients with confirmed COVID-19 by RT-PCR and 208 negative patients.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnancy outcomes (Review).

The impact of the pandemic outbreak associated with coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) on pregnant women is of interest to obstetricians and gynecologists due to the vulnerability of this target group. In pregnant women and their infants, an exceptional clinical management is warranted. Current epidemiological findings provide information regarding the effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on pregnant patients and potential adverse perinatal outcomes.

COVID-19 and Antimicrobial Resistance: Data from the Greek Electronic System for the Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance-WHONET-Greece (January 2018-March 2021).

Changes in hospitals' daily practice due to COVID-19 pandemic may have an impact on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We aimed to assess this possible impact as captured by the Greek Electronic System for the Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (WHONET-Greece). Routine susceptibility data of 17,837 Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial isolates from blood and respiratory specimens of hospitalized patients in nine COVID-19 tertiary hospitals were used in order to identify potential differences in AMR trends in the last three years, divided into two periods, January 2018-March 2020 and April 2020-March 2021.

Levels of Produced Antibodies after Vaccination with mRNA Vaccine; Effect of Previous Infection with SARS-CoV-2.

The aim of this study was to estimate the immunogenic effect of mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. This study included 510 participants who received mRNA vaccine. The measurement of anti-COVID-19 antibodies was performed using the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG quantitative assay (Abbott).

The prevalence of HCV RNA positivity in anti-HCV antibodies-negative hemodialysis patients in Thrace Region. Multicentral study.

Introduction: HCV infection in patients under hemodialysis for end stage chronic kidney disease (ESCKD) may exist despite the absence of anti-HCV antibodies. Molecular methods are widely accepted as "gold standard" techniques for the detection of viral RNA. However, the molecular methods are more expensive in comparison to conventional methods and their replacement is not cost-effective.

Smell and Taste Loss Recovery Time in COVID-19 Patients and Disease Severity.

A significant proportion of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 report a new onset of smell or taste loss. The duration of the chemosensory impairment and predictive factors of recovery are still unclear. We aimed to investigate the prevalence, temporal course and recovery predictors in patients who suffered from varying disease severity.

Real-time PCR detection of clarithromycin resistance in Thrace, Greece.

Background: Growing resistance to clarithromycin is a major concern regarding treating infection. Resistance rates have a great variation even in different geographic areas within the same country and are associated with point mutations of the microbial (A2142C, A2142G, and A2143G). Given the absence of available data in Thrace, the objective of this study was to estimate the resistance of to clarithromycin and identify specific mutations that contribute to clarithromycin resistance.